Shame on me.

I thought that title would be appropriate seeing as numerous people have ever-so-subtly commented on my amazing absence of current blog entries.

I have to admit to feeling slightly overwhelmed right now as I write this based on the fact that so much has happened since I last posted. It may just come rushing out in one huge run-on sentence, but I will try my best to avoid that.

As I left off in my last woeful blog entry, Sasha was away in Singapore for 2 whole weeks.

I'd like to say, on a positive note, that I did very well holding down the fort during that first week. I stayed strong, the house was tidy, the baby was happy, nothing seemed amiss.

The second week of Sasha's absence.... not so much. In fact, it's probably not such a secret that I barely scrapped over the finish line.

Milan was waking up 2-3 times a night during that second week. Maybe he could sense that something wasn't quite right? I remember one pathetic moment where I was sobbing on the phone to Milan's grandmother, completely exasperated over the fact that Milan had smacked the spoon out of my hand and the food went flying. I know!! A perfect reason for a meltdown, right? At that very moment, I was sure I couldn't possibly go on. Milan thought it was funny and smiled his way through that ordeal.

It was tough, but we made it through and daddy came home and swept us off out feet with kisses and adoration, and the world continued to turn. I have a deep, newfound respect and admiration for single parents. They are real life heros.

Today I can recall the memories of that last week and kinda smile about it. Kinda.



During the period Sasha was away, Milan started to crawl! At first, I watched him do it without realizing just what the heck he was doing. It seemed so surreal. Back the bus up! Hold the phone! Nobody move - this is a stick up! Is our son crawling?!? Yes, he is! lol. I laughed so hard and he looked so proud. I just couldn't believe it. He made it look so easy and natural too. Why should I be surprised though... he is a natural born, genetically superior athlete, right? Right.



Now there is absolutely no stopping him. He. Is. Into. Everything. He has become unbelievably quick on those hands and knees too. His agility is amazing to watch. In the last couple of days he's been standing up and then forgets to hold on, so he is just standing there, all by himself. It's easy to see his balance is getting better everyday.

Also while daddy was away, Milan mastered crawling up the stairs. He can go all the way up!



The child has not even been born for as long as he was inside my tummy and look at everything he has done/can do!! The miracle of life is simply amazing to me sometimes.

Since Daddy has been home, Milan has had many firsts:

1) Ate a pickle. (loved it!)
2) Ate a french fry. (also loved it!)
3) Went swimming at the Waterloo Rec. center. (LOVES IT!)
4) Had his first non-family babysitter. (Mommy and Daddy loved it!)
5) Tried watermelon.
6) Had some toast with butter and honey. (loves it!)
7) Had a go at a cob of corn.



I'm sure there have been a few more first occurrences, but these are a few of the ones that stick out in my mind.

I really love this kid. He is just way too cute. People, including grown men. absolutely eat him up everywhere we go. He is such a flirt and doesn't make strange to anyone. He is quick to smile (just like his daddy) and when he does, his whole face lights up. People love him!

Wow. Listen to me...proud mom or what!?

Anyhoo - I will end here for now and promise to not let such a long period of time pass before our next blog entry.

Letter to Sash - Day 1 of 14

Just to give you all a little run down of what the below nonsense is, Sasha is away in Asia for business for 2 whole weeks. This is the letter I sent him earlier this evening. Mostly being a smart-ass, but what the heck....

A comprehensive Summary of Today's Events.
by: Danielle Herakovic

Hello Husband. Please be advised that we miss you like crazy. Below you will find a condensed version of the today's events.

Early nap at 8am- 9:00/9:20am
Wondered how ever we will pass this day?
Realized I was kinda depressed and bummed out. Realization hits that I am alone without my soul mate, my lover, my better half, the father of our son, my baby-daddy. *sigh* Heavy heart ensues.

Pack Milan up, go to Fairview mall, mainly to loiter and carouse the halls, not really looking for anything. Took a very pleasant phone call from Mr. Brab, who was in need of my *ahem, note* assistance & advice. He consulted with me as to where to take a rock band for a photo shoot around the area and what photographic style to pursue. Mainly the last is falsified as Mr. Brab is a fantastically talented photographer, but I counselled him on this aspect none the less. (What, me give my unsolicited opinion? Pfst. Never.) Naturally, I blew him out of the water with ideas guaranteeing nothing but inevitable success. "Brad, rise like the Phoenix now. It's all up to you...." (This is what I said of course.)

Had some Thai Express, Mommy's favourite. Gave Milan some small pieces of rice to push around his tray and munch on.

Got home for 12 noon. Feed the boy.

Boy has nap around 1 ish, but due to teething wakes up shortly after. Seeks breast, receives breast. Falls back asleep nuzzled next to a sleeping mommy until 3:30pm.

Rise.

Pack him up and walk to Shoppers. Mommy is quite dirty, not having showered since Tuesday morning. Mommy purchases body wash, new nail polish and new cookies for the boy, which he devours on the way home. Now he is a filthy mess.

Play.

Neighbour takes pity on Mommy and invites us for grilled cheese supper as her husband is also away. Delightful.

Dine and dash at neighbours, come home at 6:45, bath the boy, put him to bed after 2 songs, hop in shower, and begin composing a thoughtful report detailing the day.

7:46pm- I miss my husband.

7:51pm - still miss him.
8:01pm - I love you Sasha

Boy Gettin' Busy

As mother nature intended, every day that passes Milan is growing up and getting much more mobile and much busier. More personality is shining through those teasing, devilish eyes and boy oh boy, do we laugh sometimes at this kids' crazy antics.He is what we call, "body surfing" everywhere across the carpets and floors. Body surfing is not yet crawling, but still getting around.

Here are a few photos taken this afternoon prior to his nap. I have also taken the privilege of including a caption of what I assume was going through his head at the time. Enjoy.

"Okay, so if I can get my leg going the right way, I can maneuver my body in this direction therefore enabling me to pull toys out of that basket... Let's go."

"And heave! Hold the line....stay with me!!!"
(caption exerted from famous Mel Gibson movie.)

" Ahhhh. Now I see... using the gluteous maximus muscles in my lower region along with the pectoral muscles and the two stems known as 'my arms' will help me get into an upright position. This will allow me to access the items located on the upper portion of this peice of fine cabinetry. Not a problem."

"Hmmm, note to self: next time arrange for a small stepping apparatus to be brought for easier access to higher areas seemingly out of reach. Blast. Not a worry....all in due time mummy. All in due time. Muahhh ha ha ha"

*pause, look over shoulder for dramatic emphasis* " Hey Mom, you watchin'?""Insert smile here, wait for swooning mother to finish capturing precious moment.....annnnndd continue being way too adorable."
"Must closely investigate contents of this basket, making sure each item is chewed on, drooled on and thrown a satisfying distance from said basket."

Have a great day everyone!

Children reinvent your world for you.
Susan Sarandon

Bath Time!!

Just wanted to post a couple videos of Milan, before and during his bath!

Enjoy!

So Darn Cute!

Seven months have gone by since Milan was born and it's already difficult to remember what we did before he arrived. How did we fill the days? Who and what, (other than each other) made us smile and laugh so much? What the heck did we do with all that free time? Were our lives not bleak and grey? Was is not a dreary existence? An exaggeration, perhaps, but the love, joy and happiness that fills our lives each day in comparable to nothing.
Today was a big day for the little stinker. After his early morning nap, mommy went into his room to get him as she could hear him talking and making noise in his crib. What did she find when she walked into his room? King Milan had pulled himself up in his crib and was kneeling in an upright position clinging for dear life to the railing. He was smiling ear-to-ear and looked quite proud of himself. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????? Mommy was talking to Grandma Flo at the time and we'll just say there was quite a few joyous screams followed by lots of exclamation points.

Here he is with Deda (grampa)Janko, who gets to see lil' mister on an (almost) daily basis. We shout "DEDA!!!" each time we see him and Milan always busts out the smiles for him.

We are equally blessed with a good eater. If we don't have a full spoon in his mouth in a timely fashion, he begins to whine and cry with displeasure. He may also get snarky by the fact that daddy occasionally misses his mouth and hits his (insert facial feature here) ........

Last Friday March 20th, it was Daddy's 34th birthday. Mommy planned a big celebration at the house for him and it was decided that Milan was now old enough to go and sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house overnight. What a hero! He didn't so much a shed one single tear! He ate, pooped, played and slept like the champion that he is. The next morning, Mommy was rushing to get over there to pick him up, anticipating a huge smile and shrieks of joy. Unfortunately all we got were some blank stares of uncertainty. Talk about heart breaker. :-( He was far too content in the arms of the Herakovic elders.
Grandma Flo mentioned awhile back that the day would come when Milan would love to play in the Tupperware cupboard. Well the day arrived today. (Hey - I said today was a big day, didn't I?) After we picked Daddy up from work, we zipped home and Mommy started supper. Instead of playing with toys, we tried something new. The above photo is pretty self explanatory. He really enjoyed himself! Alas, the new found Tupperware bliss was cut short when he got over excited and tipped backwards and lightly bonked his noggen. He's a trooper though and he pulled through just fine. Not a tear was shed!

On another note, we wish on a daily basis we could invent some sort of device to count the number of kisses this kid receives everyday. It would probably be close to a thousand or better.

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by--We send you off with many warm Spring Blessings!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

~Bern Williams

Pretzel Boy

Watch for his little wink toward the end of the video. So darn cute...

Proud Papa

I can't believe that my boy is six months old, sitting up on his own, has a half dozen teeth, sleeps through the night, babbles along with daddy and smiles endlessly. Does it get better? I wake up each morning, pick him up, hold him tight, then kiss him gently and whisper "I love you". Sappy perhaps, but when you see the way he looks at you and the joy he brings, there's no better feeling. To top it off, I watch from a distance, as my Dad and my son play. I never had the opportunity to know my grandparents the way I'd like, so it's even more important to me that Milan know his.

We've booked our flight to Serbia this summer so Milan can meet his Great Grandma, "Baba" Zivka. I'm excited to snap a million and one photos while we're there. Milan will get to see some of his heritage first hand, and not knowing how long it'll be before we go back again, I want to make sure I capture every moment we're there. Both of my parents will be there with us. The first time I'll be in Beograd with both my parents since 1977 when I was 2! I'm really looking forward to being there together, as one big family.


On the homefront, we've...well, Danielle has made a few recent purchases for Milan. His toy collection has tripled and he's loving it. I mean look at the joy on their faces! It makes me smile every time I look at it.
The last photo I'm going to post is pretty hilarious to those that see Milan often. It's his, "I'm dropping a deuce, don't disturb me face". When he poops, he has this funny smile on his face for a few seconds....I just managed to snap the photo at the right moment :)

I love you Milan.