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!