by Amy ~ September 10, 2010
We had a busy 5th month. Z’s parents visited for the first 2 wks of August and we did a lot of sightseeing. Unfortunately, the nanny we made an offer to turned us down a week before I returned to work so we were left without help! Our friend Rita came back out to help us for a few weeks until we found a new nanny. Fortunately we found a wonderful nanny and had Rita here when I returned to work. It was hard to go to work but made it so much easier knowing Gabe & Zara were in safe hands!
The babies are growing so quickly. They’re both showing a lot of personality and are quite different.
View photos of Fifth month.
by Amy ~ August 17, 2010
Gabriel and Zara turned 5 months old and are growing so quickly. They are both starting to giggle out loud and are happy, healthy babies. Zvonimir and I are in love with them and are having so much fun. They’re great babies and almost always sleep through the night. They’re also starting to get on a more regular nap schedule.
Gabe finally learned how to roll from his back to his stomach but he has yet to figure out how to flip back over. After a few minutes on his tummy he starts to scream. However, as soon as you turn him onto his back he flips back to his tummy. We’re hoping that he soon learns to flip back over so we don’t have to constantly flip him!! Zara hasn’t rolled over yet. She prefers to lie on her side and kick at the toys (and her brother!). Our prediction is that Zara will be the mischevious one. She has this devilish little smile.
Zvonimir, his dad, my cousin Bill and his son Cole went fishing for Salmon in Puget Sound. It was a very foggy day so unfortunately, they didn’t have great views while fishing, but they had a successful fishing trip! They were allowed to keep 2 farm raised salmon each. They caught several wild born salmon but the law prohibits you from keeping these. They also caught 2 sharks. However, the biggest catch of the trip was by Cole, who caught a seal… well, not really, but the salmon he had hooked was chased and eventually stolen by the seal. They brought home a total of 30 lbs of king salmon for the boat.
We finished up the week with Zvonimir’s parents sightseeing around Seattle and having dinner with a few friends.
View photos of Miljenko and Vida’s second week in Seattle.
by Amy ~ August 17, 2010
We decided this year it might be a bit much to take our annual trip to Europe so Zvonimir’s parents came to Seattle to visit us. This was Vida and Miljenko’s first trip to Seattle so we had an action packed 2 weeks! Despite the unseasonably chilly weather, we enjoyed exploring Seattle including a day at Pike’s Place Market where we bought a whole Sockeye Salmon, smoked salmon, and some amazing fruits and veggies. We also visited the Salmon Ladder and Ballard Locks where we watched boats go through the locks into the lake and the salmon climbing the ladder to the lake.
We spent a few days on the Washington coast where we rented an amazing cottage in Seabrook, WA. Seabrook is a planned community across the street from the Pacific Ocean. It’s also very near the temperate rainforest and some beautiful beaches. Since the Pacific Coast and rainforest aren’t easy day trips from Seattle, the cottage gave me and the kids a place to hang out while Zvonimir and his parents did a hike in the rainforest. We enjoyed the cottage at Seabrook a lot and will hopefully return soon!
Upon returning from the coast, Zvonimir and his parents took a day trip to Mt. Rainier where they enjoyed another hike and some better weather.
View photos of Miljenko and Vida’s first week in Seattle.
by Amy ~ July 20, 2010
It’s been a long time since we’ve posted pictures so we have 3 new galleries below. You’ll be shocked at how much Gabriel and Zara have grown!
4 months old – Burg visit: The babies are just over 4 months old now and we’ve had a great month! They are starting to coo and laugh a lot more. Gabriel is nearly able to roll onto his stomach (just inches away from going the whole way over!). They love their play mat and Gabe can spend hours just tugging on the animals dangling overhead (Zara has less patience for it!). At last check Gabe was close to 15 lbs and Zara was over 13 lbs! They are also getting very long! We’ve been very fortunate that they’re sleeping through the night now. Generally we put them to bed around 8:30pm and they wake up around 6 am!!
We took our first flight with the babies and were upgraded to first class both ways! (too bad neither of us will have airline status next year – so it’s back to the crappy seats next year!)
The trip to DC was amazing; the babies slept the majority of the way. We rented a hotel suite in DC and a bunch of our friends came out to meet the babies. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a single picture while there but we had a great time catching up with our friends! Thanks everyone for making it out to see us!
We then spent a week in my hometown visiting my family. We had lots of people eager to cuddle the babies and mom cooked some yummy food so it was a very relaxing week for us! Unfortunately, when we returned to Seattle, Gabe and Zara were wondering why they weren’t being held all day (and I was wishing I had mom to cook for me!)! The weather was unbearably hot back east – it has been a cool summer in Seattle so going from 60 degrees to 100 is quite a change!
We were also able to visit with my aunts, uncles, and a few of my great aunts. It was great to see everyone! I wish we could just smoosh the east coast with the west so we could be closer to my family without having to move back east!!
View photos of our visit to PA.
3 Months old! The babies turned 3 months old and my sister Patty, and friends Sue and Emily came to visit. We had a great weekend and the weather was beautiful! We went to Pike’s Place market, the Fish Ladder, and a few other hot spots. Pat, Sue, and Emily spent time spoiling the babies while Z and I had a rare date night out.
View the Month 4 photos.
Tug boat races: Each year there are tug boat races in Seattle. We’ve always wanted to go but this was the first year we made it to the races. There were boats of all sizes and it was a beautiful day to be outside. Unfortunately the tug boat horns are pretty loud so the babies were not thrilled when one boat blew the horn right in front of us.
Check out the photos from the Tug boat races.
by Amy ~ June 1, 2010
It’s been several weeks since Rita left and we miss her! The first few days were really rough not only because I had to do everything on my own at night and during the day, but also because it was lonely not to have anyone to talk to all day!
I started attending a new parents group every week and have met a few really cool people with whom I go on walks. It’s great to meet others going through things and it forces me to get out of the house! It’s kind of crazy trying to get myself ready, the diaper bag, and all of the odds and ends packed and get us out the door but we try to do it as much as we can. We’re usually never on time anymore (not that we were great at this before!), but I bet we’ll get the “sleigh” packing down to an art soon! With all of the things we need for road trips, I think we’re going to need a larger car!
Gabriel and Zara are doing great! Gabe is 12 pounds now and Zara is 10 lbs. They grow out of clothing so quickly! They’re starting to really notice things around them and smiling and cooing. Gabe noticed Zara for the first time the other day and got a big grin on his face. It’s pretty fun to see them smiling and starting to explore. Gabriel is holding his head up very well and likes to look around. Zara is not far behind him and is starting to hold her head up more as well.
It seems the babies have swapped roles. Zara (formerly known as “Gee”, used to be all chill and calm but she is now the one who cries for no apparent reason (She prefers being held….). Gabriel, while still able to break your eardrum with his screaming, is much more relaxed than he was several weeks ago. He has gone to bed without a fight almost every night in the last few weeks. They have both started sleeping longer as well. There is about 5 hours between feedings. They tend to eat on the same schedule for the most part so we’ve mastered feeding them on dueling Boppy pillows then burping them simultaneously (and sometimes talking skype as well!).
Zvonimir took some awesome 11 wk photos (at the end). It’s like herding cats to get them both awake and looking at the camera!
Check out the new photos from Month 3.