THEME DAY--Tranquility

A sleeping baby, nothing more tranquil than that, even in the 'arms' of a giant teddy.  If you ever wondered who buys these giant plush toys, now you know.

In Seattle through mid-July, helping daughter with baby Luka, above.

 Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Leftover Teddy

 

It's not really the teddy that's leftover, but he's made from leftover yarn. I bought him at a stand in Kalemegdan Park when purchasing some wool sock/slippers for my daughter, son-in-law, and in-laws.  Traveling soon to the US to be with daughter, who's expecting....a boy.  Mila will have a cousin.

ABC WEDNESDAY - "P" is for "packaging"

This is a bar of children's or baby soap. I bought these as small presents for people years ago when I first visited what was then Yugoslavia, thinking I'd never return.  The packaging hasn't changed one bit.

See other P's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

SUNDAY BRIDGES-Bridging the Gap: "And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round...."

Little Mila again, fervently pulling my son's (her father) chest hair. I spared you his pained expression.

Today is my son's birthday, and I thought of no more appropriate song than this one below by Joni Mitchell. Makes me teary, though.... How about you? It bridges the gap between the visual media and music.

See other bridges of all kinds at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Happy Valentine's Day from a Book Lover

Time for an updated granddaughter Mila (MEE-la) photo. Here she is at 6 1/2 months. Mila is a great book lover. She squeals and does this funny little excited shake when she gets one. I could even say she gets so excited that her hair stands on end, but it's always like that, since she sleeps first on one side, then the other.

Happy Valentine's Day to all those whom you love!

Groundhog's Day.....

..and my birthday to boot! Here's a collage of little me, long ago. I wore short dresses and loved dogs, even stuffed ones.

Here's my birthday greeting for you today...how significant. Once-upon-a-time it seemed so long ago....

ABC Wednesday--"Y" is for "Yawn..."

For most of you the holidays are over, but for those of us here in Serbia, Serbian Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th, followed by Serbian New Year on the 14th....a long season, especially for over-photographed babies like my little granddaughter, Mila....just too much, sometimes! Tiring.....YAWN...

Check out other Y's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Sunday Bridges--just for kids

There's always a bridge to be found if one looks hard enough. Here is a piece of playground equipment that I'd overlooked before...a bridge, but I guess not really just for kids. I went up to see if I could get a shot of something.

See other bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Dreaming...

...of fame and fortune, or simply dreaming? This young boy was playing along with two of his friends on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova.

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Baby Mila's eye...

There IS a small reflection here in her left eye. My son's daughter, Mila, is now nearly four months old, but this photo is from a bit earlier. And if you're not happy with that reflection, you can check out the one in the photo below: my daughter in Seattle is expecting for next May! New cousin for Mila! What will it be? If you've had children, were you able to know if they were going to be a boy or girl? If you haven't, would you like to know?

See other reflections on WEEKEND REFLECTION.

SKYWATCH--Institute for Neonatology exhibit

Belgrade's Institute for Neonatology currently has a photo exhibit in Tasmajdan Park, dedicated to all the prematurely-born babies who, thanks to the Institute's care, made the transition from fragile newborns to healthy children. On each board, as you can see, are one or two photographs, with information about the child and his or her (or their, in the case of these twins) family. Sunny skies in store for them and pretty soon they'll be strolling through parks like the children you see on the sidewalk.

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

So many hands on me!

Are you confused? My recent photos have been of Seattle, and of course you can see that this one is of Baby Mila at bathtime, here in Belgrade. In cyberspace, I'm still in Seattle, simply because I don't have time to flit around the city now taking photos. The hand in the foreground belongs to my 87-year-old mother, whom I've brought back here with me. Health care is very expensive in the US, and here for a quarter of the price, she has the same care, and is only a phone call away.

In any case, I posted this photo because today is my daughter's birthday, and some say Baby Mila looks a bit like her! The other hands belong to my son and daughter-in-law, and mine, as usual, were holding my camera.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER TODAY!! (Be patient for Belgrade photos...I've uploaded Seattle thru Halloween....)

NEWS FLASH: a baby on the ground!

Maybe this baby on the ground wouldn't make you look twice, but here it would...and did. As a rule, Serbs do not put crawling infants or even very young children on the ground no matter how clean it may be...even usually in their homes. So, I was somewhat shocked to see this little guy, all dressed in white, too, make his way along the ground in Tasmajdan Park. His grandmother (yes, grandmother, whom I thought would not do this) watched him as he crawled.

Do mothers or grandmothers where you live allow babies like this to crawl along the ground?

ABC WEDNESDAY--"K" is for "Kin"

I showed you Baka Jelka's hands before. Here they are again, holding her great-granddaughter Mila. Baka Jelka (Yel-ka) is my daughter-in-law's grandmother, and she is so, so proud....

See other K's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Ageless attraction

Kids and puppets...ageless....and their parents and grandparents were watching this little Serbian trumpet player and his audience...

Note to readers: I get many comments asking for replies, but if you do not write me through my email link (see About Me/View My Complete Profile on this page), I can't give you a personal response, but rather just answer you on the post where you left the comment!

Daddy's little helper

"Welcome to the Ice Age," reads the sign on this Costa Coffee window. And it's a clean window, too, thanks to this little girl and her father.

ABC WEDNESDAY--"E" is for "eternal"

Some people believe that nothing is eternal, that nothing lasts forever. It's true that material things, no matter how indestructible they seem, one day will fall apart, erode away, disintegrate; in short, disappear. Sooner or later people disappear too, no matter how much we want them to be with us forever. Today marks the day my husband suffered a stroke that led to his leaving us much too soon. I'd like to think that it was only his physical self that is gone, and that he is somehow still around. Part of him lives on in his baby granddaughter, Mila, who by coincidence, turns one month old today. Above are my son and daughter-in-law's wedding rings, dangling from Mila's toes. May they, and my daughter and her husband, all live long and happy lives.

See other E's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Another addition...

While waiting with my son for my daughter-in-law to appear with Baby Mila to go home, I caught these Gypsy or Roma kids with their grandmother. They seem to be waiting for their mother to bring them their newest family member. Pensive group... What are they all thinking?

Skywatch--the moon and the stars

Not real, of course, but this is a sky my little granddaughter, Mila, (see last week's photos) will see when she actually can focus on things! These stars and moon come from TWILIGHT TURTLE, a wonderful toy/nightlight I'd bought for several people and now for her. Those of you who know me won't be surprised to know I also bought myself one....

And of course I think of the romantic song by Robert Flack, the first stanza of which takes on a different meaning for me now:

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies....

Little Mila makes us feel like this.

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Rip 'em up!

If you are a new father celebrating your baby's birth in Serbia, please don't wear your best designer shirt to the party.... This is what it will look like, since it's customary for male guests to shred a new Dad's shirt. My son wisely wore an old t-shirt and brought along two other old shirts....to be ripped by friends who arrived a bit later.

See photos from Monday of this week about little Mila....

Don't you just love the guy's expression in the background?