I miss youuuuuuuu Adri

Just a couple of days have passed since you left Prague and... I miss youuuuuuuu !!!!

I know you will be enjoying your time with the family in Lima and Miami, having a lovely Christmas under the sun. But I can't help thinking about about our playdates and the great time we had cuddling at the sofa while we watched Dora la Exploradora.

On Thursday I will also take a plane to go to Spain so I am very happy but I wanted you to know that these last days in Prague without you are really tough.

Have a great time and give a kiss from me to your mom and a big handshake to Tato.

Christmas is coming... to the Little Mole !!!

Last Thursday was a very special day. It was the Christmas performance @ school !!!

We had been practicing for more than a month and all of us were reaaaaaally nervous. We got there at 9am and started to get dressed. The gym was decorated very nicely with a big Christmas tree too. What a nice stage for our performance !!!

First came the Lady Birds all dressed in white and red. I did not see that because I was getting all ready for our show but mom told me that my friend Mona did a great job dancing around the tree.

Then came the Pixies to sing another Christmas song (Guillermo and Alana were real stars !) and, after that, it was the turn of the Cheeky Monkeys !!!

We played a Christmas theater and where I played the role of a Christmas tree.

Cis, Albert and Camille where also there and I think we all did a great job :-)

And then we got all together to sing along our favorite Christmas song: Jingle Bells !!! I really like the song and had practiced a lot at school and also at home but I was a bit nervous with so many people in the room.... Still, we all had a great time and specially enjoyed doing the "Hey!!!"

But the big surprise of the party arrived when Santa Claus joined us in his red robe loaded with a box full of presents !!! We all have been very good kids this years so he gave us a bag with stickers and a really cool T-shirt. What a nice end of party !

Here you can watch some videos..

My first teeth

And so they say that good things come in pairs so.... I am not only getting my first tooth... I am getting my first teeth !!!!

The first one came out last week and the second one is just popping out as I write :-)

Not going to lie to you and say that it is fun but everybody is so excited about it that I can't help being excited too ! As a start I am already able to bite properly so mom is not so eager to let me put her hand in my mouth :-)

Will this mean that very soon I will be able to eat all those yummy things Daniel eats?

Touring Germany with Kaki & Fifi

So last week was a very active one. Don't you think that it was just about the Taufe !

It was Fifi's first time in Germany so I was a man on a mission: let the tour begin !

I had everything planned for Monday. Get up early. Cake and milk for breakfast. Pack our warmest clothes and... gooooooooooo !

Off we started going to Rothemburg of der Tauber, an amazing little town packed with beautiful houses and incredible corners. Rothemburg is a true Christmas village where you can find all kinds of Christmas things throughout the year, but Rothemburg is specially beautiful now in winter.

First we walked a bit around the village were all the little shops on the street were selling handcrafts, food and glühwein.

Then we went into one of the most amazing shops I have ever seen: Käthe Wohlfahrt. I could not close my mouth (literally) when I went inside and saw all those teddy bears moving around, singing and dancing.

It just got better as you walked through the store. All kinds of amazing Christmas things with bright and shiny colors !!! Was really hard for me not to touch everything but I was a very well behaved guy and only grabbed a couple of things :-)

With so much excitement we were ready for a meal so we went into a great restaurant at the town hall square. Fifi & Kaki had a great steak with onion but my wurst with fries was not less impressive !

I also had a lot of fun painting on my blackboard with tio Kaki but the real surprise was waiting for us outside.... snow !!!

It was a fantastic day and I think Kaki, Fifi and mom enjoyed as much as I did. In the evening I took them all to Nuremberg and we enjoyed seeing the Christkindlesmarkt, even if we were really tired.

Nikolaus

Night of December 5. Neumarkt. Nikolaus is coming ..... I am very nervous !!!!!

Did you know that during the evening og December 5 a guy called Nikolaus comes to every house with a big sac? yes, I know it sounds pretty scary but it is really something very nice. Specially because in the sac there are loads of presents and, if you have been a good boy like me, then you get all of them !!!

I have nothing to fear because I am a super nice-well-behaved lad :-) so there I was all ready and nervous waiting for Nikolaus to come.

And he did !!!

He was really tall. Dressed in red. Long white beard. And, let's be honest, quite a big belly too ! So he came into the house and, after asking my parents if I had been a good guy, he gave me the presents.

Actually, have to confess that Nikolaus is a bit of a disaster because he game me Manuel's present, and then gave mine to Manuel. He claimed to be a "Nikolaus despistauuuuu", but with so many houses to visit... no wonder he is a bit confused !!! or maybe he is also Spanish like me??????

And after promising that next year I would also be a good boy and I would stop waking up at night I said goodbye to him.

I was just sorry for Tio Kaki who could not see him because he was in the toilet. But Nikolaus is a busy guy so he could not wait. Good that we took some pictures so that I can show him !

Baptism

This is a very special weekend. Not only because we are in Germany, or because Tio Kaki and Tia Fifi are here with us, or because Marcel has come to visit us with Jessica, Klaus & Herbert...

It is a very special weekend because today I got baptized !!!

We went to church in the morning, with a very cold weather and my best outfit. Didn't know what to expect about the whole thing but my parents kept on saying that it was something very special.

A guy with a very big belly and a colourfull dress (who turned out to be the priest) came close to us and asked us to go to next to a pile of water. Have to confess that I got a bit worried at that point but then he started to explain...

Being baptized is like being born again and becoming part of a bigger family. I like the idea but liked even more the fact that the water was quite warm after all :-)

The priest was a really nice guy and everyone was very happy. I was very happy too because I had all my family around me, well, everyone except for the abuelos. Really missed them but I know I will see them very soon for Christmas so I am not sad. Then I will be able to show them all the videos and the pictures we made!!!

Become a preschooler

I have been in preschool for a while but today we have made it official with the "Become a preschooler" ceremony.

We got together at the gym of the school and sang a song about how happy we were in the kindergarten. Then we all promised to be good guys (eat our food, to use soap, to share...). Hey we are cheeky monkeys but.... not that cheeky after all... so we then got our ribbons and diplomas.

Mom, dad and Manuel where there to see the whole thing and I think they were really proud of me :-)

I have to say that we all work very hard at school but it is also a lot of fun. I love my friends there and Louise is the best teacher in the world !

Logistics

Daniel and I love Saturdays. And not only because it is weekend and we spend a lot of time together as a family.... also because we always get to do a lot of interesting things.

Yesterday, for example, we went all together to the supermarket. May not sound like a very interesting think to everyone but I just loved it !

And, as I am a big boy already, I was able to sit on the trolley for the first time :-) so much fun... sorry papa but I think I am going to love shopping !

Fun for kids .... and grownups too !!!!

Yesterday was a bank holiday here in Prague and there was no school so I got together with my friends Cis, Camille and Daphne for some fun at the Zoo !

I have already told you how great the zoo is here in Prague so I won't bore you with the details ... now you just need to know that the zoo is also a lot of fun in winter, even if it is very cold.


We saw birds, monkeys -quite cheeky too !- and also penguins who seemed to be quite happy in the chilly temperatures. Cis and Camille even had a ride on the poneys. I was a bit scared so I took a safe bet and went for the donkey statue instead :-)

But, hey, look at this picture you will see that we were not the only ones having fun here ! Considering the donkey ride and all the biscuits they ate... Camille, Cis and I suspect that our parents loved the excursion to the zoo as much as we did, or even more :-)

Vienna

And, while madrina and tio Ricardo where here, we did a really cool thing... we took a train to go to Vienna !!!

It was a long trip but Guillermo and I really had a lot of fun looking out of the window and running up and down the corridor. Not sure Tio Ricardo had as much fun we did because he had to run after us all the time but,... hey !

We arrived quite early in the afternoon so we arranged to meet with our friend Kyra who now lives in Vienna. She introduced us to her new brother Erik and took us to a very elegant place - Cafe Opera - for a nice chocolate and a cake. Can you think of a better plan?

Monday was not so nice because I had some problems with my stomach so mom, Manuel and I stayed at the hotel while papa went to the office.

I was feeling quite sick but Guillermo came over to visit me a couple of times and that cheered me up a lot.

Have to say that I have really enjoyed seeing madrina, Tio Ricardo and Guillermo again. Mama said that they have agreed to meet more often so I am really happy and can't wait to see them again !

Madrina, Tio Ricardo y el primo Guillermo

A couple of weeks ago my madrina, Tio Ricardo and primo Guillermo came over to Prague to visit us. It was such a long time since we had seen each other in Madrid ! But, since the moment they arrived, is as if we had seen each other just yesterday :-)

Manuel had a lot of fun playing with Guillermo. He is such a big boy already ! But I still managed to have some quiet time with madrina just for myself. I like her so much !

And.... guess what.... tio Ricardo brought Manuel and I an amazing present: a bullfight poster with our names !!!

How has he managed to find out that I like "toros" so much?

I now have the poster right next to my bed so that I can look at it every night when I go to bed.

Thank you guys !!!

Budapest here we come !

Once again dad had a business trip and... once again we went with him ! (mmmmm, I may need to have a conversation with dad's boss about all this traveling :-)

Last Friday we took a plane and went to Budapest. The trip was a lot of fun and they did not loose our luggage !

On Saturday we had a great day. The sun was shining so we went for a tour around the old city. First stop: Parliament ! and then we just walked down the river, enjoying the wonderful bridges and the little streets. I specially liked this bridge because there were biiiiiiiiig lions. Can you see them?

But, hey, being a tourist can be tough so we also had a break here and there to enjoy the local playgrounds :-)

We just loved it there and was very interesting to discover how much fun could Manuel have with the swing.

He was laughing so loud !


On Sunday the weather was really bad but, as we are real troopers, off we went to the castle area.

Even in a foggy and rainy day the view was just fantastic.

We will soon tell you more about our last stop over on Sunday.

Adri & I

After the 'sofa scene' Adri and I quickly made it up so yesterday she came over to our house for an afternoon playdate.

We had a lot of fun playing with the cars, riding on the motorbike and surfing the web with the computer. She also stayed for dinner so we shared nice German food :-)

Oh ! so nice to be in love :-)

Weekend smiles

Weekends are very special for me.

I love them because I can spend a lot of time together with mom, dad & Daniel. We are a bit lazy in the morning, then have a looooong breakfast and go for a walk till lunch time. We quickly get into nap time and by the time I wake up I am all relaxed and ready to play. Like in this picture.

Yesterday afternoon we just stayed at home playing because it was getting really cold so we had a cozy time with some music and Daniel's cars :-)

Couldn't all days of the week be Saturday????

Meet our friend Allegra

Istanbul is a beautiful city and we really enjoyed visiting the bazaars and mosques. I would be happy to share some photos but dad has them in his Blackberry and seems to be unable to get them to the computer.... what a techie !

Instead I will tell you about the real highlight of our trip.... getting to know Allegra !!! She is the daughter of Defne, a very good friend of mom and dad. I am really impressed because looks like mom and Defne used to be pirates at one point???!!??!!

Defne lives now in London but she is originally from Istanbul so she took us with Allegra to tour the city and we also went to some nice restaurants. We also went to spend one afternoon at her mom's place. We had so much fun !

Trip to Istanbul

Last week papa had to go to Istanbul for work and, as we did not want him to feel lonely.... we all went with him !!!

The trip was cool and we really enjoyed the flights... at least Manuel and I did because we played a lot together while papa was trying to get some sleep :-)

When we arrived to the Istanbul airport we had a little incident because our big suitcase was lost. And... it must have been really lost because 16 days have passed and... it is still lost !!! So we arrived very late to the hotel and did not even have our pajamas with us !!! Well, it is important to stay positive so let's just think that at least the trip back home was a light one and mom had the chance to do some shopping :-)

It was very hot and papa had to work Wednesday and Thursday so, even if we did a lot of sightseeing with mom and Defne (a friend of hers), we also had some time to relax at the hotel. I specially enjoyed the long breakfast with my milk, some scrambled eggs and papa's Economist.

Mmmmm, I think I am going to start going on business trips more often !!!

Our little couple

Our little couple after a fight.

She didn't want to share her Bebe, he didn't want to hurt her... At the end the drama queen had to wear sunglasses not to show tears and he just sat far enough from her.... But they kissed each other good bye like nothing!

By Tatiana (Adri's mom)

Introducing my friend Marc

Today I want to introduce you to my friend Marc. He is the son of Maria, a friend of mama, and since today... also a friend of mine !

He is only one month younger than me so we understand each other perfectly well. He is from Valencia so we can also "speak" in Spanish !!!

I think this is the beginning of a nice friendship !

The man of your dreams

Funny....

Smart........

Blue eyes....

German looks & Spanish heart.....


Yes, Daniel may already be a big boy but... I am the man of your dreams !!!

Specially when I look at you with those charming eyes while I play with my feet :-) he he he

Mmmm, still, charming or not, can't wait to go to big school so that I can get a Schultuete like Dan's !

Schultuete

I love German traditions.... specially when they involve chocolate !!!

And this is a very special one. A Schultuete is like a cone full of presents that are given to big kids (like me) on their first day of school.

So, as I am now a big school certified boy... it is just fair that I got mine, uh? so Oma and Opa brought one for me last week and I was really really happy and proud !

Needless to say, the chocolate was yummy :-)

Happy Birthday Papi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUU

TE DESEAMOS PAPIIIIIIII

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Big Boys School

So now it is official.

Today it was my first day at the Big Boys School !!!

Yes, if you want to look for me ... don't go to the Pixies but go the pre-school Cheeky Monkeys class instead :-)

Classes are now more advanced and we are learning the alphabet, how to count, and other very cool things such as theater and ceramics. Sounds a bit scary at first but I am really happy because my friends Albert, Camille and Cis are now in pre-school too so we can learn all of this together.

This weekend Oma and Opa are coming to visit so I can't wait to tell them...

Food is more than nourishment

Do you remember this picture? you will have to go back to one of the first posts in September 2009....

Yes ! is my brother Daniel having a blast with his first meals :-)

Mom said that I would start soon eating solids and that got me a bit worried so asked my brother Daniel about it and he said it would be a lot of fun.

Well... looking at his picture it definitively looks like !

So off I went to try the first puree a couple of weeks ago. Mom made a delicious pear puree and, though it tasted a bit funny in the beginning.... I just loved it !

Since then I am eating already three times a day and I have tasted all of this: pears, apple, grapes, melon, zucchini and pumpkin.

I have tried asking mom but she said that the jamon serrano would have to wait a bit longer :-)

Now, I am sure looking at both pictures many of you are wondering how could Daniel be so messy and me so civilized, right? well.... just have a look at this video and judge by yourself. You will see that I am also having my share of fun :-)

Going to the Zoo

Do you need yet another reason to love Prague?

Then just go to the Zoo !

Last Sunday we all went to the Zoo and we had a great day.

I have been to several zoos already and have to say that this is the one I liked the most. Why? It is a really big zoo and there are so many animals to see... Everything is very green and when you walk around you really feel as if you were walking through the jungle instead of a zoo... the animals are so close !

We saw big turtles, elephants, penguins, lions, tigers, hippos and.. of course.. my beloved gorillas !!! We really had a fantastic day and, when I thought it could not get any better... then the ice cream arrived :-)

But don't you guys think all of this is for free... this was a cool present because I have been such a good boy. I will soon tell you more about my rewards chart but, in case you want to know.... I now barely wear any diaper and don't wake up in the middle of the night anymore so... no surprise that I am getting such a nice treat !

As you can see in the picture Manuel also had a lot of fun :-)

Best Volksfest in the world !

So, after a well deserved nap I was all ready to hit the Volksfest !

For those who have never been there.... it is like a kind of Oktoberfest but much better because you still have the music, lovely traditional food and the beer !... but it is a really local festival and not touristic at all.

The large tend is a really funny place. Loaaaaaads of tables and benches where people sit together to have a beer, some food and a nice talk.

Music is also a must so there are plenty of great bands with guys in leather trousers who sing the local hits.

I was also really impressed with the waiters and how they can manage to carry so many beer Maßes. I tried myself to lift one of them and it was really hard !!!

We went for a walk by the attractions and mom & dad convinced me to climb on the Far West train.

However, have to confess that it was a bit too much for me. Yes, I may be a corazon latino but not fully ready for so much noise and party !



Hanne, Micha, Otmar & Andrea joined us on Saturday afternoon with their kids Julia, Leo & Antonia. We managed to get a nice table at the garden and ordered some food. And if Bayerisch food is good.... wait till you see Bayerisch girls !

I was sitting right next to Antonia and she is so cute and pretty that I was rather distracted from the eating. In any case, her papa was just sitting next to us so I finally decided to focus on my currywurst... just in case :-)

Manuel, when you are a big guy you will come with me to the Volksfest !

Ice cream and a nap

Sounds like a good plan, don't you think?

I was such a good boy during the trip that as soon as we got home I had my compensation.... Ice cream !!!

Oma and Opa where waiting for us with some nice brotzeit in the garden. It was really hot so (what an excuse!) so I asked Oma for an ice cream and, as I am such a good boy, she couldn't say no. I think papa was also a good boy because he got an ice cream too !

So after such action and excitement it is not surprising that I was ready for a nap, don't you think? the opas have one of those cool swing sofas so it did not take long till I was snoring like a little angel.

A perfect time to dream of all the nice things the weekend would bring !!

Weekend in Germany

You would expect us to be tired and cranky after such a long trip from Nice but.... NO ! We are real troopers so last weekend off we went to Germany.

Reasons? many !

Oma,... Opa,... a beautiful garden,... wurst,... and.... Neumarkt's world famous Volkfest !!!

More to follow on the beer festival where we really had loads of fun but, as starters, we wanted to share with you a couple of pictures of the trip.

Needless to say... we both had loooong trips but also managed to enjoy the landscape and even sing a couple of songs with mom and dad.

True that car drives can be a bit tiring sometimes but we really enjoy those family trips... specially if they are heading towards Germany to see Oma & Opa :-)

Big shoes to fill

Have to confess that I always have very mixed feelings every time I see dad go to work in the mornings.

In one hand I am a bit sad because I will miss him during the day but... I am also very jealous because I really like his outfits !!!

Yesterday dad left very early to go to Slovakia for a business trip but I was even faster than him and... when he went to look for his shoes..... TACHAAAAAN !!!!

Will I get to wear those cool suits too when I am older and I can go to work? maybe I can even convince dad to take me to the office with him one day if I dress up like him? I probably have to work a bit harder on the laces for that to happen but certainly I will keep working on it !!!!

Skyping

I am a real ciberbaby and one of the things I like most is to Skype.

It is a really nice thing because I can talk with all the family even if we are very far away.

Yesterday I was talking for a long time with the abuelos and they took this picture of mom and me.

Do you like it?

New toy

Already walking? not quite ! but I am working on it :-)

Do you like my new toy? it is a really cool thing because I can stretch my legs while I play with all that stuff !!!

Best of all is that I think Daniel also likes it a lot so we play together and he shows me what are the buttons that make more noise.... mom and dad are loving it :-)

Back to work

And now that vacation is over.... back to work !

Today is my first day at the kindergarten and I can't tell you how excited I am. I am looking forward to see again all my friends and to play with them.

I am afraid that my English is a bit rusty after two months away but in the meanwhile I can teach my pals a couple of words in Spanish and German :-)

Of course I miss the abuelos, tio Kaki, tia Fifi, Opas and Marcel but it is also nice to be back !