A new place to shop

 The city of Split has a new shopping center, City Center One. This mall is larger than Park Meadows Mall in Denver, CO! and  it even has a play area for children, something the mall in Denver currently lacks.

 At the pet shop you will find bunnies, gerbils, birds and fish.

 I saw many empty spaces, you notice the white wallpaper? Some of the current stores include: Marella, New Yorker, Orsay, Palmer, S. Oliver, Takko, Tom Tailor, Yamamay, Esprit, Amadeus Jeans, C&A, Conto Bene, Ann Christine, Magma House, Limoni, Muller, DM, Hervis and the list goes on and on!

 And to the left where Beli is running to, there will be a movie theater opening next Spring. 

 A free playroom for kids age 3 -12 years. We were allowed to stay with our daughter because she is under the age limit plus it was not busy, otherwise you can drop your kids here, go do some shopping then return to pick up your kids.

 A TV area, Beli looked so comfortable I was tempted to sit down as well.

As I start planning my trip overseas, I will be doing most of my Christmas shopping here for my nephews. Happy Friday! What are your plans this weekend? Thanksgiving prep? Shopping? Traveling? We're planning another road trip for the upcoming week, still unsure which country we are visiting. Montenegro is a possibility.

City Center One
Vukovarska 207
21000 Split
385-021-510-130

Let's GO to the playground y la playa tambien

I was pleasantly surprised that it was sunny enough to go to the beach. I received an invitation to join my friend and her daughter at the playground near Znjan (a new addition thanks to the arrival of a new hotel). Our daughters, both 2 years old, get along quite well. The sea was too cold for swimming but we enjoyed a small dose of sunshine. On another subject: Tomorrow is September 16 or Diez y seis de Septiembre, Mexico's Independence Day. I'm not sure why May 5th or Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in the States, because in Mexico it's rarely celebrated other than in the state of Puebla. I have one theory: it's easier to pronounce? What's your theory?

Creativity and learning

For fun indoor activities like reading and writing, I keep a pink basket in our living room filled with supplies. Beli knows she can find puzzles, crayons, construction paper and some of her favorite books. One of them is this fun poetic book titled, How does Antuntun live?

Now that she is 27 months old I have noticed she is more interested in 'reading'. Before she would turn the pages and tear some in the process and not really paid attention to the characters in the books. But now, when hubby reads to her, Beli pays attention and wants to know what Antuntun, the main character is doing.

She also likes the Dora book, she mimics the action of Dora and the monkey by putting her hands on her face and saying 'I know."

This is also a fun book about a little girl named Ana, this is Beli's favorite page because the policeman is saying, "STOP." She knows this word very well because everyday when we leave the apartment and exit to the parking garage to access our car we say, "Beli stop, are there cars? look to your left now to your right." She thinks it's fun to stretch out her hands and scream "STOP!"

Coloring at grandma and grandpa's home with her frog and puppy dog. Hmmm, I just noticed she doesn't have any medos nearby.

And when Beli is not writing or coloring she loves helping out in the kitchen. A few days ago, I tried, for the second time in my life, to make flour tortillas. I gave her some dough and she was entertained for at least half an hour. She made circle and star shaped tortillas while I worked on stretching out my irregular round tortillas. Here she is showing off Mommy's not so round tortilla. I think after my 10th try I should have the technique just right.

As a new parent I'm loving this new stage of her life, who knew that coloring would teach her the concept of sharing or that reading Dora's bedtime wishes would help with expressing her emotions.