Goings-On: Pox, Parade and Teeth

Since Ella got quite spooked at a Halloween party last year, we have spent the last few weeks getting Ella so ready and excited for this year's, not 1, but 2 Halloween parties. We've practiced saying "trick or treat," talked how everyone gets to wear funny costumes, and of course decided (a few times) what Ella's costume will be.

Then this morning's visit to Ella's pediatrician confirmed our fears: chicken pox.
Big, big bummer.

We counted around 30 spots on her back and belly before yesterday's bath, more than twice from the day before. Tonight, for each one she had yesterday, she's got at least 3 more, spread all over. Puts a lump in the throat just looking at her.
She's not a happy camper (massive understatement!!!), especially when trying to sleep.
Mattias will soon follow; we're rather looking forward to getting it out of the way.

For Halloween this Friday, we now plan to prop up a few dummy ghosts and goblins behind our bedroom/bathroom doors and closets. We'll all dress up and walk through, collecting treats from our one-night spooky flat mates. May sound pathetic at first (and it is), compared to our original plans, but hopefully we'll make a memorable Halloween out of it.

Teeth
A little bite of news. At 10 months, Mattias is finally getting some teeth -and wasting no time with it. He got his first one Saturday. His second one came yesterday. And a third popped out today. The fourth one is all but broken out. All this and Ella's pox explains some fitful nights sleeps lately, for all.

Parade
Czech Republic celebrated when Czechoslovakia was first founded (28 October 1918). Not the normal public holiday this year, being the 90th anniversary. In fact, Czech government decided on having a full military parade - the first since before the revolution, the first since 1985. The parade went down Evropska street, the wide, main street connecting Prague to the airport.
Soldiers of all sorts, tanks, rockets, police and fire brigades - it was quite a show. Grippen fighters flew overhead, but the cloud cover made them only heard, not seen.
Speaking of cloud cover, it was raining if not pouring the whole time. The stroller's fantastic cover kept the kids dry, until Ella spent 15 minutes on dad's shoulders to watch the procession.
But between the rain and Ella not being her best (and looking back, we now know why), we managed only the procession and decided against a "yester-year" expo of sorts in the downtown squares. More info at this link here.




Cadets (aren't they cute?) - in front of a big Tatra truck!

These banners were everywhere, showing how often Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic "evolved" over just 90 years.
1918 - Czechoslovakia started
1938 - Czechoslovakia lost 1/3 of itself as appeasement to Hitler
1948 - Czechoslovakia Socialist Republic, as satellite state to Soviet Union
1968 - Czechoslovakia getting too liberal, so Soviet Army invades
2008 - today, quite a different place.

1989 - the year of the velvet revolution is conspicuously missing. Maybe it didn't make the cut since the year doesn't end with an "8"?