Besides a ton of work (and a bit of procrastination), a few nervous breakdowns about the CHAOS in the house and the arrival of SPRING in Berlin (!!), last week was dominated by huge milestones my chubby baby toddler took. Mini-me is a bit late with about everything, a late crawler, walker, teether and talker (except of mama, papa and HAAAALLLOOO which was actually his first real word, months ago!) - but last week he just started talking like a champ. I don't mind him being late at all, but I sometimes got frustrated when all my playing and teaching and reading let to absolutely no reaction with him, so this is quite huge.

Within a week he learnt so many words (favourite: "more" and "hiiiiiiiigh" - expecting me to yell "five" and high-five him) and a bunch of animal sounds, with his favourite being the pig's oink - a lovely favourite, indeed. He started jumping on the bed and falling over into the pillows on purpose, loughing dirty like an old drunken man, expressing his needs wants quite specifically, exploring his body more and more (with his belly-button being his favourite, no question: that's my favourite, too) and also (sigh!) really realizing that his dad has been missing for quite a while now. This is especially precious and heart-breaking at the same time. Whenever I open my laptop, mini-me comes running and whispers "papapapapapapapapa", looking at me with his big, dark eyes, expecting N. to pop up on screen via Skype. When N. is actually there, he hugs and pets and kisses the screen, even sharing his snacks with his dad's virtual face. ♥















All photos: Carolin Weinkopd via iPhone