My new happy sounds

These are my new 'happy' sounds. This is when I am happy and excited.

Drooling at Nikola

Drooling at Nikola :) Прва лига! :))

The world around me…

I am starting to draw some conclusions about the world around me. It is strange how small things can fascinate me…

I am looking at everything with curiosity, even my own reflection in the mirror. I observe carefully the objects around me; I take time to observe them before I grab them! I am mastering my grabbing skills and anything within my reach is fair game now.

When we are with friends, I try to hear the richness of human interaction. I enjoy watching the antics of other babies, toddlers, and pets, as well as of adults.

I sometimes stop sucking my thumb or my paci just to listen to certain voices and sounds. I especially enjoy when someone coos or makes noises at me, and I try to sing along. That is how I express my excitement! I gurgle, smile, I ooh and coo. And the fun has really begun as I am starting to laugh loud.

My friend Gerard…

My friend Gerard, my favorite giraffe.



Mind not my dad at the end of the clip. He just came from work and had another bizarre day in Tetovo.

Hands in, drool out

I first discovered my hands a couple of weeks back, and now I am downright fascinated with them!

I spend lots of time watching and examining them, putting them in my mouth, and trying to suck on them. I sometimes even spit out my favorite pacifier, just to make space in my mouth for my hands!

It may seem that I am becoming a bit obsessed with my newly discovered digits, but this form of self-comfort is sometimes very soothing for me. Which, on the other hand, gives my parents a little break, too.

My salivary glands have been working since I was still in utero, but now you may notice that I have also started to drool. That is why I am producing more saliva than I can swallow and I am putting everything in my mouth, beside my hands. This doesn't mean that I am teething just yet, although I may sprout my first tooth in the incoming weeks. Most babies do that between 4 and 7 months of age.

Love whispers

My friend Davor, and me. In a baby romance. Love whispering.

‘Примерок’ is a very funny word

Research shows that babies whose parents speak to them extensively have significantly higher IQs and bigger vocabularies when they get older than other children, so interaction is especially important right now.

Maybe this is why my mom and dad talk to me all the time as to an adult! However, I must say they very often use very strange and funny words. Such as fish, sample, and so on.

One of the funniest words I’ve heard them say is the word “примерок”, which actually means “a copy”. I just couldn’t stop laughing when I first heard this word!

Reading time

The most exciting part of my day is when mom or dad read to me.

I like board books that have large, bright and colorful pictures, from which my parents read or just narrate. I already have a list of my favorite books: Snow White and the seven dwarfs, The wolf and the seven goats … And no, I don’t have anything against other numbers beside 7!

Ironically enough, I somehow cannot get used yet to the story of Mogly and the Jungle book, though my mom and dad really believed that this would be the right story for me! But I will give a second chance to the story. Maybe the book is just not colorful enough for my age.

I sometimes also hear them reading to me some strange things I don’t understand. It must be something which is written for adult ears and not for babies my age. I remember my mom reading me loud some strange things about yields, stocks, values and annuities while she was studying for her final exams, and my dad reading to my mom some illiterate and bizarre stories written by his students, on which they both laughed very loud!

At the end, reading to me, even at this young age, will pay off. Hearing my parents read helps me develop an ear for the cadence of language. And varying the pitch of their voices, using accents, and singing makes the connection between us much more interesting.

My 15th week: Rock and roll and growing strong

I am almost 15 weeks now and I weigh 6.8 kilos! I still have a small constipation problems (for a month already), but I think it is slowly going away.

I can now lift my head and hold it up for several moments and longer, while lying on her back, or on my tummy. When sitting with support, I am able to hold my head steady and erect. I already even manage to sit up with minimum support. When I am on my stomach, I lift my head and chest to about 45 degrees as if I am doing mini-pushups.

I need enough space to stretch and move my arms and legs. I simply enjoy moving as I please at the moment. These movements can help me strengthen and tone my developing muscles. On my tummy, I am starting to push off with my legs — the first step in getting on the move.

I am now learning how to rock and roll — well, maybe just roll. At this age, I am starting to move from my side to my back and my back to my side. The complete roll over will probably come for a month or so, though, because I need stronger neck and arm muscles for that maneuver. For that purpose, I exercise every day, with help of mom and dad, but I also watch my favorite sports TV show – ‘The strongest man’ on EuroSport channel.

My movements are also getting more and more coordinated. The jerky arm and leg movements of my newborn days have given way to smoother, more circular motions, especially when I am watching mom, dad, other people, my toy-friends or while watching TV.

My increasing mobility makes my diaper changes very difficult. My parents can no longer leave me unattended on a bed or any other elevated surface now that she can move around. And I will make even more and more difficult for my mom and dad in the next months! So they better be prepared!

No, I will not cry!

Yesterday I got one of the most painful vaccines so far. It was some kind of a cocktail of several vaccines. The nurses put first one needle in my leg, then one in my butt, and then they made me swallow some sappy and bland liquid from a spoon! It was irritating and painful. But I am a big girl now so I won’t let them make me cry! That afternoon I was feeling a bit sick and flabby, I had a little higher temperature and I was sleeping a lot. But today I woke up feeling great. I am now ready to play again with my toys and with my fingers and toes, and to smile again to mom, dad, cousins and friends…

This afternoon mom and dad will take me to Ivo, my cousin, who will celebrate his 6th birthday today, in a playhouse called “Boomerang”. My dad will take me to a toy shop to find a birthday present for Ivo – he wished for a car that is driven on a remote control. Ivo and Ina have just arrived from their two-week summer holiday in Greece, and I can hardly wait to see them. I really missed them a lot.

So many things to share…

So many things to share, so much to catch up… But where to start?

My mom had to study for her exams, and that is why I haven’t written much lately…

I am proud to say that I had been a good baby, so my mom could study and pass four exams since I am born, and last week she gave her last MBA exam! Now she started to work on her master thesis, which she plans to give by this October. I promise I will do my best to be a good baby again and I will not to give her any headaches so she can finish it as soon as possible and then have all the time just for me :)

Meanwhile, my dad was invited on a ceremony where he was handed out his master diploma. He was the only MA among 255 graduated students at the UKIM Philology Faculty that were delivered diplomas on the ceremony that day! It wasn’t some ceremony as far as I am concerned, but I am proud of my dad, because he managed to finish his master studies before I was born, and started to work on his doctor thesis right away! He even managed to submit the thesis proposal last week!

Now the summer holiday may officially start!

That means I am back to the pages of my diary :)