Ben Sava Besa Brisan

Summer is here!!!!!

2011-07-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

Yay for summer! Finally it's here and it has happened before 4th of July.

This spring was the worst i remember. Our temporary solution has been to get out of here before i need to be put on antidepressants from lack of sun. Puorte Vallarta Mexico in April was by far the best family vacation so far. All of us came back with a nice tan. My other escape from the rain was the Itlay trip with my sister to see our sister in Itay. Just being away from everything was priceless.

So here we are. It's July 2nd and we're sticking around. When the weather is in the 70's like today, our little Seahurst Beach feels like a gateway. We are taking full advantage of the beach being so close to it. The kids of-course can't get enough of it. Besa can be in the water until she turns blue and still won't come out. With her cousins Leo and Soley visiting today our little princess turned into a fighting worrier with firing arms. Brisan is being a very typical 2 year old boy. A phase that i wish i could fast forward since it turns out i am not build to accept a lot of screaming, hair pulling and bitting. On the bright side, this kid knows what he wants and will use all methods possible to get it. I can appreciate that ....... up to a certain point : )

Looking forward to a great rest of Summer. If it keeps going at this rate, it will be filled of BBQ's, camping and having lots of family and friends gatherings. Cheers!!

Home with the kids for President's Day!

2011-02-21T22:06:00.000-08:00

I just realized how late i post to this blog. After reviewing all the typos from my last post i really need to sit down one day and fix them all. Anyways, i wanted to write about my day with the kids today which we had it all to ourselves thanks to President's day holiday. I realize how little you get to do around the house. Days like this i feel like it belongs to them fully though. So, yes my kitchen floor, you have to wait.

Brisan, the mama's boy demands all of my attention and i am happy to oblige. We talked a lot, played, sang his favorite "ring around the rosie" song about 100 times and shared toys wit Besa like a pro. Besa is getting to play so much better with her brother. Instead of seeing him as an invader of her space, now she will play and come up with games that he can be a part of. They giggled and chased each-other around the house all morning. After Brisan's long morning nap, we went to visit the cousins. Teze Alba had made pitta bread, our favorite and while Brisan emerged into the toys, Besa and Marisa got a little Albanian lesson. They are short of about 4 alphabet letters before they know the Albanian alphabet.

They both have a hard time with the double letters making one sound. That's the reason why our alphabet has 36 letters. The extras: DH, TH, SH, XH, ZH, GJ, NJ,LL. After a good visit, we left Brisan with Tezja and Rei and all us girls went to YMCA to spend a good 2 hours in the adventure zone to come back tomorrow for the family event with kids " the weird science". Can't wait!

November thru February 2011

2011-02-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Ok! Last blog was in October. Let's start off with November. We took off for our Italy/Albania trip middle of the month. Got delayed at the airport by 2 hours due to a massive snow storm. Our delay of-course made us miss the connecting flights and as much as we thought that was so terrible, the alternative would have been to not have left at all since the airport in Seattle got shut down for 2 days immediately after our take of. The way Brisan handled the flight is something i will never forget. I literally thought i was going to loose my mind. He did not sleep whatsoever fighting it badly. We tried every comforting position, holding, swinging, singing, begging, pleasing and nothing helped. A good 17 hours later we made it to Italy.

After dealing with the main luggage delivered to France in error, we where welcomed from my brother Anest. It was so nice to see him after so long and after such a long trip. After another 2 hour drive we made it home to my sister's. Marta had been so anxious in anticipation. So much has gone by since the last time we had been together. Meeting my adorable nephew for the first time was so special. This distance we have makes me so sad. It's not right that it took 3 years to meet him in person. It was amazing to discover the similarities with Besa. Both, very loving but a bit jealous types. Brisan impressed everyone as always. The time change made him sleep all day and up all night. In case we forgot what it was like to have a newborn, it was a great reminder of those time i don't miss. Our time with my sister and her beautiful family went by way to fast. Between eating amazing food, a lot of sight seeing despite the snow and bad weather, and going to a lot of Parma's Castles, our time was up. We can't wait to visit again soon.

My new life's resolution. Make every effort to go and see family as often as needed. The flight to Albania was quick although we made the flight by the skin of our teeth. The flight was about to take off as we had scrambled to get passed security, which took forever, running from one end of the airport to the other while dragging along 2 kids, one not in the mood to hurry whatsoever. We made it one breath to the counter only to be told we can't go through as the plane is about to take off. I started crying and pleading with them and someone along the many phone calls made must have felt bad. They waited for us. What a relief. Missing it would have meant we would not get to leave until the next day. We finally made it to motherland. It had been 5 and 1/2 years since our last visit. I had missed it so much. The country has changed drastically. The best way to describe that change is this. Picture it like this. About 15 years ago, there was only one local phone line that served 3 towns. Now, if you don't have a facebook account, you are sort of a looser. Laptops and computers in every household. Some of the same issues however, still remain very still fresh. Lack of electricity in smaller towns and villages,bad roads, high unemployment and extremely high prices for everything is a painful reminder how much there still needs to change.

My parents seemed at home and i found that very comforting. Despite their broken hearts, they seemed at home which made me realize that the states is absolutely not the place for them long term. With my brother's memorial coming up, the house was constantly filled with visitors. Being in the house with what had happened was extremely hard for me. I really did not want to see anyone except spend time with my parents and our family. That was not bound to happen. I had this phantasy in my had that my brother's passing was just something that happened to other people and that i'd get to meet him once we got there. It simply SUCKS! I wanted to kiss, and hold him and say so many things but i never got the chance and i have only myself to blame. He never got to meet Besa or Brisan, Joni or any of his nieces. What a shame. I would give the world for one more chance. To this day, i refuse to think of Krenar as passed away. He is in my heart and thoughts everyday and will always be and shape how what i value in life the most. That very decision is what made the rest of our time in Albania better. We got to see where he rests and i know that he rests in peace.

In an effort to avoid the non stop visitors to the house, which is culturally expected and accepted, not by me really, we took a lot of day trips. Made it all the way to Saranda one day despite the windy road being tough on the kids. We ate out almost every meal as i got obsessed with the food. It was simple, local, traditional and delicious that all of us could not get enough. It became our daily adventure. Where we would eat next. The weather held up beautifully. It was middle of winter and never wore a coat until the last 2 days which we spent in Tirana. Orikum had changed so much so that it had become unrecognizable. Because of it's location so close to the water yet, minutes to the very popular national park Llogara, everyone seemed to want a piece. The place was over flooded with condos and town homes where most of the investors where outsiders. We where told that during the summer, it's gets so busy that people rent our rooms from their own residence to keep up with the demand.

My heart thought kept taking us to our village where i grew up. With the road fixed up nicely, we went there for lunch everyday to eat the restaurant run by a neighbor we grew up with. Fresh goat meat everyday. We ordered double the order each time. I can go back for a meal there again tonight. Our total time in Albania was about 2 weeks. Next time we go back, Brisan has to be at least 3 and 1/2 years old. Besa was a breeze flying on the way back. Brisan made me look like a horrible mother. I kept asking for more wine to numb down how much i wanted to scream. During the 12 hours of non stop flying he slept zero hours, fussing the entire time. The frustration of that flight is still so fresh in my mind ever 3 months later. Coming home was a relief. Back to a normal life, busy crazy but predictable life is not a bad thing. It took a month actually to catch up with kids's school, schedules, bills and all kinds of other non sense.

It is February now and we feel ready for another vacation. Even though winter for some reason feels kind of short this year and not as depressing as usual, we still crave sun this time of year hence a little one week vacation to Mexico in April. We are going with our friends that have children same age as ours which will be perfect as we will take turns in child care so Ben and I can spend some time alone and just soak up some sun uninterrupted by our lovely kids.

Brisan and His Mami all on their own for the weekend.

2010-10-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

What a treat! As much as we miss Besa and Ben, we are having a great time on our own. I have been wanting to spend time one on one with Brisan for a long time and it finally happened at 13 months old. Ben and Besa are in Omak for a little weekend visit with the grandparents while Brisan is starting to love the extra attention that is hard to give while with both kids. I made it my mission to do nothing else but be with him. We started off with sleeping in bed together, sleeping in actually until almost 10 am.

After an hour of playing in Besa's room and making a hot mess in there we decided to eat a nice breakfast to quickly follow by a nap. He must realized i was all for him because he fell a sleep for his nap in my arms and that never happens. I was happy to let him sleep there until my arms went numb and was forced to transfer him in his own bed. Three hours later, which is by far the longest nap taken since a little baby we went on a walk with a friend and he fell asleep again for another 2 hours in the baby carrier while been walked around.

The house is so quiet though and we do miss the rest of the family. We have facetimed each-other on our fancy iPhones but i want then noise, and giggles and laughters back.

Tuesday, October 19th

2010-10-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty smooth couple of days. Tomorrow is Wednesday and a day off from work for me. It will be the first Wednesday in probably 5 years that i truly don't have anything marked on the calendar to do. Yay! I still have a hard time letting free time be free and that would explain why there's been a lot of bread baking, cake making, chocolate chip cookies for at home and the office, inviting new neighbors for dinner, reconnecting with old friends and eating some more.

The eating is all guilt free as we do make it to the gym about 5 days a week now. Besa loves the activities provided there for her age while i get to burn the extra calories i've injected my body. It's not Ben's favorite place to go as public workout places just turn him off but when he decides to join us we get to hit the pool as well. Besa has improved her swimming so much more in just the last couple of weeks.

She swims comfortably on her own with the little life jacket on. Brisan does not like the water as much and will turn blue in less than half an hour in it. He'd rather be held which i'm happy to do at anytime. On a very unrelated note, i just realized Obama visited Seattle today encouraging voters to draw contrast. I am looking forward for November 2nd so that negative non stop TV attack adds can be over with. To you Republican friends and all: Hell to the NO. Your R truly stands for Reverse.

Just another perfect day

2010-09-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

Surprisingly, at 11:00 at night after an evening of non stop work since the time i got home from work, i have energy to sit down and reminisce about the day. The day started pretty smoothly. Get up early, get kids ready for preschool/daycare, drop them off, start a good work day at work and so on. Brisan had a great day at daycare, always flirting with the ladies making him a favorite among all of his teachers. It's so comforting to see him reach for them when we go in the morning. Still he cries when i leave but i hear he recovers quick. The evening hours get a little tough. When we get home, both kids are tired, cranky and hungry.

Brisan can barely keep his eyes open while i scramble to cook his meal, feed and get him ready for bed. Besa on the other hand is on a different agenda. While eating is not on her list, she likes to be in the kitchen and play with her brother as i'm feeding him. I try hard to nicely explain how it makes my job very hard with her in our face, but i may as well be explaining it to the wall. Tonight especially she decided that since she is not eating, Brisan would be her toy and stuff toys on his high chair and tease him.

Let's just say that the action i took, which involves the threat of "the garage" made her understand the meaning of bad choices have bad consequences. I'm not exactly proud of my garage method but i feel it's better than some other methods. I was saddened a little when she asked Ben instead of me to read her in bed for the night. Obviously the parenting choices have consequences for me too : ) Ben really enjoys reading to her and i think she may notice a slight accent from me so it could be a technical preference anyways. Although, Ben just told me that he read to her in Albanian, so go figure. All and all, well taken care of kids, well fed, lots of play time, well fed adults, exhausted mami and babi, makes for a perfect perfect day for me.

Brisan's One Year Check up!

2010-09-23T16:53:00.001-07:00

Just for fun, I am going to compare the stats of Brisan and Besa at one year old. We all know Brisan is an eater so no surprise there. Besa was only 17 pound at one year VS little brother at 23 pounds. Weight falls at 50th percentile whereas height at 60th percentile. Not as high as I expected. Besa’s was taller in proportion with her body weight.

What has given me a scare is the size of the head which now has jumped off the chart and is concerning his Doctor. I am researching myself to death finding out about possibilities ranging from nothing, just a big headed baby to massive brain issues. Not taking any chances even though Brisan is flourishing with every aspect of growing up. We’re going in as soon as our crappy insurance authorizes the referral to Swedish. Results to be posted soon.

Brsian's 1st Birthday

2010-09-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today, September 20th marks a very special day. One year ago, Brisan arrived in our lives. Besa became a big sister, I fell in love with boys, Ben become a “man” by Albanian standards. Half of the grandparents felt complete and will no longer keep pestering us to have more children since we accomplished our duties by giving birth to a boy. The other half of the grandparents, AKA the cool ones, are just happy to have another healthy and good-looking grandchild.

On Sunday, we celebrated the big day with a Birthday Party filled family and friends. Our good friend Florika was gracious enough to let us reserve her condominium’s cabana which allowed lots of extra room for the kids. They did their thing and the adults enjoyed some good food and each-other’s company.

Brisan took all the attention in. His cousin Elaizia even proposed to him. “ Brisan! I would love to be married to you, will you marry me?” I somehow think this will be Brisan’s life pattern.
So girls, line up!

The weather could have been nicer but after many years in the NW, my expatiations for nice weather have dropped to the lowest levels. Any ray of sunlight is perceived as a gift now. The biggest gifts however, are not measured in anyway or form and they are our kids, Besa and Brisan. Happy BD our Baby! To a happy and fulfilling life.

2 Years later.....We are back. Here to more postings

2010-09-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

I feel obligated to return to my blog even if it is almost 2 years later. Brisan is turning 1 year old in just a few days and i feel guilty for not posting anything about his amazing 1st year. What's left of my free time during the day from here on will be spent blogging about the day. How else am i to remember how crazy life feels unless i go back to read about it and than my new face wrinkles become rightfully justified. At a year old Brisan has grown to be an amazing child from every aspect.

Considering everything that has happened in the last year, Brisan has has helped us look ahead in life. Life seemed like it stopped about a year ago with my brother Krenar passing. I don't think i can ever believe he is no longer with us. He is a part of my life daily and is shaping very much how i value life, what i want from it and how to be a better person, wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend. Life is truly too short and i never want to regret a moment.

With my parents living with us most of the time, we have tried to do as many things together as we can. Summer this year was extremely short but it will be well remembered. Almost every weekend we went out of town. We started camping and started to like it a lot although learned that planning in advance makes it easier. Amazingly, the kids really like camping despite the destruction in the regular routine. Our last camping attempt was in lake Chelan only to learn that spots get reserved a year in advance. Instead, we stayed a Springhill hotel in Wenatchee which is just a half hour drive to the lake. Besa had her BFF Angelina with her so she was well entertained. My parents just loved the heat including me. On the way back we spent the day in Leavenworth which is packed with tourists as always. The day was beautiful. We enjoyed the many activities, people swimming in the river and talking long walks. A full day of playing paid off especially when we headed back. It took less than 5 minutes in the car for both kids to fall asleep and stay that way for the entire trip back to Burien. Probably the easiest drive we've had for as long as we can remember.

This weekend we spent at home to do some much needed work around the house and take some much needed long naps. Brisan has only cut 4 teeth thus far which means that he is having a hack of a time with the process. During the day he does really well and takes amazing long naps. At night is a different story. If he wakes up less than 3 times a night is a good night. Many nights we sleep with him to spare us of the picking up and putting him down 5-6 times a night. I know this phase shall pass but at the moment it means that i am very much sleep deprived. The espresso shots do help and i just can't complain. With my parents here, i get to sleep in a couple of days in the week, go on date nights with Ben more often than most couples can and have a piece of mind that we there is always someone home if needed. Life is good and we are enjoying every minute of it. I have the most amazing kids, husband, parents and family. I want nothing more but good health for everyone.

Long Time No Post

2008-04-11T17:05:00.001-07:00

Let’s see. Besa is now 15 months old and having a very hard time with teething. Mum agrees that it is like Father like daughter case. Her gums are not as tough as Ben’s and it did not require dentist intervention to open them for the teeth to come through but they are making our lil girl very uncomfortable. Teething is making her lose appetite which she never had much to begin with. There was a week which she survived only on milk. We felt helpless. Oh.. I wish she could just take from me when it comes to food : )

Better weather is coming and we can hardly wait to truly enjoy being outdoors which is heaven for Besa.

Yay! One Year Old!

2008-01-25T23:28:00.000-08:00

As promised, my posing are getting very rare.
At least there is lot's of changes to write about. Since my last post, Besa is now walking and very eager to do it without help. We recently enrolled her for Coop Pre-School and the class we attend is only one day a week for about 2 hours. It is great at seeing her interact with other kids her age and learn how to be herself without hurting others. She gets special attention from everyone since happens to be the youngest.

The last week and half or so have been especially hard since we decided that once she reached one year old, she was ready for rules and handle us being tough. And... tough we were. First, we had to loose the pacifier which she had gotten addicted to. She would have been just fine with using for a little longer but the longer she did the harder for us. Sleep training was the hardest however. As a nonbeliever of the cry it out method, i must say that works only if consistent like with everything else in life. The tough week is over with now and she goes to sleep so much easier and sleeps through the night.

It is almost end of January and it is so nice to see the days get longer and sunnier. it takes only this little to make me stop obsessing with the idea of moving to a sunny place. If anything comes good of global worming, would be to give us California's wether.

Welcome to AC Model & Talent

2007-12-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome to AC Model & Talent

11 Month Old! The older the busier!

2007-12-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

Proof of being busy is lack of writing on this blog. It is good busy though. Besa is now almost walking, saying mama, drita, ( light ) gives us kisses with her mouth open though and climbs stairs like a hiker.
This week has been amazing and it must be a growth spurt because she’s eating pretty much anything we offer her, takes long naps during the day and sleeps thru the night. It such a nice phase that we know won’t be for long since we are still waiting for the teething to start. My mum has been gone one week now and our Indian’s friend mother comes to the house and takes care of her. Luckily she is the same age as my mum and just as sweet so the change was super easy. They bonded from day one.
The Holidays are here and off to shopping. The waiting lines are killing me.

Obama Girl

2007-11-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

She picked up the newspaper herself : )
We don't talk politics with her yet but she knows who she likes. We will take her suggestion.
Besa is baby no more. She's figured out how to demand attention but has not outsmarted us out yet. Distraction works like a charm. Give her any cellphone and she will forget about bumping her head in a split of a sec. Our house is always messy and Ben has finally come to terms that it will be like that for a awhile. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we are going to Omak. Every holiday now will the first one so we will make every effort to spend it with family. Nothing like a first. First Christmas, First Birthday, First valentines and on and on.
Our latest news is that my little brother living in Italy has been granted a tourist visa for a year. He come December 20th to meet Besa and stay for about a month. We are so excited. We have not seen him in 3 over 3 years. The americans at the embassy have not been very nice but finally they were convinced that he does not intend to stay here illegally.

The World Of Crawling

2007-10-26T11:37:00.001-07:00

While many parents complain about their babies getting into everything when they start crawling we love this phase. She can get to where she wants without our help showing some of her personality traits which are independence and curiosity. Actually too much of both but cannot complain.

She pulls her self up grabbing onto anything to help with standing. Her memory is developing amazingly. She will remember that a week ago she got hurt by a toy and won’t touch anymore or will push it away if we hand it to her.

Besa is sleeping and eating better but we feel busier

2007-09-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Our lives have changed a lot since Besa likes taking naps only in her room. That means a good chunk of the day we have to be home. Can’t blame her for having a strict sleep schedule it just means that we have to be very creative in finding time to do anything else. As for visiting people, we’d rather have people visit us.
She is now determined to crawl and is almost there. She’s figured out to push with only one leg and move her hands in a coordinated motion. So for just barely a few feet at a time. She likes food better now. Practice makes all the difference. She never ceases to surprise us with her food taste. She thinks she has teeth and chews on food like she has teeth although there are not signs of cutting the first tooth yet. She’ll most likely walk before she has teeth. It’s cute.

So much for mami or babi as first words:" Hajde"= come

2007-09-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Now I believe my sister when she said how every phase of the baby growing is better than the last.
Besa is now almost 8 months old and has gotten used to all kinds of foods. Feeding her is no longer a daily “test” to pass. I appreciate her cooperation. She also has just babbled her first words and who would have guessed that instead of babi or mami it would be “ hajde” which is come here. So far she only orders that cat to “ come “ here and I’m sure she will start ordering us around here very soon. We could not believe my ears at first but she kept repeating it to the cat since she was not obeying to Besa’s orders.

Waving back to people is also new. Strangers will wave at her and get all emotional when she waves back.
September 5th we had our first outing without Besa for my birthday. While she was missed, it was so nice to enjoy good food and wine without being needed. The dinner was a blast. It turns out that all most of our friends are either new parents are parents to be. The laws of baby attractions.

Photos

2007-08-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

Photos

2007-08-18T10:41:00.001-07:00

Photos

2007-08-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dreaming of Vlore, Uji i Ftohte, Llogara, Dhermi, Sarande

2007-08-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Our friend Ben Koci just got back from Albania. We are having dinner with him tomorrow and catch up on his visit. Ben and his wife Migena spent sort of their honey moon in Southern Albania and their photos reminded me of how much I miss going back. I am making a point of here because I was so envies of their trip. What losers are they? Visiting my favorite places while we had to sit here and beg for some Sun.

Forget Baby food. Give Besa some Lamb!

2007-08-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time since I have posted but we have been enjoying what’s left of summer too much to sit in front of the computer. We have discovered that Besa’s food taste is very adult like. We gave up with baby food. She would close her mouth and if she was tricked in opening it so I could sneak in a spoon of food she’d spit it out as fast as it went in. On our recent trip to Ikea with Ewan, Leya and Leo we gave her some “Ikea soup” with beef, noodles spices and who knows what else. She could not get enough of it.

We had to take it away from before she ate too much and throw it all up. Ever since, we have been feeding her everything from lamb soup (what a meat eater) to lentil soup, egg yolks, homemade yogurt, quiches, mashed potatoes. They say to give the same food for three days in a row so in case she develops allergies, it can be easily detected what food caused it. We just can’t do it when she eyeballs everything we eat ourselves and begs us for some. Can’t blame her for having a good taste for real food.

We can’t wait to go to Omak next weekend and get Besa to try Omak peaches for the first time. If she is anything like me, we’d have to pull her away from the orchard.

Link to Snapfish photos

2007-08-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=170972713/a=85079637_85079637/t_=85079637

Ahhh.. The Sun!

2007-08-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Besa has proven to be my daughter once again. She loves tanning in the sun, the beach and swimming. She may have looked like a whitey when first born but after some time under the sun lately her skin has changed to looking more like my skin color : )

We got back on Sunday from a beautiful trip to Lake Chelan. I had forgotten how beautiful that lake is. We went up with my parents, Elaiza, our friend Maria, her daughter Katherina and my cute little niece Elaiza and stayed in a hotel in Wenatchee.

We even managed to meet up with Nana and Dada for dinner. I’m glad they came down to Brewster BC driving to Omak with two little squirmy girls in the car would have been too much. Besa knows clearly who her family is now and is not shy to show her love.

Our goal for the remainder of the summer is to go somewhere new every weekend to make up for such a short summer.

This weekend are going camping to a place still to be determined. It will for sure have water though.

Six month shots!

2007-07-19T10:44:00.001-07:00

Besa had her 6 months shots for Tetanus, Haemophilus, Polio, and Pneumococcal.
I am the wrong person to go in with her for that. I could have eaten the nurse alive. Seeing Besa in tears like that it’s so painful to watch but 5 minutes later she forgot all about it. Unlike the 4 month shots, she did much better this time around. In pain only while in the process. After that the usual happy, smiley Besa.
As for her growth, she falls in the 90th percentile for height. Anyone surprised? She does need to catch up on her weight though and with eating solids now, hopefully she will.
Not to show off or anything but the doctor said she is pretty advanced for her age. If I leave the bottle a few feet away from her, she will roll and roll until she will get a hold of it and drink on her own. I have it on video. I’m not sure if it’s advancement or just a survival instinct.

Besa's Six month mile stone and so much more

2007-07-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

It has been quite an eventful period since my last post. Ben’s uncle Jim and his son Dale from Australia visited us. Between all the site seeing, family gatherings and eating too much food, we felt like we were on vacation too. Today we dropped them off at the airport and I do not envy a 17hour flight back to Melbourne. Besa got to spend a lot of quality time with Jim and Dale and is already missing them.

We can’t believe it’s been a half of a year since Besa was born. She has become so much the center of our lives that we can’t even remember what life was like without her.
Some amazing changes happen when a baby reaches six months. All my worries that she may not like solid foods went away today. I had been introducing Besa to solid foods for quite sometime now and she did not seem to like it, unless you give her a bone of lamb than it’s a different game. Today I tried giving her polenta out of all things and to my surprise she ate a good portion of it. It could be the six months magic number that she likes solids better, or that we are giving her adults kind of foods.
Rolling over now is her favorite thing and reaching for toys. Also testing out her lungs.

We are amazed how this kid can sleep through any noise. When she gets tired, it’s her time to sleep. It could be next to live music, fireworks, you name it, she will sleep. The loud music we played in the car while pregnant with her is paying off. Highly recommended it. Getting the baby prepared for the outside noise, it starts while in the womb. So all you mothers to be out there, start on rocking.

Besa's Mama first run race!

2007-06-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Besa was cheering for mama at doing 5K Burien Strawberry Festival Run Race. My intention of the run was to not finish last and surprisingly I ended up somewhere in the middle at 43 minutes. Mind you, I had absolutely not trained for it so I feel kind of proud for not passing out.

Today we also went to Angelina’s Baptism Celebration in Bellevue where we got to see Viki’s family visiting from New York among other friends. Besa got to see uncle Rob and Manita.

We can’t wait to have Uncle Jim and Dale, Mum and Dad to visit here soon. It is time for the grandparents to see how healthy and beautiful their granddaughter has grown. She is such a happy little girl. She loves when we go out with her and is fascinated by world around her.

We are still waiting for the long awaited sun so we can try out our new pool.

The 5 month Milestone!

2007-06-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Besa’s is leaping forward to some more physical and intellectual abilities. She is getting closer to sitting and is remembering to miss us when we are gone. She gets so happy to see us now when we get home from work. Her reaction to strangers has changed as well. We thought she was friendly with strangers but now, she is so much more aware of the familiar faces, surroundings and unfamiliar faces.
Learning to eat is the newest adventure. So far, she prefers fresh bananas, over other fruits. It is so cute watching her make faces when trying something new.
The “June” weather has not be so encouraging for dressing her with the cute dresses yet I’m afraid that by the time we get some sun she will have outgrown them all.
We still take our walks to the beach and Ben continues to enjoy his Kite flying.

Growth Spurt

2007-05-29T21:34:00.001-07:00

Now that we have gotten some sleep I can post Besa’s adventures. Her adventures involved a week of growth spurt where we could not feed her often enough. Her every hour to the hour wakening may have been a combination of hunger, belly discomfort and who knows what else but we are glad the phase is over with. Even cousin Leo tried to help with landing Besa his nice swing but it did not do the trick. Rice cereal seems to be working really well.

We love taking walks to the beach. On Saturday we took a long walk, down the hill to the beach, up some 300 stairs and around the neighborhood for over 3 hours and she slept the entire time while I was sweating off some serious calories.
Ben has been doing his kite-flying thing. I can safely say to him. Go fly a kite : ) and he will actually be glad to hear it.

2007-05-22T22:44:00.001-07:00

The 4 Month milestone

2007-05-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

Besa is growing very symmetrically. She is on a 50th percentile for her weight, length and on a 30th percentile for her head. All of you with babies understand what they mean. She is really healthy.
The statistics at 4months: 12 pounds, 9 OZ and 24 Inches long and a major kicker.
I had dreaded taking Besa for her 4 months shots. As tough as I may seem, I melt when I see her cry. I think 4 shots in one day is a bit cruel but it’s best to get all done and over with in one screaming session.
The before and after photos say it all.

We are going to Puyallup today for my loan officer meeting and Besa comes with me as always. I am curious to see how long she will hold a grudge against me for the painful shots. Ahh… If she only knew it’s for her own good.

Testing our new toy

2007-05-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our favorite photos with the new Camera. While I have not figured out all of its functions, for now Auto mode is doing just fine.

Nikon Camera D40

2007-05-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

We will be capturing some fancy photos now with our new Nikon Camera. It replaced our Kodak digital one. Don’t ever trust Kodak for electronics.
Besa has proven to be her father’s daughter. Ben has been taking her to the beach and flies his kite while carrying Besa in a front carrier. Will be sure to post some photos.

Besa

2007-05-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Having the ability to become published authors we have decided to blog. Our musing will mainly consist of Besa in our lives and of course photos.
Please feel free to comment and participate.
Sava