One of the many reasons...

we love Praha: a ten minute walk from our flat to a playground +
a beer garden +
crazy views of the city =

wonder and joy!

We really do spend a lot of time here;)

"Stand in the place where you live"

Ellie is on the move these days - she's crawling all over the place and just the other day started to stand on her own. Phil was sitting in a chair, she pulled herself up on his knee and just let go! It was very funny to see her concentrating on standing up while trying to decide if it was fun or scary. Hilarious! Practicing standing has become one of her new pastimes. Here is a picture I snapped while visiting our friends Laura and Chris. Their sweet boys, Owen and Elliot, were sharing Ellie's snack when Ellie managed to steady herself with no hands!

Phil is also teaching Ellie to lift her arms up in response to not just "How big is Ellie?" but also when he says "Goal!", since we will be watching a lot of the World Cup, and to get ready for the upcoming NFL season:

How big is Ellie?

After getting over our jet lag, we spent the first few days exploring the parks around our flat with Ellie. We are staying in Prague 6, a very residential area with two gorgeous parks within minutes of our door. The weather got sunny and warm and lifted our spirits immediately! Ellie loves the game "How big is Ellie? SO BIG!" and raises her arms up over her head, just to let us know that she really is getting bigger everyday. So for her first pictures in Prague, she decided to show off her new trick...

Putting the passport to good use

Our bags were packed, we double and triple checked everything, and after much anticipation, drove to JFK to fly to Prague for the month. Phil has a conference and some research to do in Prague, we decided to make an extended trip out of it and show Ellie one of our favorite cities. I had a bit of apprehension about the overnight 8+ hour flight from New York to Prague. Let's just stay I tried not to think about it too much. Phil and I always say to each other that we ask a lot of our 11 month old daughter, but she (almost always) rises to the occasion. And on the flight, she did just that. She did fine in the airport, and we were lucky to get the bulkhead seat with no one sitting in our third seat. She played, read, ate, and generally kept us and some of the people around us smiling for awhile. (Not everyone, but hey, what are you going to do?) A few hours into the flight, she got tired and cried on and off for a bit. Here is her "less than happy" face.

We tried to put her down in her bassinet (a very cool contraption that hooks into the wall for babies to sleep in). But at that point, she was having none of it.

Eventually, she got tired enough to fall asleep in my arms and slept for 5 hours. In the bassinet, all you could see was her little butt sticking up in the air;) She even managed to stay asleep through landing.

Our friend Laura was kind enough to pick us up so we had a friendly face waiting to greet us at baggage claim. That made a huge difference in our happiness, thanks so much, Laura! She took us to the flat we rented, and we got settled in. It was 60 degrees and raining when we arrived, a perfect day to hunker down and get over our jet lag. With only a short excursion out for dinner supplies, we kept it very low key that day. The flat we rented came "baby ready" with a crib, high chair, and changing table, all things that made our life much easier upon arrival. It is a lovely place with lots of open space for our little crawler to explore. But after the overnight flight, Ellie was very tired so exploration really had to wait for a day or so. She slept for her usual naps and then for 14 hours that night! All in all, it was a blissfully uneventful day of international travel with Ellie...and that is all we were hoping for.

Shhhh! It's a secret

"My Uncle Jonathan sent me this very special Fed Ex package because I'm so good at keeping secrets. I'm in charge of keeping the sparkly ring inside the box a secret from his girlfriend, Katherine. That's why he sent it to my house instead of his own. I'm going to give it to him to give to her this weekend. I'm so happy she's going to be my aunt!"

p.s. Katherine said yes! I'm so glad I could help out Uncle Jonathan with his big surprise:)

Hello, World

Dear World,

Usually, I let my mom write these posts. She does a very, very good job, so I've let it go this long. Things, however, have changed. Let me be specific:

1) I have now spoken three words (more or less); I say "hi" when greeting people, I know that dogs say "woof," and I know that things I like are "yum." I also taunt Phillip and Danielle (which is what I call them in my head) by occasionally, tantalizingly saying "Mama" and "Dada" while looking at them. Their reactions are priceless.

2) I am mobile, and I can pull myself up to a standing position. I have also climbed stairs (under adult supervision). Realistically, the sky is now the limit. I have heard on good authority that world domination is one step past crawling.

2a) I am also international. Yes, I have a passport, so I can go anywhere I want (like Prague). I think the picture could be a little more flattering, but it will do. So, be prepared to see me jet-setting in Cannes, Dubai, and Monaco soon.

3) I love to read. Rather, I turn the pages of my books at my own pace, or I stop and deconstruct images as I please. I have also learned to express my pleasure (or lack thereof) at what I am reading. Clapping especially seems to excite Phillip and Danielle, so I use it as a means of ensuring that they continue to feed me avocado, chicken, and fresh fruit.

Based on my research into this matter, I believe that literacy, mobility, and eloquence are the essential characteristics of adulthood. So, I am very happy to finally introduce myself to you all, and I hope you continue to stay abreast of my comings and goings.

With love,

Ellie Maria

Princeton Reunions

Over Memorial Day weekend, Princeton hosted its annual Reunions weekend. Campus has been getting ready for this and graduation for weeks, and we have been told that this spectacle is not to be missed. On Saturday morning, we took Ellie out for a stroll around campus.

Princeton was swarming with an estimated 20,000 people all decked out in orange. Bright orange. Being former Charlottesville dwellers, we understand the love of orange. So for Ellie to unite her love of her birthplace and her current town, she proudly wore her Virginia shirt all day (thanks, Thad!) Of course, we had to get a few pictures of Ellie on one of the Princeton tigers:

Ellie particularly liked the Princeton band, a uniquely quirky subset of the Princeton undergrad population. Marching bands are big fun when you are 11 months old...

"We're number one! We're number one!" (a new chant Phil is teaching Ellie;)