Maya ready for kindergarten

Maya started going to a play group 2-3 hours a day last week.
Here she is about to leave the house this morning.

*****

And here she is at her "school"...

aleksandar

things are starting to get interesting....

For the past week, Aca has been trying so hard to push himself up to sit, hanging onto the side of the play pen, sometimes using his mouth to balance.
But TODAY, he mastered it.
And not only that, but he is pushing himself up to stand too. At this rate, he might just skip crawling and go right to walking...yikes!

MAYA IS 3 TODAY!

Maya is the luckiest girl in Belgrade--she had TWO birthdays this year! We already had a party last weekend while Yay Yay was in town. But this morning she got to open another round of presents...


...while Aca watched from his crib...

"Hahaaaa....

...presents!!!"

Her favorite was the electronic keyboard. Here she is already composing a masterpiece.

*****

And then we had Dragana's classic chocolate mousse cake this evening...

...which Maya helped serve.

YUUUUMMMMMMM!!!!! I wish I could post how it tastes because you are all missing out!!!

aca in the studio today

they own the streets

I watched the other night as this gang of strays harassed a dog being walked by his owner, following them, barking at them, til they got off their turf, i.e, 2 blocks away. Then they came back to hang out on their corner under our bedroom window.

today in the studio

birthday ballerina

Last Saturday, we had an early birthday party for Maya since YayYay wasn't going to be able to stay til the 26th. She knew it was a special day because she got to dress up as a ballerina and play with her gigantic Dora balloon.

today in the studio

yay yay

Yay Yay came back to Belgrade with us from NY for 10 days. As usual, time seemed to fly and amid the various thai dinners, her trip suddenly came to an end. Maya was sad to see her off at the airport yesterday.

Here are a few pix from cafe Pepe the other day:


Now after a month away, we are back to normal life here in Belgrade, but I will post some highlights from NY soon...

maya freestyling

HERE IS MAYA at her great grandmother's house the other day. Baba Vera will be 91 on Tuesday and is in amazing shape. She lives alone and takes care of herself, sometimes even taking the bus to come see us. She made us a huge lunch the other day, enough food for 10 people (there were 4 of us)--chicken soup, roasted peppers, chicken cutlets, salads, apple pie and cake. With all the energy she has, it's crazy to think she was born almost a century ago!

more of maya + macho

click HERE for youtube link...

maya and macho

We had an unexpected visitor last night, my old dog Macho, who I raised since he was an 8 wk old puppy. Even after 2.5 years of living elsewhere, he remembered me and my parents' house, and instantly felt at home, finding his usual spot to rest under the dining room table, and running outside in the yard the way he always did. It seemed like he and Maya were long lost friends reunited. She read him books, chased him around the house, played with his paws and hugged his head and thick furry body.

It was a sweet moment to see these two parts of my life connect.

Macho will be moving to London soon, but that's ok. Wherever he is, he will always have a special place in my heart.

maya + yasmeen

chunky angel