My wonderful Tia...

Tia TJ came to visit me. I've missed her so much and I had such fun playing with her for two weeks and showing her around my new home. She got to see where I keep all my toys, and she even brought me a new toy. She also introduced me to Tzatziki dip, which is close to the best thing ever. Almost as good as bananas. I just don't understand why she had to leave. I miss her--and I miss my Mimi Marina too.

Haircut

Despite Mommy Mindy's objections, I got my first haircut yesterday (December 17). Egla, my very wonderful babysitter, who has "made the course in hairstyling" cut my hair for me. And, I didn't even cry. It was even kind of fun when I got to play with the comb and have books read to me. And I got to keep almost all my curls. I'm thinking that I look pretty stylin' with my new cut...and now my hair doesn't fall in my eyes anymore.

Stitches in, Stitches out...

Avert your eyes if you can't stand to see me trying to impersonate Frankenstein! But fortunately the horrible stitches are out, though I hated the process of having them removed almost as much as I hated the process of having them put in.

But the good news is that I look really, really cute in the new Mickey Mouse outfit that I got from Grandpa Ron. I just wish I could wear it to the family Hanukah party to show my Aunt Holly!

Stitches and Hikes

I had a very eventful weekend. I have a little fascination with lamps...they're so fun to shake. And I know that my mommies always get very upset with me when I do this...and now I know why.

I had a quick opportunity to grab a floor lamp and give it a good shake..and then suddenly there was a loud crash and glass flew. Mommy Mindy was very upset and yelled, "No, Levi!" But then she saw my face and got even more upset. I guess one of those pieces of glass managed to give me a pretty good cut on my cheek. Lots of things started happening...bandaids flew, antibacterial ointment was spread, and panicked phone calls were made. I felt fine and mostly wanted to wander around looking at my toys. Then I was whisked into the car (and given a teething biscuit...yippee!)

Everything was fine until we got to the embassy where I was taken to see Mr. Rob, the medical officer. Then I got held down by three people (including my mommies) while Mr. Rob gave me a shot in the face (local anesthetic) and then three horrible stitches. This required hysterical crying on my part...I mean, really, would you have done anything differently? I stopped once it was all over--it didn't hurt when they weren't messing around with it.

Maybe the hike that I got to take on Saturday sort of made up for it all. My wonderful preschool teacher and her family took me and my mommies up into the mountains. I got to go in the backpack carrier and see everything! And my preschool teacher and her husband and especially her two kids are the most fun. Best of all, they LOVE me.

boxes, pigeons, and carseats

I think my days of hiding in the cabinets are over. All of these boxes arrived at our house a week ago...and now the cabinets seem to be full of all kinds of things, and there is no more room for me. Sad. But along with the cabinets being stuffed with more things, my toy box also seems to be a bit fuller than it was, and this is a good thing! And, I keep eyeing the box on the porch that looks like it has a basketball hoop in it that is just my size. I just can't figure out why that wasn't the FIRST box that was unpacked...I mean, what could be more important?

I spent a lot of time in the car seat the last couple of days. Last Thursday we drove and drove and drove. No Thanksgiving turkey for me...not unless you count the herds of them we saw out the car window. (do lots of turkeys all together count as a herd? a gaggle?) But I did get to have all kinds of good Montenegren and Croatian food on our little family vacation. And the scenery was beautiful...at least what I saw of it when I wasn't screaming or sleeping.

I have lots of pictures to post, but tonight I'll just leave you with a few.







And, lest you think that all I did was get carried around, I'll have you know that I also fed kitties, ran around and yelled in a monastary/museum (that sign that said 'silencium' was just for other people), and chased pigeons in a dubrovnik city square while my mommies ate tasty bread and sipped cappucinos.

Hiding....

Most of our stuff from home is somwhere on a boat between Baltimore and Tirana. In the meantime, the cabinets are empty! This is great for me, because check out what I can do...! And don't forget to notice my wild hair--it's all the rage in Albania.

Grandpa Ron

I've always liked the idea of being able to follow in Grandpa Ron's footsteps. And, so I love playing with the toy he gave me--it has brightly colored balls (which I love!) and a hammer to pound them with. What more could I want?

me, soup, and a balloon

So, my mommies made chicken soup from scratch tonight. Just a whole chicken (no, they didn't have to pluck the feathers), some vegetables, a little seasoning, and voila, a couple of hours later, soup! Yum!

And, as usual, I've been playing with my balloon. Here's a little video of me (finally, during the daytime!) so you can see just how much fun I have!

All about ME!!

Some things that I can do:

• Walk (okay, toddle) across a room
• Throw balls across the room really well
• Open drawers and hide things inside
• Whine. A lot. I'm really, really good at this.
  
• Dance when music is playing
• Babble
• Climb up onto the couch if I really want to. Climb down from the couch
  
• Crawl up the stairs
• Push chairs all over the room
• Bring my mommies the shoes I want to wear after they put on my socks
• Reach up to the top of just about anything (somehow this does NOT seem to make my mommies happy)
• Close doors. Endlessly turn on and off light switches.
• Ride my 'corn popper' all over the house
• Hide inside of boxes

Some things I can say (usually repeating them after someone else):

• Ball (I say this all the time)
• Button
• Brella (for umbrella)
• Cheese
• Shoes
• Butter (for butterfly)
• Bathtub
• Hi
• Bye-Bye
• and all kinds of other things that my mommies are just too old to understand
  

Some things I love:

• Balls
• Balloons
• Teething biscuits
• Any kind of food...but especially bananas, peas, cheese, apples, and anything on my mommies' plates
• Riding on my mommmies' backs
• Music
• Swings
• Going outside
  
• Preschool
• People....anywhere...the more, the better

Big Leagues, Here I Come...

Uncle Mitch...I think I'm ready for those baseball lessons now. But is it okay if I always practice with both hands?

Happy Halloween!!

So Halloween is not an Albanian holiday...but since we are working for the American Embassy, there was an Embassy Halloween party. And, my preschool had a Halloween party too! So, I had plenty of opportunities to be cute in my outfit. I might have been the tiniest bit mad when I had to put it on, but all the smiles that everyone gave me while I was wearing it were definitely worth it!

Robin and Te's Wedding

So this post is a little late, but I didn't want to leave it out. Just before we left DC we got to go to Robin and Te's very beautiful and very fun wedding. I know, I know, they were the center of attention. But, there was enough attention to go 'round (amazing given that both Auntie Heather and I were there!), and I enjoyed myself immensely. So here are just a few of the pictures of me. There are many, many more pictures from the wedding...my mommies went a little crazy with the new camera. Maybe at some point I'll convince them to get all of the other good pictures online.

Look at me go...!

The lighting is not the best...but, look what I can do!



And, yes, that is teething biscuit all over me (yum!) and yes I do plan to toss everything in the drawers on the floor, again.

Who's Sillier?

Mirëdita! (Good Day!)

So, here I am in Tirana, Albania. So far I'm thinking it's pretty cool. First of all, people LOVE me here. Not just people I meet. People I don't even know will stop while they are walking down the street and kiss me or smile at me. Little kids, women, men, all kinds of people! I thought that I used to get attention...but now I really know what attention is!! And, even better, when I go into stores (read 'tiny corner market' or 'tiny pastry shop') they give me sweets...sadly, my mommies often take them away from me before I get to eat them.

So, I don't have a lot of pictures of me in Tirana yet. But I thought you might want to see some photos of the endlessly fascinating place that I'm living. There are so many things to see and look at...

A view of the main street that Mommy Mindy takes me down on my stroller all the time. There's so much to look at! And it's like being on a roller coaster ride with all the ups and downs and curbs that we bumpily go over. Who knew that my stroller could do all that? And why didn't I get to do it in DC?


Another view...here you can see some of the construction cranes, the doors and windows for sale on the street, and the Roma sitting on the curb selling things that I never get to have (like pinwheels). Mommy Mindy only has gotten boring things like sponges and batteries.


Looking down our street.


Part of "The Block" area. During communist rule only party officials were allowed in this area.


Another view off the main street. Tirana is a city of contrasts.


The little Italian supermarket where the people who work there smile at me and pinch my cheeks!


Some of the fun painted buildings of Tirana...the mayor, Edi Rama, was an artist before he was mayor and he made the communist buildings much prettier.


The little green awning store on our street. We get bananas, tomatoes, pasta, and lots of other things here...I think Mommy Mindy goes at least once or twice every day! And they LOVE me and give me candy.


ME!!

Walking!!

So, I've been taking a few steps here and there, but I've finally decided that I should just get up and go with the whole walking thing. I may not be running a marathon any time soon...I may not even be walking across entire rooms without stopping at a chair for a rest break, but I'm definitely moving forward on my own two feet!



PS...I am safely in Albania, and will post more about this whole new cool adventure soon!

Last Night in DC!!

So, tonight's my last night in town. Tomorrow my mommies and I head off to Albania. They seem a little stressed out about the plane flight. And I think I even heard them joking about some plan to sit up in business class together and leave me in coach...can you imagine!?! Nope, nope, nope...I get to be in business class and mommy Mindy and mama Melissa have to switch off between coach and business. Hee, hee, hee.... (I don't really understand why we can't all sit together, but I think I heard the big people saying something about how the federal government doesn't recognize mommy Mindy. Seems silly to me--mommy Mindy is definitely part of the family, even when she makes me take horrible naps!)

So, I have lots and lots of pictures that I haven't put up yet. That's 'cuz I got to see lots of people in the last couple of weeks.

Uncle Bryan came to visit and I'm so glad that he came to play with me!


I went to the zoo with Kathi and mommy Mindy and saw panda bears, lions, giraffes, elephants and more! But what I really loved were all the statues of animals.




Mimi and Tia TJ spent lots of time with me, taking me to the zoo, playing at the playground, and chasing me around the house!


I went down to South Carolina to visit my Granny and Grandpappy.


And I got to spend a fun evening with my Uncle Julian and Aunt Sandra.

I have more to post about, like Robin and Te's very fun wedding today. They may have been the center of attention...but just for a couple hours! The rest of the time it's me, all me! Mazel Tov to them, and pictures will be up soon. In the meantime, the next post will be coming to you direct from my new home, Tirana, Albania.