Leo goes for a BBQ, takes a nap

[Cue my Jeremy Clarkson voice] Tonight: we go to a BBQ, Kriss eats an italian sausage hotdog and Leo takes a nap...

"Soon I'll join you older kids up there!"

Joking aside, we had a great time at a BBQ organized by our friends Julie and Andrew on their rooftop, which despite the crazy DC heat was bearable thanks to a light breeze. Leo had a good time chilling next to the other babies (it's too much to say that he actually played with them), and then after a yummy bottle took a nice nap on the lounging chair.

If you don't have what you like, you like what you have...

P.S. If we ever think again that Leo is turning blonde we should look at the top picture and the baby above Leo - now that is blonde!

Leo chats over Skype with Nana Stamenka

"Ah, I see you've had a new haircut!"

The iPad is cool in many ways, but one of it's best uses is it's ability to bring people really closer together with Skype. And that is something Leo can really appreciate, as he tried to reach out to touch Nana Stamenka's face!

New pictures: Leo in Croatia

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Leo with his great-grandparents Maja and Slavko

Leo had a great time in Croatia. We started off in Zagreb where he met his aunt Nevena, great grandmother Maja and great grandfather Slavko.  He also met his auntie Dasa and his cousins Vanda and Bubac who are also expecting a baby soon. He was a charmer as usual but we chose to visit Zagreb on a few of the hottest days ever so we just couldn't wait to get to the seaside.

Strolling towards the beach

Once there, it felt like the vacation really began. The grandparents took turns watching Leo and so we had the chance to hit the beach on our own a few times.  We all got tan, including Leo who we tried to keep out of the sun as much as we could but he enjoyed his walks so much that we couldn't keep him locked up inside all day. He even put his toes in the Adriatic but didn't seem to like it much yet. We'll see next year!

Leo's not quite as fond of the ocean as he is of warm baths at home...

"Shoes? What shoes?"

Of course no vacation would be complete without a (mis) adventure, and this time it happened to us when we went into Krk (the town). Ignoring all the warnings of dark skies and dropping temperature (not to mention Davor telling us: "it will rain" :), we took Leo for a stroll on the small streets of the old city. Once the downpour began we had to rush for cover - one part of the group (w/ Leo) took refuge in a tiny cafe, which was more crowded than a NYC subway train, while the other hid in a store and looked as a river ran down the street...

"I love flying!"

"Who's a big boy?"

The sea, the good food, and the extra hands helped mommy and daddy relax and Leo seemed to be in a very good mood most of the time!  We literally saw him growing before our eyes. All of a sudden we had a little boy and not a baby anymore. He started being more interactive, grabbing noses and hair and earrings and anything that he could. He also became more cuddly and loved being kissed (Nana stamenka knows just the spot!). He giggled out loud when Babcia Lucyna played peekaboo with him and when Nono Davor threw him in the air (while the rest of us held our breath!).


Leo also met our neighbors in Punat, Zvonka and Darko, who gave him lots of nice presents, including a bear that sings in English and Italian. He will be adding one more language to his list! Ciao a tutti!

Leo: "Now it's my time to ticket you!"

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New pictures: Leo in France

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Working hard to steal Nana Stamenka's thunder

Where do we start? I guess let's go chronologically - just after arriving in Paris (and I mean just, like 3h later) we went to Nana Stamenka's goodbye party at UNESCO. Talk about about a deep dive for little Leo - straight away he was the center of attention, working hard to steal his grandma's thunder :)

Glamorous

The next day we went to Dieppe for the wedding of our friends Caro and Alex. It was, for the lack of a better word, exquisite - little church just a stone's throw from the ocean, beautiful French ceremony with a mix of gospel (!), reception on the grounds with some of the best champagne yours truly every had, the newlyweds having their first dance to Party Rock Anthem. The little guy was a bit overwhelmed by all this and gave his grandparents, who were taking care of him in the evenings, a hard time the first night, but by the second night all was good an he snoozed like, well, a little baby.

Back in Paris, Leo hang out with his great-grandma Mela and uncle Damjan, getting to know his family. He was especially fond of Damjan playing the guitar - we now know where we'll send him for music lessons! Of course Paris being Paris we could not do without some shopping and cafe-hopping, both of which the city is perfect for. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to do all the things we would have liked, but that's what happens when you want to be in three places over the course of one vacation. Hopefully next summer little Leo, who by then won't be so little anymore, will get a chance to spend more time in the city of love and crepes!

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New video: Leo and Tea have a chat on the plane

The little guy's become really rather chatty of late!

Back in DC!

"I'm really happy to be back!"

As they say all good things come to an end, and so it is true of our vacation - after a great and excitement-filled two and a half weeks we're back in DC. First impressions are that of exhaustion after an 18h trip, disappointment it's all over but also relief that the trip back went smoothly and, so far, it seems we did not leave anything on the plane/taxi! :)

After coming back home we wanted to crash immediately but we did not want to put Leo to sleep out of fear that it'd accentuate his jet-lag. In the end our exhaustion won over and we put Leo to sleep at 6:30pm (ourselves we were in bed by 8:30pm), but apart from a 3:00-3:30am awake period he slept pretty much until 6:30am. The only one who did not sleep was your's truly, but that may have something do to with the F1 race that was sitting on my Mac begging to be watched ;)

P.S. We flew back on the new "Super Jumbo" Airbus A380, but I have to say I was disappointed to find that it does not feel all that big, the economy-class seats must have been made deliberately to look like they're from the 70s and the only standout feature was... the water temperature regulation in the bathroom :)

Still having a ton of fun, but it's almost time to go back :(

Leo & Co. are still having a ton of fun in Punat, but unfortunately the time to go back is almost upon us... Tomorrow we'll go back to Zagreb and then on Sunday we'll fly back to DC via Paris. Not exactly psyched about the flight with connections, hopefully Leo will be the angel he's been over the last week and sleep nicely on the plane!

Leo gets his first taste of the sea in Croatia

Leo finally got his first taste of the sea, though at the tender age of 5 months it's not quite the "deep dive" you'd expect of the older kids. Still, the first time is always meaningful, plus by this time next year we expect him to be swimming circles around us so it's important he starts early! ;)

Leo enjoying quality time with Nana Stamenka

Leo loves playing peekaboo with Babcie Lucynka