House update! The "Office" / New Baby's Room

What a busy year! Most of our time has been spent with Markus -- watching him grow, play, and learn. But there are those rare times where I find time to continue to do work on our first home! First, here's a picture of me in the backyard blowing around a pile of leaves onto a tarp, which I will drag out to the front of the house for our town will pick up. I just thought this was funny.

(apparently leaves fall of the trees EVERY year...who knew?)

The room next to Markus' room was supposed to be our office. It took me practically the entire year to get it up to snuff, mostly because I couldn't do any work at night in that room because it would wake Markus up. It turns out that this was serendipity. Now that's it's finished, we no longer are going to be using this as an office, but it will be the new nursery! Everything happens for a reason. Anyway, here's the rundown of what was done (that I can remember and not necessarily in this order) and some before/after pictures, which are always fun.

• Remove old, stank carpet
• Remove old tiles beneath carpet
• Refinish oak floors - sand and poly (contractors)
• Remove old doors, closet shelves, and trim (all of it, except window sash)
• Remove old light fixture
• Change all old outlets to new outlets
  
• Change old dimmer with new dimmer
  
• Change old telephone outlet to modern outlet
  
• Remove peeling paint from walls (almost all walls)
  
• Prime and seal walls, remove few more spots of bubbling old paint, and repeat.
• Fix bumpy ceiling (corner near entry door was bad)
  
• Skimcoat all walls and ceiling (3 coats min, with sanding in between each coat!)
• Prime all walls and ceiling
• Install new door (solid, six-panel)
• Install new closet doors (bi-fold set)
  
• Install new trim (baseboards, door, window, and closet)
• Caulk around trim
• Prime and paint all trim and doors
• Strip old registers of paint (the reason I did this was because our registers are some unique size that Home Depot/Lowes doesn't carry. I thought this was a viable option and they came out nice). Spray primer and spray paint.
  
• Paint ceiling
• Paint walls
• Install new light and window shades
  
• CLEAN UP

I think that about covers it. I finished this about two or three months ago. This room is basically all new now, with nice smooth walls and ceiling. We will now decorate it for our new baby! Here are the b/a pictures. I matched up some of the photos as best I could.

(corner, new trim, register, blinds outlet, floor)

(closet, you can see the peeling paint)

(old door)

(new door -- thanks BRO!)

That reminds me -- hanging a new door (even if pre-hung!) is not easy when the entire house is lopsided! My brother and I changed 5 doors upstairs (3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 linen closet) and each one was much more difficult that we originally thought due to the unevenness of the framing.

Anyway, the next and current project is the shag carpet room (update: no more shag remains!). The plan is to rip off the faux wood paneling (YIKES), change the two little closets into one pantry, remove the textured ceiling and faux wood beams (YIKES), put in some better lighting, new trim, doors, and some laminate wood flooring, which will continue to the basement laundry room. Piece of cake, no? I'll probably have an update in 3 years!

Markus 12 month check-up & updates

We forgot to update with Markus' 12 month stats! We took him in for the first dose of the flu shot on 11/7 (children his age need 2 shots, at least one month apart. I am making him appt. for dose #2 soon). Then on 11/21, we took him back in for his regular check-up. It had been 3 months, so we were anxious to see how much he'd grown and how his development was measuring up.

12 month stats
Height/length: 31.5 in
Weight: 31 lbs, 2 oz (!!!!!)
Head circumference: 19 3/4 in
Vaccines: chicken pox, Hep A, Prevnar

So...needless to say our little guy is not so little anymore! Markus' weight is now so far off the charts for baby boys his age that the pediatrician is concerned. We (I) did get a lecture about feeding him. We're to give him 3 meals a day sitting in his high chair or stroller (whichever I can manage with my growing belly, especially considering his hefty weight and my restrictions on heavy lifting due to advancing pregnancy), and NO SNACKS. I used to give Markus little baby puffs in varying flavors at least twice a day, or little zesty tomato flavored crunchy sticks. No more of those!

Markus is also completely off formula and drinking 2-3 bottles of whole milk a day. We had started weaning him from the formula by using a tapering strategy for a few weeks before he turned one. We started with 2 oz milk/5 oz formula, then moved to half and half, finally ending with 2 oz formula/5 oz milk, until we just gave him a full bottle of milk. He had a really easy time with it. Judging by his weight, we know he loves to eat and is not too picky!

Markus started crawling (and if there were a speed-crawling category in the Olympics, I think my son would win) at 9 months. Actually, it was less than a week after his pediatrician appointment on 8/22, at which we'd reported that he wasn't crawling. From my observations, Markus is capable of more than he's actually doing. So although I must now report that he isn't walking yet, I must qualify that by saying that he's fully capable of walking, when he deems himself good and ready to do it. He's got great balance; I've seen him stand unsupported for several seconds, crouch to pick up a toy from the floor, and stand back up. I've also seen him stand unsupported and bounce up and down, bending at the knees, for several beats of a song (Markus loves dancing to music). So I know he CAN walk. He just DOESN'T. ;)

As far as speaking, he still won't say "mama," much to my dismay. He spends 90% of his waking time with me, but he won't call me. :( But he does love to say "Dada" and says it often. His real first word is "Agua." It comes out sounding like "Ooo-wah", but I love that my child is bilingual from the start! My mother taught him how to say it, and he knows that the words "water" and "agua" mean the same thing. If I ask him in English if he'd like some water, he responds by saying "Ooh-wah." I'm hoping by the time we return to the pediatrician for his 15 month check-up on Feb. 14, he'll have mastered a few more words!

A picture in honor of Markus's being 13 months old today!

It's Santa Time!

We weren't sure how Markus would react to meeting Santa Claus. He's normally shy with strangers for a few minutes, and bearded strangers get the most wary treatment of all - if he doesn't scream his head off at them! Still, we wanted him to have his picture taken with Santa, this being the first Christmas he's old enough for such things.

It turned out well! He's not smiling, but he was very calm when meeting Santa! I just walked up and plopped Markus on Santa's lap, then paused for just a second to make sure he wouldn't cry and reach for me. When he didn't, I ran away and let the photographers do their thing. I love it!

Announcement

We've told all (or most!) of our real life friends and family, so it's about time to come out on the blog: we're expecting our second child! I'm 16 weeks today, and couldn't be happier about our upcoming new addition to the family. I'm due on May 5, so we'll have a spring baby to join our fall baby. Our 2 little ones will be just under 18 months apart, and #2 is due just 2 days before Raph's and my 5 year wedding anniversary! An exciting springtime lies ahead. :)

So now that it's out in the open, I can show you all some party pictures from last Saturday. I look quite positively pregnant in them, hence the forewarning above. Thanks again to everyone who came out to celebrate Markus' first with us!



































And for the grandmas, a special picture:

Toys!

Markus' first birthday party was a success! Sandra and I were very happy to see all of our friends and family come and celebrate the little guy's first year. It's always very special to get together with everyone. It's those moments that are the most important in life and I always wish there were more of them.

Markus also got a bunch of presents, which he is excited to play with. Sandra and I got him a Radio Flyer wagon. We opened it up at night, but didn't assemble it yet. That didn't prevent Markus from sitting in his new ride and enjoying it. Here are some pictures:





(I was tickling him)



You can see that Markus has his favorite blue ring with him, and his pal, Scary Puppy Toy (SPT) opposite him. Sandra and I call that toy SPT because when we first got her, she would start talking randomly and scaring us. Markus loves her, so we keep her around. But we're sure to turn her switch to "off" at night. =)

Happy 1st Birthday!

Markus' 1st birthday was yesterday and we had a tiny little celebration at home -- the big party is on Saturday. What an amazing first year it's been and, of course, we're shocked about how quickly it has gone. We're very proud of our little guy, and of ourselves, and I was so happy at work all day. I bought some Crumbs cupcakes to celebrate, and we even let Markus have some. Not too much, as it was almost time for bed, but he definitely liked it! It's no secret that I love the sweets, so it looks like Markus has this gene in him as well.

Here is a picture of us blowing out a candle with him.



Extra special thanks to Markus' aunt Natalie, who came over to celebrate with us and took this picture!

Looking forward to the big celebration we have for the weekend!

Halloween 2009

We had purchased a Winnie-the-Pooh outfit for Markus for Halloween, size 2T (he is not yet 1 year old). We got it about two weeks before Halloween, but never bothered to put it on him. Turns out that it was a tad too small. We felt pretty bad because we wanted to take him around the neighborhood to meet everyone, but it would be weird to go trick-or-treating without any outfit on!

We decided to try and put the head on and take a picture, so we can share it with everyone, but Markus was not having any of that! He doesn't like anything on his head, and this was no exception. We each tried once.



Yes, that's me in a Starfleet uniform from the Next Generation!



Even Markus' blue ring (his favorite toy which he takes EVERYWHERE) couldn't soothe him.

...and before my mom calls me to yell at me for torturing her grandson, please know that this attempt lasted about 5 seconds!

Trip w/out our little guy

Sandra and I went to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival this past weekend, a trip we had been planning with our friends for over a year, and Markus stayed with Sandra's mom during that time. While we had a great time during our mini-vacation, there was definitely a cap to our happiness. Our hearts were back home and we really missed Markus a lot. Especially at Disney(!), where there are TONS of little kids everywhere.

We don't ever want to take another vacation without Markus, and we're very much looking forward to going back to Disney with him in the future. Sandra and I both have a new appreciation for Disney and realize how much fun it would be for kids.

This was definitely the first time I ever felt excited about the end my vacation. Very strange. Anyway, we're back home and the little guy is back doing his thing. Looking forward to Halloween this weekend....Markus will be dressed up as Pooh Bear. Pictures to come!

Drive-by Photo Post

Look! It's Markus!

Massive Update

For this long-overdue, oft-requested, massive update, I thought it best to make use of a bulleted list.

But first: a flashback...just one, despite that at this point I owe 2 others. When you read what Markus has been up, you'll see why those others have gone missing indefinitely.















This was the "real French breakfast" I ordered in our hotel just one day. I just wanted to see what they'd send. For the record: coffee with milk, orange juice, plain yogurt, honey, breads (croissants, rolls, etc.), butter, and various fruit jams. I ate the yogurt with honey and one roll with butter, drank the coffee and juice, then gave the rest of the bread to my sister and stuffed all the jams into my suitcase. :)















Raph and I are on the cruise on the Seine. What a great way to see the sights on our first full day in Paris! From there we could see:















Notre Dame,




















The Eiffel Tower, and















this here winged something-or-other on a tower.

Also, there was:














entertainment! And,















WINE!! There was actually a full luncheon, but let's face it. Only the wine was photographed!

I highly recommend Bateaux Parisiens to anyone visiting Paris.

And now, onto Markus, the reason anyone ever reads this blog! Bullets:

• Markus now has 6 teeth! Two more have grown in since his 9 month checkup on 8/22. They're the teeth to the sides of the bottom 2 in the middle. Not sure what they're called. Markus has interesting behavior patterns when he's teething. A lot of screaming in lieu of crying. Wakefulness at night (needs more comforting and rocking in the middle of the night). Not the biggest fan of being spoon-fed (requires a lot more time and patience as he continually bites the spoon).
• Markus is a crawling machine! He learned to crawl within a few days of his 9 month appt., at which we had told his doctor that he was just army crawling (pulling himself along on his belly with his arms). Now he's FAST. He can get across a room faster than I can (almost).
  
• Markus cruises along the furniture! He's been pulling himself up to stand for over a month. Now he is no longer content with staying in one place. He has gained the confidence to put his feet flat on the floor (he used to be on his tippy-toes!). He holds onto the coffee table and cruises all along it, the holds on with one hand while reaching for the couch, and shifts between the two. I've even observed him letting go with both hands for one second of free-standing! This baby is on his way to walking on his own, for sure!
• Markus is going to be 1! We've begun planning Markus's first birthday party. This is a huge milestone and we can't wait to celebrate!
• Markus likes to clap! Markus's babcia, Raph's mom, taught him a little clapping song, and now all we have to do is sing the song and Markus will clap. There is a video, but I don't know how to add the video to this post. I've asked Raph for a little tech support, when he gets a chance.

I think that's all for now. Any questions? :)

Friday!

Check out the flashback! It's from our Brazil International Dinner. If you've never tried fechuada (a Brazilian meat and bean stew), you definitely should! It's fantastic.















That is no ordinary white rice - it has sauteed garlic in it. It's a subtle, but important, flavor difference. Delicious!















The farofa is a great addition to the fechuada - it's toasted manioc flour that we cooked with bacon and scallions. You'll need to go to a Brazilian market for some of these ingredients!















The cup of tea we had to cap off the evening.

If anyone wants any of these recipes, please let me know! They're hiding in the shag carpet room at the mo', but I'll take any excuse to go wage a little battle on that space!

Markus' 9 Month Check-Up

On Saturday we went to the pediatrician for Markus' 9 month check up. No shots for the little guy this time, so it was an easy morning. He weighs 28lbs, 14 oz. (we were actually surprised it was under 30) and he is 29 and 3/4 inches tall. Not surprisingly, that is the 99th and 90-97th percentile for those categories.

We were concerned that he wasn't necessarily crawling (he's doing the army style crawl with his upper body -- see video a few posts back), but the doctor told us that many babies don't crawl and since he's pulling himself up that he is already past the crawling milestone, so that doesn't make sense according to traditional theory. We're also good with his food and other milestones.

We mentioned that Markus cries when he sees a new person with facial hair, most notably a goatee, and the doctor said that this is pretty common for children this age. So, no hard feelings Eddie and Mike D.! Glasses can also cause this, but since Sandra and I wear glasses at home, I think Markus is used to that change. In fact, he loves reaching for them/licking them (lol) despite our "No!" warnings.

Well, that's it for the check up. He's healthy and happy, just the way we like him!

It's Flash! It's Back! It's FRIDAY!

Hello again, loyal blog followers (all...how many of you are there?!)...

This was another fantastic week in Frydam-Cranford Land. This week, we took Markus to the zoo for the first time! We also bought him a cool new lightweight stroller to zip him around places like the zoo more easily than in his heavier stroller. Behold, Markus at the Bronx Zoo:














I think there are flamingos in the background.















Yep. There certainly are!















Markus loves his new stroller - and his new friend James the Giraffe, which is his souvenir from the zoo!

And now, for today's Flashback!














This was taken in Barbados, the last stop on the Caribbean cruise Raph and I took in 2003. I seem to remember more photos from this day, but alas, they were on my NON-digital camera, meaning the prints are floating around somewhere in the shag carpet room. If I ever find them, I promise to scan a few good ones.

Flashback Friday!

Here we go again. We've had a good week! On Tuesday and Wednesday, I threw a Harry Potter movie viewing party for my sisters. They came over and we watched all the HP movies over 2 days. We made a British dinner on Tuesday night - chicken and ham pie. It was delicious! It's literally chunks of chicken and strips of ham in a sauce made with leeks and onions, with a pastry crust over top. We actually doubled the seasoning the recipe called for, and served it with mashed potatoes and steam vegetables. Have a look:





























My whole family is on their way to DR as I type. I am so jealous - this trip was my idea! I had wanted to go with the whole family, and bring Markus too. Poor baby hasn't been to a beach all summer. And by "poor baby" I mean ME! *whine*

Today's Flashback Friday picture is from May 2007. It was our 2-year anniversary, and we had taken so many trips in 2006 that we decided to do the original "staycation." This was well before it was fashionable! We did NY touristy things such as the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant whose name I wish I remembered because it was excellent, and we walked through Central Park. We had a bit of setback in that I'd sprained my ankle on the Friday night before our fun weekend, so we had to take it slow walking through the museums. I was unable to wear even slight heels for months after that sprain! Oy, getting older every minute, aren't we?

From the Met: the view from a balcony.












From the Hall of Human Origins, which had just been opened at the Museum of Natural History.














At Central Park. Oh, look, I'm wearing my Ray-Ban sunglasses that were stolen later that summer from my desk at work!

















Raph and I are such nerds...we always spring for the headsets!

Markus reaches 9 months!

Today is Markus' 9 month birthday.

By the way, do you prefer "Markus'" or "Markus's"?

Anyway, Markus is doing great and decided to show us a new trick today for his 9 month birthday:



He started crawling! Well, it's not the smoothest of crawls (it's more like pulling himself forward with his arms), but it's a forward motion with a specific purpose. According to other people with children, this is the beginning of the end! We are planning on going shopping to baby-proof the house asap. Markus loves to try to lift himself up and now that he's more mobile, he'll be everywhere he's not supposed to be in no time!

He's also been sitting up by himself for a little while now. Here's a video of him sitting up by himself and then focusing himself on the DVD player!



In other news, I've been working on fixing up the other bedroom/office. It's taking quite a long time and I'll post up pictures and the story soon.

Hope you enjoy the videos of the little guy!

Return of the Genuine Flashback Friday!

I'm home, fresh from my jaunt to the Dunkin Donuts about a mile away, where I took Markus for breakfast. Not his breakfast - my breakfast! I had a ham and swiss flatbread sandwish and an iced mocha latte, for all those curious readers out there.

See a picture of my very cool son. Markus is wearing his mama's shades for a moment, striking a cool pose, while I was watering my flowering plant in the backyard. Ah, suburban domestic bliss! That plant, incidentally, has 9 lives...this is the second time it's died but has gone on to sprout more flowers. Let's see how many more times I can make it do that before winter.

And now for the much anticipated Friday edition of Flashback Friday!
























This photo was taken in August, 2003 at Madame Toussoud's Wax Museum in NY. Raph and I went there to meet an internet friend of mine (with whom I've since lost touch, sadly). We had a great time, and I got to stand face to face with BON JOVI. Love him! Although seriously, not sure I could hang with a guy whose hips are that much smaller than mine...






Raph with wax!Patrick Stewart, well before our Star Trek fanaticism began.












Here's a bonus picture: this is me and Ericka at the Bon Jovi concert exactly 6 years ago today! August 7, 2003, at Giants Stadium. GREAT SHOW. It poured heavy rain on us the whole time (Raph and I were sitting on the field) and I just stood up on my chair and sang my heart out. Good times!

Flashback Friday Make-up (Thurs)

fThis will be the final Flashback Friday make-up post. Tomorrow you'll have your regularly scheduled Flashback Friday, and hopefully I won't need to spend another week making up my lapses in future!

Before we get to today's pictures, I want to take a moment to make a quick Markus Report. On July 26, we noticed that Markus had cut two new teeth - the two top ones! I've been waiting for these to come out, as his fussiness during the day couldn't be attributed to anything but the discomfort of teething but for weeks there were no new teeth to show for it. The second awesome Markus Report point is that he's started to sit himself up! He's able to, from lying face-down on the floor, push himself up to a sitting position. It's adorable! He's also been getting around the floor quite well, not by crawling, but by dragging himself along on his belly using his arms. We've been practicing standing quite a bit, to keep strengthening his legs in preparation to walk, but he hasn't been able to stand flat on his feet yet - he just keeps his little toes pointed!

BTW, babyproofing has got to begin in this house. Markus really is getting quite mobile, which means nothing is safe from him trying to pull himself up to standing on it! His favorite is the coffee table, but he's tried the TV table and the bookcase as well. Oh, and if I'm standing near enough, pulling on my pants leg is inevitable. ;)

Today's picture is from the Caribbean cruise Raph and I took in March 2003. We flew to Puerto Rico and then took off for St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Maarten. It was so much fun and it cemented our love for cruises - we also did a cruise for our honeymoon two years later. Can't wait for our next one!

Flashback Friday Make-up (Wed)

Today's Flashback Friday Make-up comes to you from one of our favorite activities: our International Dinners! We take turns with two other couples, Diane & Eddie and Adam & Ericka, to throw dinner parties with an international menu. We pick the country out of a hat after everyone has had a chance to make his/her vote. Then one couple hosts and does the main course (which often includes a signature drink) and the other couples make either an appetizer/first course and side dish or a dessert. We make sure to have plenty of the regional wine, as well as the local music for the country whose cuisine we are celebrating. We always try to remember to bring a printout of the recipes we made so that we can create them at home if we wish.



















This photo is from our very first International Dinner, South Africa! Raph and I hosted, so I made the main dish, bobotie. It's made with ground beef and plenty of spices such as turmeric, curry powder, and cloves. It's delicious and I've made it many more times (the most recently just last month - unless you count tonight! I have the meat defrosting as I type).















Food, friends, and fun!

Flashback Friday Make-up (Tues)

Today's Flashback Make-up comes from Paris, France. Raph and I spent a week there with my sisters before jetting to Madrid to meet my parents. I can't believe it was 2 years ago this month! I still want to go back and do all the things we didn't get to do on that first trip - including eat a lot more French food!















Holidaymakers outside the Louvre, with the glass pyramid in the background.
















The weather in France in August that year was pretty crappy. It was cold every day, temps in the 60s, and we had our fair share of rain as well. What better day to spend in the illustrious Louvre than our first rainy day?
















On the Bateaux Parisiens cruise on the Seine River. This was so much fun! It was a great way to take a tour and have a French meal.















The view from our hotel room. It's the Pantheon, which we literally walked by on our way to and from our various destinations, never realizing how amazing it was on the inside until the last day.















See what I mean? Some famous Frenchmen are entombed here. It gave me the total willies to be in the tombs beneath the place, and I skipped as many as I could.




















There is nothing like the Eiffel Tower at night. It's exquisite to behold. The crowd that gathers to watch it light up gasps simultaneously and the moment holds a certain magic that calls to mind Christmas morning when you still believe in Santa Claus.




















Really, she's beautiful at any time of day - and in any weather. Oh, look at that! It's a couple in love, kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower in the most romantic city in the world! ;)















The majestic Notre Dame. On yet another rainy day.















Three sisters at the Gardens of Versailles.















The unbelievable Sacre Couer. The church forbade picture-taking inside, but it was so stunning and meaningful, it brought tears to my eyes. It took a heck of a long time, and climbing what seemed like hundreds of steps to get there. Not the best parts of town you need to pass, either - but well worth the effort.




















Holding a baguette in the Jardin de Luxembourg, just a couple of hours before heading to the airport. It almost makes me not want to eat bread in America, how delicious the bread was in France. I'd fly back there just for the baguettes!