Happy Labour Day Czech Republic & Happy Birthday Grampy

Thursday, 1 May is a holiday here and back in Indiana. Jeff has the day off of work (pretty sure it's for Labour Day but HR neither confirmed nor denied).

"Ducks" by Ella

Hello there. I know how to make the pictures. I can choose pictures for you to see.
This is the Daddy duck. He liked bread a lot.


This is me feeding many ducks with bread Mommy gave me.
Aren't they so cute?



I had so much fun, the next day I brought my friend, Sasha here to see them.
Ducks followed us into the flowers. The ducks are our friends.

Here is a Mommy duck with all her babies. The baby ducks are drinking water from the puddle.

Bailey, Our Weekend and Skyping
Pictures posted

Welcome to the world Bailey!
Late Saturday morning, Bailey greeted his mum, Ali and dad, Paul.
As the plan went, Ali and Paul swung by our place and dropped off Dylan. A few hours later, Ali delivered, giving Dylan a baby brother.
We got to visit at the hospital on Sunday - turns out Bailey is not only at the same hospital (Krc) where Mattias was born, but Ali is staying in the same room Maylia did (#10).
Maylia and Ali chatted inside with Bailey. Paul, Jeff, Dylan and Ella walked around the hospital with the new baby mountain goats (did we mention wild herds of mountain goats roam Krc Hospital?)

Comparison between a 1-day old Bailey and a 4-month old Mattias:



Weekend
Our Saturday was mostly with Dylan. Maylia and Jeff took turns between tending to Mattias and entertaining Dylan & Ella.
Jeff walked them to Letna Park's playground, blowing bubbles, chasing, fending off anybody's frustration or hunger.

Two kids, one foot on the ground:


At one point, Jeff SMS'd Maylia: "1+1 = more than 2". Returning home, we made cookies for Ali. Most cookies lasted until the hospital visit the next day.
Maylia's idea of entertainment was more daring: painting. The 2 tykes whipped out about 20 paintings in a half hour. They also colored themselves up to their elbows and some floor, their table... it was amazing.

Artists at work:

Painting ended, but bathtime was fun. Ella and Dylan mostly returned to one color.
Just for the record, Dylan's favorite color was blue. Ella's red. Half the paintings are purple.
If you'd like one, the masterpieces are $1000 if mailed, free if collected in person.

Lack of Skype
May and Jeff have been 'anti-skype' lately. If you've noticed, we apologize.
For a couple weeks, we've made & returned zero calls and we're not entirely sure why.
-Could be our evenings are a blur (6pm-9pm feels like 30 minutes)
-Could be that time FLIES whenever on the phone (causing more blur)
-Could be our soft "boycott" of the computer (ask us about TV 8 years ago)
-Could be the nicer weather. (And it's 21C/70F today)
So, whatever the reason, we've been unreachable... for now, there's the blog.



Lastly, we're looking forward to our next visitors, Jeff & Michelle - see you in 2 weeks!

Are they here yet?

Terezin Thief Caught

Remember we wrote about the loser (actually, then I called him an 'asshat') who stole from the Terezin Cemetery?

He got caught: http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/323/czech_national_news/21900/

I'm curious if the cemetery will use the recovered bronze name plates or if they'll continue with the plan of making resin plaques. I hoping for the former.

Anyway, justice served.

Our Weekend: Sushi & Aussies (& Kiwis)

Wasn't a typical weekend. Typical weekend means some housecleaning, some grocery shopping, kick the ball around in the park, maybe hang up a light or something like that. This weekend, Maylia and I had a date - our first evening out alone since Mattias was born.

Saturday
For our date, we had a new babysitter come over, Anette. Our first time leaving 1 sitter with 2 kids, so we were a bit scared.
Anette handled Ella great (& vice versa). Mattias, however, was tougher. Apparently he refused to take a bottle, so he was real cranky until he passed out.
For our date, we decided it had been long enough since we last had sushi (last in Manchester, NH). Under the Diplomat hotel is Katsura, one of very few (3?) Japanese-managed places in Prague to have sushi. We walked in and noted we were the only non-Asians there, so we figured we chose wisely. The food was spectacular -and so was the bill. We may return just for the miso soup.

Sunday
We all went to a CANZA party. CANZA is a local expat group: "Czech, Australian, New Zealand Association." They always have good parties. This one was a bar-b-que at the Slavia Rowing Club.
Sure CANZA is for Aussies and Kiwis, but every expat knows at least a few, so....
In our case, our closest connection is Paul (Dylan's dad), from New Zealand and Jeff knows a few Australians from work. By the way, Paul and Ali are expecting their 2nd child real soon.

Ella had a good time, getting her face painted, sitting with Ali.

I'll also include one of my new favorite pictures: Maylia nursing both Mattias and her 1st beer. (Note: she continues to plug both Nobis and the NHIS!)

Highlight of the week: Maylia found asparagus today! (2nd time in 2 years)

Talk to you later,
-jeff