Vsechno nejlepsi

Happy 18th birthday, Auntie Bizbef! We love you and miss you bunches! Hope your special day is wonderful and amazing! :-)

Baby blanket

Two years ago when I first came to Prague, I brought my baby blanket with me. Yes, I still slept with it at age 21! Never did I imagine that in a relatively short time I would be covering my own baby with it. This is a picture of Magdalena last night -- the first time she slept with my blanket.

Magdalena loves diaper changing time. She especially likes her Mommy singing the "5 Little Ducks" song -- with motions and "quack-quack" sounds. We're borrowing this little duckie outfit from Lydia Verbrugge (another February baby from our PA fellowship who is now a 2 year old).

New friend

While Magdalena was on my shoulder being burped this afternoon, she started making her almost-a -laugh sound. That's never happened before during a burp session, so I looked where she was looking and who did I see? Eeyore! I promptly put him on this box next to her on the couch and she took hold of his lil paw and grinned. How appropriate that she was wearing her Tigger outfit today!

This afternoon we had a treat...Stana came over for a few hours to help out. She cooked us dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and kept me company while Magdalena slept. She is such a blessing to know and we all love her dearly! We're looking forward to her weekly visit to our place. : )

Eh, eh...

Magdalena has taken to "talking" in her sleep. This is from her afternoon nap today. Notice her mouth is open but her eyes are closed. She's definately asleep (her awake "words" sound nothing like these)...after having her say for a minute or two, she's quiet again. Oh, goodness. I'm gonna have a talker on my hands. Methinks she's liken unto her dear cousin, Nicole!

After this nap, we went to Petr's office to show off our little Sleeping Beauty. His co-workers think she's adorable and lovely, but of course we already knew that!

Still holdin' on

Even after an entire day without more than two 20min "naps," Magdalena still had enough energy to get a good grip on her Daddy's shirt when he got home from work. It was such a tight grip that it took both of us to pry her fingers off!

Notice, too, that she is drooling...out of the blue last week she began drooling and blowing spit bubbles. Perhaps it's a new hobby? I find it quite odd that up until last week she didn't drool, not even in her sleep and now that seems to be what she does contantly! Babies truly are fascinating creatures!

Last night's fellowship was so wonderful. It was just was the doctor ordered for Magdalena's poor, exhausted Mommy. Jonathan spoke on how much more we have in Christ than just a moment of salvation when the old self dies -- we have a new life now in Christ! Petr translated the message into Czech and did such an amazing job! I'm so proud of him. : )

After the service was over, I enjoyed a really nice bowl of soup (Daystar now serves soup and fresh bagettes!) with a Cafe Latte decaf and a main dish of laughter. Sunny, Ann-marie, and Jessica, Thank you for the funnies last night! I needed the destressing after a long day. Ya'll are the best! ; )

Happy Easter Monday!

Greetings! In the Czech Republic, today is Easter Monday. This day is just as celebrated as, or more than, Easter Sunday. Today it is traditional for boys, and even grown men, to whip girls and women with a pomlaska (a special Easter whip) to bring them good luck and health all year. In return, the females give colorfully decorated eggs or chocolate eggs to the boys and some strong alcohol to the men...some years are designated for the females to be able to dump water on the head of their whippers instead of giving them the aforementioned gifts. Unfortunately, I don't know the rule as to how often this is so you can't be informed. Petr doesn't remember...or, perhaps he just doesn't want me to know! No, just kidding. Actually, Petr and I were talking about what we'd do if we went out today and someone tried to whip me or Magdalena with the pomlaska. He said, "Well, I'd say, 'Boy, you can hit her if you want my fist to hit your nose!'" Our brave family protector! Don't worry. We didn't have any pomlaska encounters when we went out today. (I'm especially glad that my husband wasn't in a fight!) : )

New pass-time

The spring weather has turned very chilly on us -- there was even snow mixed in with the rain on Monday evening! So, Magdalena and I have been entertaining ourselves with play time on the floor. She's really enjoying the bright colors of her blanket (thanks Mark!) and toys...and hearing Mommy's silly song repertoire which mostly includes Rafi songs (we've gotta get her one of his CD's!).

Petr snapped this photo on Sunday afternoon as we were passing time before going to Project Antioch's afternoon event. Each Sunday afternoon we have some type of outreach. Presently, we're having Nooma sessions. We watch a brief DVD presentation from Nooma then break up into discussion groups and share our thoughts. God has been greatly using this time to open the hearts of unbelievers to His Truth and to grow new believers in their faith.

More wildlife

This morning I awoke to the sounds of many birds chirping. Spring is definately here when the birds are twitterpated! (That is a Bambi reference. For those of you who don't know this term, it's the way animals behave when in love.) Then, walking by the "wilderness" this evening, I spotted a large hare in the there! He looked at me for a few moments and stayed still long enough for me to get Petr's attention before bounding away into the underbrush.

Can about 1/10th of an acre count as true wilderness? I don't know, but in my opinion, if that piece of land contains hares, several little bird species, and a pheasant clan then it most certainly does! I'll take it because I'm missing the animals in the woods behind my parents home.

Cozy Kavarna

Petr, my wonderful and amazing husband, bought 2 pieces of my favorite Czech dessert, medovnik (layered honey and almond cake), when he returned our movie yesterday evening. I recreated a kavarna (coffee shop) in our kitchen for us to have a mini date after Magdalena went to bed. Ah, life is sweet!

Ice cream

Yesterday's highlight was our time with Eva! We visited while Magdalena had her 2nd lunch, then went for a short walk to the local cukrarna (sweet shop) where we met up with Petr for ice cream. Such a lovely day and such a wonderful way to spend it -- with a good treat and a great friend! : )

Stylin'

Hugs and kisses to Auntie Bizbef for my adorable and stylish outfit!

New neighbors?

Ever since we moved into this apartment in October, our neighbors have been constructing only God knows what in their apartments. We hear random drillings, hammerings, and an occational sawing at all times of the day. Early morning, mid-day, or late at night -- makes no difference to them. When, may you ask, do these folks work a job? Who knows!

Last week, a new sound was added to the hubub...it sounds uncannily like a rooster. "Could it be that Joey and Chandler have moved to Prague and taken up residence next to us?" I asked Petr jokingly the other day. (Remember they had a chicken and a duck in Friends.) Well, come to find out, we won't be partaking in a new sitcom; rather, our feathered pheasant friends have returned! A clan of 3-5 pheasants live in the small patch of "wilderness" by our apartment complex and were gone during the artic winter, but have returned with the warmer weather. : )

Being sneaky

Yes, that is an empty bottle in Petr's hand next to Magdalena. She accepted her first bottle on our second attempt. The first was a fiasco. She screamed and kicked and cried and, well, you get the picture. So, this time we were sneaky. In the middle of the night when she woke up, Petr got her and changed the diaper while I heated up the milk. Then I gave him the bottle, never speaking or touching Magdalena. Well, buddy, she lapped up all 4 ozs and then wanted more! Hmm, wonder if this acceptance will continue in daylight when she's not so tired and easily tricked...

Yesterday was beautiful spring weather again! I'm loving April so far. : ) We took a family walk for an hour or so. Most of the time Magdalena was awake and quietly looking around through her "sun roof." The rest of the time she slept -- even through a car alarm (definately got that from her mommy who has slept through several tornados and during a hurricane).

Today is a bit cooler, but still sunny! We're going in search of Dablicy haj (a forest park near by) this afternoon. Hopefully, we'll be successful in manuevering the bus with a stroller and can get some lovely pictures.

A little adventure

This afternoon we had a family outing to Bydleni Mazanka -- the new Finep building site where Petr has been working the past couple of months. I enjoyed seeing all the places Petr has been talking about and Magdalena enjoyed a walking nap! The workers commented on how cute she is and were very impressed with how much hair she has!

While we were walking Magdalena had a blow-out diaper...good thing I followed Momma's advice to always take along an extra outfit! Here she is all spiffed up in the adorable Peter Rabbit outfit from her Aunt Jessica.