Owen's 4th Birthday

We were blessed to celebrate Owen's 4th birthday with him here in Prague! The kids started out the day with growing vehicles from capsules in a bowl of water. With each meal, they had a truck napkin to clean their hands on and they spent all morning at a playground having loads of fun. I missed that action because I was looking at an apartment we were considering to move into. (Another story for another day.) But, Emily said they had a blast and played perfectly together. :-)
Instead of having one solid, single flavored cake, Petr bought 4 pieces of different kinds of cake so we all had a selection to choose from. The birthday boy chose chocolate.

Enjoying his hunk of chocolaty celebratory cake!

An Official Complaint

Dear Mother Earth and Father Time,

With utmost respect to you both, I am writing this letter to ask you, please, to synchronize your seasons. According to you, Father, spring began a few weeks ago. But, you Mother, are still producing cold and wet weather according to winter standards. I actually had to turn my heat back on this week! And, with two small people as my constant companions, I must bundle three bodies prior to any departure. This elongated winter has caused many extra hours of work that should otherwise be spent outdoors enjoying warm air, fresh and gentle breezes, and soaking in some natural vitamin D (as opposed to the bottled kind my infant's pediatrician prescribed him).

Is this too much to ask? Working together to make the humble folk in the Czech Republic happy from traditional weather patterns being upheld? I know that I failed the weather chapter in geography in 6th grade. And, scout's honor, I restudied that chapter until I passed the exam with flying colors. And, now I recycle to help maintain this beautiful world that you keep in order...but, at present, you seem to be dropping your end of deal. Please, send spring weather soon. We would all greatly appreciate the warm gesture.

Many thanks. Sincerely,
Rebekah Layne Bowen Sramkova

Just playin' around the house

Many days we didn't do anything "special" in the touristy sense, but we hung out around the house letting the kids have fun together and us get in some chatting time which made the time extraordinary. Owen and Eliana like playing chef and house as much as Magdalena does, so they spent many hours baking and cooking for the parents.

Park 2 - The new one on Kampa Island

On the shores of the Vltava River, as Aaron took pictures of historic buildings and Charles Bridge, the bigger kids ran around looking at the water and sand, and Eliana ate her rohlik, Vojta snoozed away in the stroller.
Magdalena and Owen became spiders on one of the many awesome play structures at the park. Then ran off to the other areas to ride bouncy horses, climb up to a high slide, and play in the sand.

Vojta also got in the sand box and grabbed his first handful of sand! He definitely enjoyed it, digging in it with his tiny fists and covering his little legs. I had to take off his wee shoes to get out all of the sand. :-)

Školička - a.k.a Owen's first day of Preschool

Owen hadn't been to preschool yet, until he came to visit "Magdaweena." So, when I went to teach on Thursday, he accompanied us for his FIRST preschool experience! He was quite daunted by the metro and escalators on the way there, but on the way home was operating like a professional public transit patron. This shot is on the bus before we got to the metro station while traveling to Školička. Magdalena taught him the Czech words for "preschool" and "car" and "bus" on the way to the metro. It was so adorable to hear his little voice saying the Czech words! He did quite well on the pronunciation, too! At the end of the day, we always have a review of our lessons and say good-bye to everyone. This is Ulli leading the kids in a review of Day 5 of creation before singing our traditional "good-bye" song. Note: all of the kids have on indoor shoes. Owen was thrilled by having special school shoes, so when they returned to the USA, we sent the little shoes with him. They are the pair Magdalena just outgrew a few weeks ago.

The Way They Sleep

Every night, before we go to sleep, Petr and I poke our heads in to check on the kids and see what funny positions they might be sleeping in. Last night Magdalena had her little hiney in the air and Vojta had his foot protruding from the blankets with his face snuggled up to B.B. (his favorite friend from Aunt Jessica). The perfect combination of funny and sweet...

Walk through Wenscesclas Square

On the second day of the Sillers' visit, we took a walk through Prague's main square. Since we live in walking distance, we made it a long walk to get out the kids' energy so they'd sleep well. Magdalena took charge of our camera and she shot this picture of Aaron with Owen and, of course, the Cafe Tramvaj. I really need to take her there to eat or drink sometime. She is obsessed with this tiny tram converted into a coffee and dessert shop!

Park 1 - Riegrovy Sady

Within a few short hours of the Sillers landing on Czech soil, we hit the slopes - of the park that is! The kiddos were so very happy to see each other and get to play together after nearly one year of separation. Magdalena and Owen repeatedly, unprovoked, would say "I love you" to one another. So super sweet! The above photo is of the "big kids" sliding down the "mountain climbing" slope.
Eliana and Vojta, the "little kids" getting to know each other. She loved "baby" and, by the end of their visit, began saying "hi, sweet baby" to him whenever she saw him. Very adorable!
Emily catching her kids in action!
Vojta inspecting a toy in his stroller at the park.
Grins from the baby boy!

Eliana's sweet voice saying "baby."

Fun in the garden

Fresh "mountain" air inspires many great hours of fun and good rest. Vojta hated sleeping inside without his familiar domestic scents (this was his first overnight stay away from home), but he slept like a baby in the stroller outside. We parked him next to the house while Magdalena played away with her cousins and alone when they went to visit their other grandparents. Below is a video of "Magda" (as she now calls and introduces herself) on a "motorka" that she's definitely too big for, but still loves riding. :-)

Vojta's first train ride

Going to see Petr's family in Moravia, on 19 March, Vojta experienced the thrills of train travel for the first time. Magdalena was eager to hold him and tell him all about the train. He took it all in pensively, then napped in true baby fashion.

Moravian get away

We took a long weekend to visit our family in Moravia just before our friends from the States came to see us. Vojta got to spend a lot of time with his Deda and cousins playing in the great room (doubles as master bedroom and living room).
The three girl cousins enjoying some "kyselka" (bubbly water) while taking a break from the toilsome job of playing! Terezka is 2, Magdalena 4, and Adelka 5 years old.
Magdalena and Adelka with their "water fountain" hair-do's. Magdalena was thrilled that Teta Marketa (Aunt Margaret) fixed her hair the same as Adelka's. :-)
Vojta and Terezka on Babi's lap. We have a near-identical pose of Kveta holding Magdalena and Adelka when they were about 6 months and 1 1/2 years old. My intention was to post that alongside this one, but I'm too lazy to hook up the external hard-drive to find that picture! Maybe another day...

Vojta is 5 months old

Well, nearly a month late, finally here is his picture marking his 5th month of life. :-) Vojta began "talking" and squealing this month, rediscovered his thumb and sucks it fairly often, began sitting unassisted, and holding himself up on all fours. He's quite jolly and still greatly enjoys watching Magdalena play. But, now he also wants to be part of the activity - trying to scoot towards the players and reaching for toys and people around him. We love seeing our tiny man grow and develop!

Fun from today

After many long weeks of silence, I have returned! We were out of town and then had some dear friends from the States visiting us, so I didn't have time to spend online - I was too busy enjoying life to document it! :-)
Today, Magdalena discovered that she can fit inside the pillow case and so decided that it's her new "house" and proceeded to play there for at least half an hour. Vojta enjoyed some tummy time on Sister's bed as she entertained him with her silly antics.