Champagne corks are popping!!

Boy, my mommies were excited tonight. They got the word from Tia TJ...an SMS that just read, "WE WON!!!" We won what, you ask? Well, even in Albania we get the news! My mommies can get married now in California!!! Wouldn't I be a cute ring bearer or flower boy? Well, I don't know if they would trust me with their rings, and I already play with flowers lots in Albania. Besides, they say they already are married...they just need to get the papers. So, maybe I can help them get the papers. Paper boy?

So, just 'cuz I'm good like that, here's a picture of mommies from when they already got married.

Oh, I'm so behind...

Okay, so this may not be a really good post, but I'm a busy boy and don't want you to think that I'm not thinking of you. So, I'm putting up a link to my most recent shuttefly album. You'll notice that I've been doing all sorts of things that I haven't had time to tell you. Like, having my Tio Julio come visit me (I miss you Tio Julio!) and going to Rome and Florence. I'll try to do a proper post soon, but in the meantime, have fun with the photos!!


Shutterfly album of ME!!

Eggs...

Contrary to what my blog might lead you to think, I'm NOT still in Sarajevo!

In the spirit of Passover, I'm posting pictures of me and my Easter Eggs. I may not celebrate Easter, but I love eggs. I love painting them, I love hunting for them, and I lovelovelove eating chocolate eggs! So, I had a lot of fun participating in my friends' Easter celebrations...












Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring, Happy whatever you celebrate!

Sarajevo

At the beginning of March, my mommies and I went to Sarajevo, Bosnia for a couple of days. Mama Melissa went for work to help facilitate a training. Mommy Mindy and I wandered around the Turkish quarter and the Old City, exploring the little alleyways, coffee places, and shops. Every time I saw a bench, I told Mommy Mindy, "I need a little rest." Sometimes she even let me sit for a few moments before we continued walking around!









We went to a beautiful old synagogue, now a museum. Here I am taking a 'little rest' in the courtyard. During the siege it was used to store all of the city museum artifacts, since it was one of the safest places in the city.




The last day we were there it began to snow. I had fun playing in the snow and letting it fall on me. And then we had to drive out of Sarajevo in a bit of a snowstorm.



By the time we arrived in Mostar, Bosnia, it had stopped snowing and was only raining. I heard my mommies saying that they gray, rainy day was somehow fitting for a place that had such a deep feeling of sadness as a result of the war.



My mommies also said that this bridge was very famous--it was destroyed during the war, but was rebuilt as a symbol of hope. (But they just told me that they are wrong...a friend in Bosnia tells us that this is NOT the famous bridge...guess when you drive through Bosnia in a snowstorm, you don't always wind up where you think you are!)

Counting and jumping

Yep, it's another video starring...

...ME!!

I mean, who'd ya think it was starring? It is my blog, after all! Hope you're not getting sick of them yet...I certainly could watch videos of me all day long! :-)

p.s. The part you don't understand...? That's "1-10" in Albanian...

Both...together...

Mommy (and Egla) gave me a choice between milk and lemonade...

Mace, mace...

No, not mace...mace (pronounced sort of like matzia). Which means "cat" in Albanian. And is the first line of a little Albanian children's rhyme that I memorized a while back and my mommies FINALLY captured on video. And there's a guest appearance by my favorite fox stuffed animal (thanks Jai!).

Enjoy!



oh...and an update from the mommies....all is still well in Albania. Regional disturbances and embassy protests are only happening in areas where there are significant Serb populations. Nothing nearby, and no sense that anything would happen here. Everyone here is happy about Kosovo.

Gëzuar Pavarësinë Kosovë! Happy Independence Kosovo!

So, as I'm sure you've all heard, as of Sunday, Kosovo is a brand new country! As a little sort-of Albanian boy, I'm pretty happy for our next door neighbor. I hear my mommies talking about it all, and it sounds like Kosovo, Serbia, and the Balkans in general are pretty complicated. And, of course, it's really complicated right now. As far as I can tell from everything they're saying (they don't think I understand, but I do!), they don't seem worried about the situation in Albania. No one is protesting here (only celebrating!) and there is really no Serbian population here--but I'm pretty sure my mommies and everyone else at the embassy are keeping a close eye on everything that has been going on nearby.

But as for me, I wore my Albania pants on Sunday when we went out in the freezing cold to see the scene around town. Lots and lots of Albanian and American flags everywhere. And a giant sign put up by the Albanian government in front of the American embassy. ('Kosova e lire' means 'Free Kosovo').

Helicopter ride with Oscar and his sister Lucy!!

I promise that I didn't want to wait SOOOO long to post these photos...but my mommies kept telling me that the internet was broken. How does the internet break, do you think?

Oscar

Me and Lucy

Boats and Chickens and Horses, Oh My!

I really like the days when my mommies take me for special things that you can only do in Tirana. And last weekend they took me down a random road on the edge of Tirana that ended at the top of a dirt road. Some people drove down the very steep dirt road, but my mommies seemed worried and made us walk. And when we got to the bottom we were at the edge of a lake!

A couple of tires marked the edge of the water and after we stood there for a few minutes I saw a boat coming from across the lake. Imagine...they saw me all the way from across the lake and came to pick me up! And after we got in the boat, it took us across the lake to a restaurant that you can't easily get to any other way. They have tables with a fireplace inside, but we ate at the outside tables where you can eat and run around and play with rocks and run after chickens and dogs. My mommies didn't run around...I think they were just enjoying the view. Boring! All around are dogs and cats and chickens and turkeys and other birds that you can chase and that will come to hang out with you while you eat... I didn't mind them when I was chasing them, but when they came up to me at the table I was a little worried that the chickens might eat me. My mommies promised that they wouldn't, but I wasn't convinced.

The day my mommies took me there were also horses (owned by a couple of guys who were eating at the restaurant) that you could ride for the equivalent of about $1.00 US. So, I also got to go for my first horse ride!

Only in Albania!!

Happy belated Hanukah!!!

Okay, it may have taken me over a month to post the Hanukah photos...but that doesn't mean that I didn't love Hanukah! I mean, how much cooler can you get than a holiday where you get to light candles, sing songs, spin dreidels, have chocolate gelt, eat latkes....and, oh yeah, GET PRESENTS!! What were my favorite presents, you ask? Well, it's hard to decide between the Hanukah toys from my bubby, the soccer ball from my Mimi and Tia, and the really cool saxoflute from my mommies!

My mommy cooking latkes for our Hanukah party
in her Hanukah apron that Mama made her wear.

Mama having fun at the Hanukah party with Alba and Bruna.

Me trying hard not to blow out the candles. I don't really understand why you would light candles and not blow them out, but Mommy and Mama really didn't want me to.

...and, a nice LONG video of me lighting the candles and singing the blessings.

Barcelona...finally!

I think it would be difficult to explain what a good time we had in Barcelona! Let me review...street performers there just to entertain me! "Blue guy," "ups and downs guy," clowns, "silver man" and more. Every time I walked out of the house, there they were, just waiting for me! How cool is that?

And then the food! All these little plates just kept coming out...so many choices. Little fish, little octopus and squid (yes, I know I'm two, I liked them anyway), vegetables, meats, olives, cheese, so many yummy things! Wow!

And the city and the architecture. My mommies seemed to like looking at it...I liked running around playing and climbing on it. But, hey, to each their own, right?

But the best part? My auntie Robin came to see me and play with me and read and sing to me!! Make sure to check out the video of Robin and I singing the song she taught me. Robin, if you're reading this...I miss you!!





Did you know that this animal is called a Dromedary? I do, because it is the animal for the letter "D" in one of my alphabet books! Yep, a camel with one hump is a dromedary.


On our boat ride. Robin is soooo silly! Make sure to check out her sunglasses...





La Familia Sagrada



On top of the Gaudi apartment building...with La Familia Sagrada in the background. It was SOOOO much fun to play up here!



I learned how to take pictures. And then that couple you see in the background asked if they could take a picture of me! I guess they thought I was cute....



Sometimes a guy gets a little tired...


Breakfast at the market...with Pinnochio!



My new friend...she was just sitting there by herself, so I decided to be a nice guy and sit down with her. My mommies were laughing, but I think she kind of liked it when I asked her, "You are drinking your coffee?"


More tapas, please!




Did you know Robin could be this silly?