Teo’s parents returned to Croatia on Saturday. I’m a bit tired from trying to get back into the swing of things…waking up early to get Che fed and clothed before taking him to day care. Now that he is eating food, it takes a little longer to get him out the door in the mornings. Though it is nice to be alone with my husband and son at times, I will miss having “Baka i Deda” (Croatian for grandma and grandpa) around.

Che misses them too. The day they left, I printed two 8″ x 10″ photos of Baka i Deda. One is on the coffee table so Che can look at them when he is in his excersaucer. The other is on the wall between his crib and changing table. He looks at them daily and we point to them and say their names. So far, they are the only photos to which Che has paid any attention. When he is a little squirmy or agitated, we point to the photos and say their names, and Che will gaze at the pictures for a few minutes. He’ll even reach out to touch the photos, probably trying to figure out how Baka i Deda got so small and why they don’t move or blink.

We still sing our little tune of “volim Vanda wunderbar, volim Deda wunderbar.” The German “w” sounds like a “v” giving the tune a nice alliteration. Until we get to Croatia, looking at the photos and occasionally hearing them on the phone will have to be enough to help Che remember just how much he loves Baka i Deda. I, on the other hand, will clearly remember all the wonderful things they did for us during their visit, and be grateful for the kindness they showed to me and the love they poured upon my son.