I am Looking for a Partner

I have been exercising in the morning. Assya usually watches me from our bed or her rocker. And Zoard is either folding clothes on our bed, getting his friends dressed up or he is painting.

So as you can imagine, my exercising routine is quick and you can even do it in the company of two children in the room.

It would help me if I would know that someone else is doing the exercising with me.

We could drop each other a message once we completed the daily exercising.

Here it is.

I do the 4 workouts 3 times as you can read about it in the post.

It takes less than 20 minutes.

I listen to this while I do the workouts. I think I repeat the song 3 or 4 times.

All you need is a towel and it is nicer to do the whole workout in shoes.

You can contact me on Instagram @zoardminiboy and we can talk about the details of our partnership.

I gave birth 3 months ago and I breastfeed. The exercising I am hoping you will join me in, will not affect your milk supply.

And yes, my nursing top can be bought online here.

I will hopefully get healthy with you!

xoxo, Eszter
@zoardminiboy

 

 

 

Assya is 1 month old

I will give you a quick update with lovely pictures. That is my deal. Deal?!

Assya weighs 5 kg-s.

She is a great partner in breastfeeding though we have our challenges. You would like to know what?! I am leaking, squirting… making her choke on my milk. I read about this so now I am surrounded with paper towels that Zoard helps me fold. I stop the feeding when the squirting starts… Nevertheless, Assya has to be changed many times because I make her clothes wet with my milk and she swallows a lot of air and started to recently spit up. The upward positions do help.

We go to sleep around 11. She wakes up twice during the night. This is a bliss. I am never tired.

She can also take long naps while we are outside. We put her in her cot and if we happen to be outside for hours, I nurse her in a fitting room. I could breastfeed her anywhere but nowadays, we have been looking for clothes on sale. You cannot blame us, we live in Barcelona after all!

Assya gets fussy before bedtime. We carry her a lot.

She also calms down when laying on her changing pad (from IKEA).

So far, her baby mobile is not a hit with Assya but Zoard is a fan…

Assya has gorgeous clothes. Let me show you some examples…

Onesie from KateQuinnOrganics.

Fox onesie from Igloindi.

Footsie from LovedBaby.

Matching outfit from Belabumbum.

Matching beanies from: Ryderl.
Matching jackets from: LittleIndians.

Outfit from Agiftedbaby.
Sunglasses from FjsPopShop.

Thank you for reading! See you on Instagram @zoardminiboy, I hope we can become friends! xoxo

 

Stay at Home Toddler?!

We decided not to send Zoard to pre-school or kindergarten for now. I am a great supporter of reaching out for help when there is a need, but I also think that in our case, the “price to pay was too high”.

I did not want Zoard to catch a virus from other children and then pass it on to me.

I also felt that I had some unfinished business with him. Namely, establishing a routine he can count on in our new home and he had a hard time accepting that sometimes we do not wish to entertain him (I call it alone time).

I spend a fair amount of time with Zoard. He enjoys playing parts of stories. I tell him a lot of stories and I am guessing, he might have more books than an average 2 year old… I highly enjoy picking out books for him. Today I will tell Zoard the story of Tchaikovsky’s  Nutcracker. I hope it will cause him as much pleasure as the story of Rudolf the reindeer. See picture above…

As you know, Instagram plays a big part in our everyday lives. Zoard understands a lot about my account @zoardminiboy. He is enjoying being part of this hobby that is strongly connected with what I do in my alone time. I really like playing around with all the accessories and clothes Zoard receives and I became very selective on what we give our names to, so it is really a treat to collaborate with nice people who are behind the shops that sell beautiful children’s clothes.

Insta shop products seen specifically on these two captures are:

Beanie: LouisundLola
Hooded jumper: Mygaiaorganiccotton
Jacket: Little_indians
Sunglasses: Fjs_popshop

Getting back to what we do all day… I try to take Zoard out on a so-called adventure whenever I can. However, I do have to remind myself that I am now super close to giving birth so I have to hold myself back. Last week we went to IKEA to grab a few, not heavy items. We took a few public transportation to get there and it is among those things that I should not do anymore…

Visiting friendly cafes, not beyond far from us, is a better idea (unless it requires taking a train like we did yesterday…)
Cafe: Nata Lisboa Barcelona

Being spontaneous is essential when you wish to have a good time with your toddler. For example, I personally dislike toys that make a noise but I do not deny Zoard from sitting on them…

And sometimes I just give hime a break. I let him learn how to cope with his own mood swings without making a big deal about it.

Now I am off to do some cooking with Zoard. He LOVES that as well.  After lunch, we will both hopefully take a nap without any “misunderstandings”. And I will have an exciting post up on Instagram after we wake up so see you there!!!

xoxo, Eszter @zoardminiboy

 

Message in The…

…Sand. We live on an island so this is a good way to communicate, right?!

I met this really nice couple yesterday at the beach. They have a cute daughter called Michelle who started off our blooming friendship by giving Zoard a flower. Shortly after this, Zoard gave her a seashell.  We talked, we joked around and then we had to go quickly and all I said was, we will see you around at this same beach, right?! And they nodded. Firmly. I am not mistaken.

Zoard and I walked back to the same spot in the morning and I was very disappointed to find an empty beach. Fortunately there was a bamboo stick laying in the sand so I wrote them the following:

G + A + M (the mother is Gala and the father is Alex)
After 4?

Zoard and I got ready a few minutes before 4 o’clock. Zoárd suggested we take a present:

But we ended up taking a coin as our first playdate gift which later Zoárd became unsure about:

Most of my message vanished by the time we got there except maybe for the essence of it…

However G, A and little M never showed up.

There were plenty of airplanes to spot so I am not saying we did not have a good time…

I explained to Zoárd how trees grow out of a seed…

We did other “stuff” as well:

And we kept our spirit up:

So I know what you are all asking to yourself. Could this be another message to A, G and M?!
And the answer is, of course!!!!
See you tomorrow after 4….

********************************** Find us on Instagram: krokovayeszter is my username *********************************

Activities with my Toddler

You might have wanted to read about activities with Your toddler but all I can do is share with you what I do with Zoard and hope that I inspire you in one way or another. Thanks for jumping on board!

As all toddlers, Zoard loves to help out. When I was 18 and I was living with my grandma, I did not understand what I know now: quality does not matter! When someone is ill, old or very, very young it does not matter at all how WELL they help us with various chores.

Zoard loves to stir daddy’s coffee. He can also use some coffee machines and he can say decaf latte (for) mammy.

In Thailand it is not always easy to find products made for children that are safe. If you are thinking arts-and-crafts you would need to find a shopping center that sells stuff from Western countries and it will cost a lot. So we haven’t tried finger painting yet but we did sell the silverware and bought some markers.

I am really excited about this so may I brag with one more picture? His…

I ain’t know psychologist but he is talented! Wait! I am a psychologist!! HAHA

Here are my ideas when it comes to playing with Play-doh and tell me yours…
Zoard is younger than the recommended age for Play-doh but he does not put things in his mouth so we are super lucky in this sense. As this being said, he is still pretty young so he needs guiding. I give him bottle caps and pencils to make shapes. I always start off by making him a base as I call it. This is actually how I started him off on Duplo as well. By giving him a base to build on.

After he gets tired of making shapes, I make him mini balls and he can either put them back in to the holes we previously made or we start making a so called ball tower. A tower made of balls. I really have to encourage him to press the little balls hard when he places them on top of each other.

  

Building towers are tricky. Usually I have to be very quick to make a foundation that will be strong enough for Zoard’s working hands. He has been playing with Duplo for five months now so he is very good with it but nevertheless, he needs to focus when we are working on a masterpiece and sometimes I give him parallel projects just to make sure he does not lose interest.

Oh and I do talk a lot. He needs full attention when doing something grand as such. Wink wink.

I am not sure when make believe playing starts, simply because I haven’t read in to it yet and I forgot what I studied in child’s development… (oh just found an interesting article on intersubjectivity 😛 )But Zoard is starting to give water to the Duplo figures and he appreciates it if I play with his camel and dog for example. The story was that Dog had to find shoes for Camel…

I will finish this blog post before Zoard wakes up from his nap and if you were wondering if we ever go outside then the answer is for sure! It is essential, no matter where you live. Bangkok is not ideal, living in a hotel on a mountain can be challenging but it is sort of the right a child has to be outdoors, you know…

     

Please share any thoughts and ideas you might have. And find us on Instagram! My username is: krokovayeszter.

The Bet You Do Not Want To Loose

I lost a bet and as a result I have to do things that are outside my comfort zone for a whole month! I have already done three weeks of it so 1 more week to go. Here they are:

1. I cannot put on make-up.
2. I cannot use hair conditioning.
3. I cannot use an epilator. When was the last time you had a hairy armpit?!
4. I cannot wear any of my Bonds underwear (the 15 pair I have)and I can only wear 3 pairs from Top Shop.
5. I can only wear 2 pair of pants, no skirts…
6. I have to eat the skin of apples.
7. I cannot eat my over night oats. (I am very rigid when it comes to breakfast… HAHA)
8. I cannot eat homemade dumplings. (This might seem like a white men’s problem… and it is!)
9. I have to let Zoard play with my phone every day.
10. I cannot floss.
11. I cannot use a deodorant.
12. I cannot take a family picture on the 16th of the month. (Zoard turned 20 months on the 16th – it is my “thing” to take pics then.)
13. I cannot exercise. (Even restorative yoga is a form of exercise in this sense.)

Which of these are the worse for you? What comes to your mind when you think about stepping out of Your comfort zone…

You can find me on Instagram: krokovayeszter is my username.

A Funny Day

If I look at it this way, all my days are quite “funny” being with Zoard all day long.

For night time, we started using pull-up diapers so Zoard cannot take them off.
Funny moment: Zoard peeing on the edge of our bed.

We go down to have breakfast and the “egg man” is no where to be seen so I ask a waiter to find the “egg man” for us and ask him to make Zoard an omelette well-done with tomatoes.
Funny moment: desperate German father steels our eggs.
Revenge funny moment: my husband takes the German man’s toasts the following day…
Funny moment at night time (Zoard ate too much rombutan and grapes before bed = massive sugar high): Zoard talking to himself: “egg man well-done…”

Zoard wants to go to the pool and we do so.
Funny moment: the water is extremely cold but as a brave mama I dip myself in. Zoard is “finished”. He wants to go to the kids club (playroom).

Zoard wants to go to the playroom and we go, once I wash off the chlorine from the swimming pool.
Funny moment: Zoard is eager to go “outside” since we spent a whole 4 minutes at the playroom.

The pavement is hot. Zoard does not wear shoes. Mosquitoes are attacking him.
Funny moment: at least he is happy that we get to go back to our room and he can push the buttons. One that opens a door, another one for the elevator… Oh he can use the keycard, what joy!

I carry Zoard down to catch a tuk-tuk and from the main road we walk towards the station. The escalator is not working because two security guys are carrying down a teenager in a wheelchair. You can tell on his face that the bump,bump, bump… part is not fun for his injured foot.
Funny moment: none. When we come back 90 minutes later, the escalator is still not working. Hm.

Shopping center time!
I dress Zoard up in the breastfeeding room but the faces he makes look like I am torturing him when in fact, we were discussing all the different vehicles that there are…
Funny moment:

Excuse me… Zoard woke up…

I am Looking for a Penfriend for my Baby

I really think Zoard should socialize with other toddlers so if you know one… who happens to be in Bangkok.

Yes, we are currently in Bangkok so please make sure the toddler you find us is also here. Preferably near a BTS station. You think I should be slightly more flexible?! OK a baby near an MRT station is also welcomed.

Zoard will be 20 months old in a week or so.
He is very chatty so to show you how really flexible I am Your toddler does not have to be a great penpal but he or she should be able to speak some English. Zoard can say around 300 words now so your baby should know at least 30. Or 13.
Zoard currently loves vans with slide doors, long red buses, pink taxis and dark blue cars. Elevators and escalators are a plus.
Please do not bring any sugar to the play date. If you insist on bringing some snacks to share, how about some apples, oranges or rambutan…

We could meet anywhere as long as climbing, running, jumping, going under pillow bridges is involved.

Your toddler is not stylish?! No worries! There is no judging on our part but if you are wondering where Zoard’s organic cotton leggings and beanies are from… Check out Littlefaces.

Call us.

Or give us a shout.

Find Zoard on Instagram:    krokovayeszter is my username. 

Have a loving day!!!

 

What Would Be The Three Things You Would Take to an Island?

Someone is coming to Koh Samui from Hungary and my mind went blank when the question came up, what would I like him to bring to us. He will meet up with my mother-in-law so basically I can ask for anything. I first thought of all sorts of pastries with cottage cheese in them but it is not so practical. Then there is a type of salt stick called Nogradi but it is sort of a nostalgia product so it is super difficult to get your hands on them. They were popular when I was a kid. When was that? Never mind…

So far, I asked for black pants for Zoard (I am guessing ZARA or H&M might have a pair for him); Old Spice deodorant for my husband and any color of Essie nail polish (I wanted to make it “fun” for my mother-in-law ).

What would you ask from your home town? 

Now for some more serious topics. Do you have a beanie brand that you really like?

Aussie Kids Here I Come

When the hotel we live in (runned by my husband) has a full house it usually means we have to move to the last room available, anywhere in the hotel. Well this time even that last room is taken so we had to move out for a few days. I am not going to complain.

And I kept myself busy even though in the mornings we go back to our hotel until lunch time and I have to entertain Zoard which is not easy (for me) and at this hotel we are staying at, they gave away their last cot. It just means our quality of sleep became pretty bad. HAHA

On Instagram I became the moderator of a page called @AUSSIE_KIDS. So anyone reading this who likes to tag pictures with their son, daughter, niece, nephew little cousin etc. on it, follow this page and use the hashtag #aussie_kids.

You can also follow me if you like @krokovayeszter. 

Zoard became the brand representative of another cute company that specializes on moccasins. They were eager to find two little boys to market their moccasins so I assume the fall collection will have more unisex and boyish pieces. This is especially exciting for us because Zoard is bare feet day and night but we often talk about this phenomenon with my husband.  In general, we are doing the right thing of letting him walk around like a little son of Nature but these moccasins are soft shoes so we should use them at least when the pavement is hot. Anyways, for me this is more about helping an entrepreneur. We really do not need free clothes and shoes since Zoard is happy as one can be basically being naked.

Please take a look at the Litte Bean Footwear if you have a little one at home or you like to give presents to younger children.

I took pictures as well that I am not going to share on Instagram because if there is a series of pictures I only pick out one to share. In rare occasions two.

He is saying two jet skis or two speed boats or two big airplanes… HAHA

Here he only saw one jet ski or speed boat or big airplane in which case pointing is enough. 

Have a nice day!!