Happy New Year! & 2nd Update about Ella
First of all - Happy New Year's!!! It's only 8pm and we've heard fireworks have started already. Since we all won't be going out, we hope to watch some over the Castle and around Letna Park from the dining room.

We had our follow-up visit at the hospital. After examining Ella, the doc said she isn't great yet, but still showing progress. While the doc sounded more negative compared to when we were let out, the doc was still was fine with Ella recovering at home versus at the hospital. Naturally, we agreed. There were some very sick toddlers in that ward. :(
We return Wednesday for another follow-up and x-ray. Ella continues her meds (bronchial dilator and antibiotics) until Saturday.
Unfortunately for Ella, she won't be watching any of tonight's fireworks. Instructions include staying indoors until Saturday. Extra shame since we've been getting some sunny days lately -the first since about Halloween. Hoping for the best.


Have a great New Year's celebration. Wish we were joining the dinner crew!

Update #1 of ...probably just 2.

In short, Ella's home.
If you didn't catch the earlier entry, Ella was (briefly) hospitalized with pneumonia. Two days, 1 night later, she's out due to great progress.

The same doctor who admitted Ella early yesterday morning, has allowed us to take Ella home as an outpatient. Pending a check tomorrow on her progress, Ella will be released.

Her health isn't great, but it's no longer scary. Now, it's healthier to finish recovery at home than around other, sicker children.

We're happy to have her back!

CAUTION: tear-jerking details ahead. Skip if weak-stomached or pregnant.

Ella is one brave, little girl; arguably braver than her parents.

To handle multiple shots, the staff wanted a shunt put in Ella's vein (to give her one poke instead of many). Several nurses tried looking for a good vein. When I say "try," I mean poking in/out, digging wherever they stuck and all the pain that follows. Not pretty to watch and was definitely no fun for the 2-year old being held down by 2 nurses and her Dad. They found no good vein, so no shunt. First antibiotics shot in the leg. The end result was many tears, big and little ones.

Drawing blood was the same "challenge" -I won't describe their solution. Again, I had to help hold Ella. May was told to stay out of the way (being pregnant, we were told). Just know there were many more tears.

Where's the bravery, you ask? Well, after everything that happened before, on three additional occasions, May or I took a minute to explain she needed another shot, either in the leg or bum, and it was going to hurt. And three times, Ella voluntarily walked with us across the hall to take it. Hardly a cry after the last one. What can I say, but I'm proud of her.

I'm also proud of May, since she's taught me to always explain things (even to a 2-year old). Ella depends on it now, whether or not she really understands the depth of what you're saying, Ella is reassured by hearing "why."

-jeff

Wish this was a more festive entry, but...

Jeff, Mom, and I took Ella to the hospital around 3:30 this morning. We had taken her to the doctor Thursday morning and she was diagnosed with bronchitis. But last night she seemed to be getting much worse. After checking the oxygen level in her blood and looking at an x-ray of her chest, she was admitted to the hospital early this morning with a lung infection in her right lung (lobar pneumonia, I think). We believe she'll be there for 3 or 4 days.

So, it's been a very long day. Ella is such a trooper. Amazing, really. The hospital staff have done their best to be accommodating but the language barrier is challenging...and children's wards at hospitals are just not jolly places. They certainly always remind you that "it could be worse."

Not really much else to say at this point. Pretty worn out physically and emotionally. I figured I'd be spending a lot of time in the hospital right about now, but I never figured this would be the reason! We'll be tracking down the doctor tomorrow to get the news on her blood work and get some other questions answered. For now, I need to get some sleep. Only one of us is able to stay overnight with Ella, and so I've come home after helping Jeff put her to bed. (Am I babbling?)

We will try to update the blog each day to keep you all informed. Mom and I will be heading over there first thing in the morning.

Hope this finds you healthy and happy,
Maylia

What a morning (and afternoon)

Just to keep all informed, Ella first woke us up at 4am. ...and back to bed we went.

At 7:30am, woken again and we walked into the living room. "Whoa!"
Our present-opening started.

We lit the tree, started some music and took a long look at what's ahead of us.

Ella first looked at her stocking(s). I think this picture captures some of the magic in her eyes, even without seeing them.Then she turned around and noticed her kitchen. I built it while she slept last night -my first for this famous parental duty, I think I was more excited for her than Ella was at first.
(pardon the dirty dishes in the sink, but this was after playing)
Playing with the kitchen seemed to last forever, but it was maybe just a hour. Adults took advantage to eat a quick breakfast (a pretend one and a real one).

We savored Ella opening her presents. She really got into it.
She would "read the tag," ..."slide my finger along the tape," ..."open the paper" ... and enjoy the present. :)
(If you haven't met or played with Ella recently, she can be very exacting, and painstakingly detail-oriented. Like during playtime, telling you which toy to hold in which hand, and how. There's a better slang word for it, but I'll save it. ...Laid-back, she is not.)

Ella opening presents was really nice, though; she was a total sweetheart to watch and enjoy it all with.

Right now, the li'l one is napping. Wasn't easy, but she's down for a nap. So, we've got Skype turned off for now, but we'll turn it back on as soon as she's up.
J&M - we heard your sweet message; you two were up late to leave that.
We hope to talk to all folks back home soon. Love you much!

Eric- posting pictures is much more enjoyable after you showed me how to resize several pictures at once. Thanks buddy.

Happy holidays to all!

Bought a tree from across the street - easy.
Too tall for the lift, climbing 5 floors - hard.


Just look how happy Jeff is to make it to our door.

Decorating started right away. Ella sought to decorate the top...right...


I have to include this shot, just to show May's belly.


Another beautiful belly shot...


Finished at last! (Ella made the dining table centerpiece!)


Yaya and May are particularly proud of their homemade angel.


We store presents high up, atop the kitchen cabinets. (Ella struggles with the ladder off-camera.) Of course, Santa's presents are not here yet.


Ella, in her prettiest outfit, just back from a birthday party.



Roberto (Manesova Street neighbor) gave Ella her first 'Barbie' type doll, actually named 'Ella'. Oh, it starts...


Here's Kristyna, Ella's nanny, Czech teacher, and a great playmate.


And here Ella grabs an early-morning snuggle with Yaya.


Some shots of Prague lit up for Christmas...it truly is gorgeous.


Hope this finds everyone healthy, happy, and surrounded by friends and family. Veselé Vánoce!

Eric's Prague & Dresden Pictures

This guy has a talent.

Eric has posted his photos online from his visit here and in Dresden. Great shots, Eric!

We know my mom is as a big a fan of Eric's shots as we are, so she'll be excited to see these, too.

http://www.emkphotos.com/2007/November/Prague/index.html

There aren't any captions, so I'll give a quick rundown of the 9 pages:
page 1: various Prague; on and around Charles bridge; within Castle & "golden lane"; St. Vitus
page 2: Dresden
page 3: Dresden and last 1/3: Karstejn castle and town (outside Prague)
page 4: Prague downtown and shopping; Jewish Cemetery; Museum of Communism
page 5: Museum of Communism; Old Town Square
page 6: near and on Charles bridge
page 7: near Charles bridge; John Lennon wall; St. Vitus
page 8: St. Vitus; various Prague
page 9: near National Museum; Slavia - Kladno hockey match (Slavia won)


-jeff

Just to keep you informed...

Our internet service is starting this Thursday. Finally we'll be doing the Skype thing again. For now, we're only doing e-mail (and writing this) while I'm (Jeff) at work.

I mentioned briefly earlier ... May's mom, Bev, is here! Bev arrived the morning of Wednesday, the 5th and she's been playing with Ella non-stop, morning, noon and night.
Not a total vacation for Bev, though. Bev's been helping build furniture, making the new flat livable before the baby comes. Over the weekend, we added two more dining room chairs, 3 shelf units and a desk.
So far, the living room, kitchen and Ella's room are nearly finished. Sunday, we also put all off-season clothes and the rarely-used stuff in the attic space (yeah, it's odd to have an attic in a flat, but somehow we got one).

May is doing much, much better. May's been fighting bronchitis now for the greater part of a month. We managed to see a specialist last Monday and thanks to that visit, Maylia said this morning, she slept the best that she's slept in over a month. Today, her first time waking up from coughing was at 5am (not typical 1 or 2am).

Ali visited yesterday and brought Dylan and some great cake. Ella and Dylan played together very well as always. What a cute boy he is...here's crossing the fingers we get as lucky.

Well, back to work - take care, -j

Getting Settled In

Happenings
Maylia and Ella are still sick. May got some rest over the weekend, plus I took yesterday off, but it's just not enough to really bounce back.
Ella is actually growing comfortable with having her nose sucked out several times a day (with a disgusting, er... fancy Czech gadget we'll have to import to the States someday...)
May's mom arrives tomorrow ( 5 December is Mikulas - see last year's post). This will be a huge relief on May.
Baby Parker - Maylia feels "it dropped," whatever that means. Deployment date in 3 more weeks.

The Closing
"Handover Protocol" happened (surprisingly) as planned last Friday evening. We signed papers, got the keys and so a 100 sq. meter flat became our new home. Last step for official ownership is entry & registration into the Kadastr (Czech Land Registry) -that'll take ~2 months. Our lawyers have that hurdle covered.
To say again, the Seller stalled our purchase multiple times since last June, mostly due to slow renovation in his new flat. As it turns out, his new place is still not ready. However, our beloved lawyer included a massive penalty in the last contract, which forced the Seller's hand. (Too freakin' bad)
Meanwhile, and most importantly, we live there, Seller does not and we are officially paying a mortgage instead of (losing) rent. Whew.

Ella's Reaction
Ella's first reaction to the flat was a new playground she could run amok in. She sprinted from room to room, mostly dodging boxes and movers. Then, as day turned to night and we started to talk about bathtime ... "I want to go home. I want to go home."
But this is your new home, hon.
That will put a smile on Maylia's parents' face because they moved Maylia at Ella's age, just before her 3rd Christmas and we know May had the very same cry.

Ella's also enjoying her new bed, instead of a crib. Now she can (and does) get out of bed anytime she feels like it. And now we get woken up anytime she feels like it. We're discovering another fun milestone in parenting.

Surroundings
Jeff K -- your precious bakery is much closer. Not quite "smelling distance," but those warm, chocolate-filled croissants are 2 minutes away by tram.
One big attractor for the flat is the block is between Prague's two biggest parks, Letna and Stromovka. Playgrounds are our friends.

For visitors, we're even closer to downtown tourist traps. Old Town Square is now a 15 minute walk away (less than half than from our old place). The elevation, though, makes the trip a "commitment." It's all downhill to get to the center, but coming back...well, it's best to take the #8 tram.

And getting to the Prague Castle is much faster. Cross the street to Letna Park and it's a short stroll through park and gardens to the castle entrance. (Same elevation as us, a good thing)

Well, enough of this tomfoolery, I'm at work. Hope to get Internet started soon. -j