It's naptime!

Yesterday was a big long day full of excitement for Milan! First we went to Chapters and had a playdate with some friends of ours, then we picked up Deda Janko and drove to the Toronto airport. Grampa Blaine was on a stop over from Montreal heading back to Cowtown, so we drove up so the boys could finally meet one another! They seemed to like each other well enough - so all-in-all it was a success! Grampa Blaine gave Milan a very nice antique truck to play with when he gets older.

It was a nice visit for everyone, and a learning experience for Mommy! Bring more food next time mommy! Yes, we are still breastfeeding however Milan is loving his cereal too. These days, when there is any type of activity or excitement around, it's virtually impossible to get Milan to have a good feed off the boob. :-( And yes, I did bring some cereal for the lil guy, but obviously not enough. Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of being a new, first time mom. I will give myself some credit however-- I did remember to bring an extra outfit in case of an accident, which we have had in the past minus the extra outfit....


Anyhow, the drive home was long and torturous for the little guy, who was tired, hungry and frustrated about being restrained in his car seat. Being so tired he could barely muster a decent wail - only making Deda Janko and Mommy feel even worse. We couldn't get home fast enough!

In other news, Mommy was creeping around Milan's room while he was taking his afternoon siesta today. (He's still asleep by the way!)


Baby Girl at her post... She's on lookout duty!
I snuck some photos of what our little Prince looks like when he is off in la-la land. Hope you enjoy!




It's hard to keep our hands off of him when he is fast asleep like this. There is NOTHING as beautiful as a sleeping baby.

A man and a boy

From time to time I get the chance to sit back and watch Sasha, the man I fell in love with, interact with his son. I knew when I met Sasha that he was a man that was far and few between. Meaning, I hadn't met anyone quite like him, and I knew that there weren't very many like him out there. I knew that he was a good man, respectful, loving, responsible, intelligent, and most of all - he was complete.

But watching him with his son is remarkable in the sense that he becomes a child again. This is something that so many of us as adults have long forgotten how to do. Our imaginations have dulled from the once vivid, bright, exciting fantasy that we made them when we were innocent from the responsibilities of the 'real' world. Sasha and Milan will giggle together, a sound that is more beautiful to my ears than even the sweetest soung. Daddy will sing countless versions of every song he knows while holding his son in his arms, kissing the top of his soft, fuzzy head. When Sasha puts Milan to sleep at night, something that seems to be a feat in itself at times, he'll come down the stairs with a victorious smile, his chest puffed out a bit. It's so cute.

The proud father has said on more that one occasion how excited he is for Milan to start playing with G.I. Joe's and other action figures, usually at the same time that he is making rocket-ship sounds zooming Milan around the room. Already, it's becoming increasingly obvious that Milan is enjoying a little bit of roughhousing, of course the most careful sorts at this young age.
Being Milan's mommy, I am privy to many moments when it's just the two of us. We share play time, quiet time, happy time, sad time, nap time, snack time - you name it and we do it together. Sometimes we share secrets together too. I make sure to tell Milan how lucky he is to have such a daddy. I tell him that one day he will be a bit older and he'll be able to notice that some of the other kids he plays with don't talk or boast about their daddies, or that perhaps they don't even have daddies. He doesn't know it now, but daddies like the one he has are priceless, just like Milan himself. It may be a long time before Milan can appreciate his daddy, but one day he will be able to look back at all the memories that are sure to be made and he'll know. Milan might even become a father one day himself and one thing I am sure of, he will easily be able to model himself after the man and father that Sasha is.

It's easy to want to give Milan brothers and sisters with a daddy like Sasha - there is just so many happy moments filled with love and joy to enjoy, memories and traditions to be made; moments that should be shared with a large family.

I leave you with a quotation that I find perfectly appropriate for a blog entry dedicated to fathers and their sons.

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.

~Johann Schiller

Lean mean blue jean machine

Well, the "mean" part is completely untrue...

Yesterday afternoon, we had some time to get creative together while daddy was at work, so Milan threw on a little outfit he was dying to wear, and we did a little photoshoot.

Every one's favorite little man is 5 months old now, and is eating rice cereal twice daily. He really loves the evening cereal, which has bananas in it! Nummers!!

He continues to charm us every day, flashing smiles each time you look at him. The teething saga continues, however there are no teeth directly on the horizon yet...

Today he nodded his approval for Barack Obama several times during the inauguration ceremony, he showed his support and cheered loudly during the parade! The jolly jumper came to a complete stand still when he saw the president's 2 pretty daughters! It seems like King Milan has quite the eye for the ladies already! He is such a daddy's boy! ;-D

All in all, things continue to be well here at the Herakovic household. We fair well despite the cold temperatures that we are unused to during the winters. Sending much love- until the next blog, stay warm!

xoxox

Daddy's Heading Back to Work

Back to work tomorrow and thought I'd post another blog before things get hectic again. Here are a few photos that I took over the last few days.

Alert, focused, concentrated, aware; are only some of the words we can use to describe Milan when someone's speaking with him or when he's playing with a toy.

Please note the position of his thumb (on the orange toy); he's preparing himself for his first BlackBerry :)

I'll be posting an "after" picture soon, but it's been about a week since this photo was taken and we're nearly done framing the basement; Milan's future play area.

Mommy and Milan we're playing airplane. What a happy boy! We're working hard, but there's no bigger reward than seeing your child laughing and smiling.

Cute shot of Milan and his big cousin Nicolas.

As I was writing this post, I took a quick break to take Milan to his crib since he fell asleep while feeding. Picking him up, having him melt into my chest and into the nook of my neck made me realize how much he trusts me....truly an amazing feeling.

Blessings

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd post my latest scrapbook page that I scrapped today. The photo is quite old; back from Milan's first couple days! It's hard to see in the photo, but there is journalling all around the border that reads, "When I count my blessings, I count you twice". We'll be posting more photos of everyone's favorite lil' guy soon!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2009. Hopefully this video puts a smile on your face :-)

Bonding with my Son

I really can't believe the last time I blogged was in September. Things have been ridiculously hectic these last few months, but I have now found time during the holidays to both bond with my family and post a new blog.

I raised a concern with Danielle this morning; it went something like, "Danielle, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I feel as though I'm not in many photos with Milan." To be quite frank, I'm convinced that out of the thousand photos we have of our son, I'm maybe in a dozen of them. Her response you ask? She immediately went upstairs, grabbed the camera gear and took a few shots. The above photo was the result of my observation :)

I catch myself staring at Milan, mesmerized by the hope; by the innocence; and well, by how darn cute he is. He's growing quickly and becoming more active and aware of his surroundings. He loves bouncing, smiling, reaching out to grab objects (he's got impressive hand-eye coordination for such a young lad), endless chatter and chewing on Daddy's fingers with his two new teeth.

We have also started feeding Milan rice cereal (pablum). As you can see from the shot above, he's still learning to keep it all in his mouth. This has become a nightly routine, but I have not had the opportunity to feed him myself. I've got a lot of confidence I'll be able to handle it though. If I was able to find my groove with the baths, diaper changes, clothing and children's songs; I'll be able to develop my new skillsets to keep up with my boy :)

It's fantastic that I've been able to spend a good chunk of time out of the office during the holidays. I get the chance to see my son everyday; sit on the floor and play with him during tummy time; read "My First Christmas" to him over and over and over again; put him down for naps; watch NCAA basketball with him and coach him on the intricacies of a 2-1-2 full-court press; and watch him bounce for endless hours in his jolly jumper.

I know every parent feels this way, but I gotta say it. What a phenomenal child we have...the love and bond continues to strengthen and is something we'll cherish forever.

That's it for now, but since I likely won't be back on prior to the new year, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy, safe and prosperous 2009.