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!

Flashback Friday: A Flash in the Pan?

I assure you, Flashback Friday will be back! In response to the many inquiries I've received regarding the lack of Flashback Friday posts (most of them from the same person and you know who you are!), please enjoy the first of 4 daily Flashback Friday make-up posts. Every day this week I will do a picture post using the same rules as Flashback Fridays.

Thanks for your patience!

















Here we are in May 2005, during our honeymoon. We're at a vineyard in Malta, from which we bought a delicious bottle of Isis Chardonnay. Ahh, I'd love to have some of that again!

Markus's Christening

On Sunday, July 19, we had Markus baptized. It was such a wonderful event! It is very important to me to raise my children Catholic, and Raph and I had the conversation about this back when we were still dating in college. Raph is what we call a non-believer, but even he was moved by the ceremony and told me afterwards that he's glad we decided to do this. We invited almost 50 people to witness the ceremony and almost 40 were able to attend. We had a reception after the ceremony at a Spanish restaurant in our new town, which was delicious. Here are some pictures of the newly christened Markus Daniel.

From a photo shoot I did at home the day after the ceremony. His godmother, my good friend Ericka, knitted him that blanket just for the occasion.















And with his proud and happy parents
















And the favors that I conceived and my sister Natalie executed. She wouldn't let me do anything but fill the jordan almonds. LOL. The little bags have a scroll inside letting the guests know that we made a donation to the March of Dimes. I love how they turned out.
















I just want to express a heartfelt thanks to all of those who came out to witness Markus's baptism. It truly means so much to us that we can always count on your love and support. And an extra special thanks to Markus's godparents, Adam and Ericka. We are now officially compadres, and neither Markus nor Raph and I could have asked for a better match.

Father's Day post - supplemental

Because Raph did such a great job posting about his thoughts and feelings about Father's Day and his birthday, I thought I'd supplement his post with some pictures.










Raph and I at Ovelia

Party people!










The legendary Waldorf Astoria













Raph about to blow out his birthday candle














A wonderful father and son

Father's Day and Birthday

Because 2008 was such a hectic year (new baby, new house, new job, new degree), the only thing I wanted to do in 2009 was to focus on my family and my new house. I decided not to stress about anything else. No planning, no nothing. If someone wanted to do something, that was fine, but I just didn't want to be involved in any planning. However, last week my 30th birthday fell on the same day as my first Father's day. Big milestones, so I managed to invite my friends and family to go out for some drinks the night before.

Sandra's mom watched Markus for the night and Sandra and I booked a room at the Waldorf Astora for the night (we're soooooooooo fancy). The Waldorf actually worked out well because we booked a regular room, but when we go there they gave us a smoking room. We complained and they upgraded us to a mini-suite. NICE! Anyway, dinner and drinks were at Ovelia, a greek restaurant in Astoria which is co-owned by one of my good friends. The evening was a great success. A lot of friends came out and it was nice to see everyone. We even got to see pictures of one of my friends' newborn son, Lucas, and we found out that our other friends are expecting their first! Great, great news.

On my first father's day, I just recognized how lucky I am to have such a wonderful wife and mother of our son, and to have such an incredible little guy in my life. I also recognize the importance of my entire family, and how rare and lucky we are to have such great relationships. It's been such a joy raising Markus and I can't say enough about Sandra being a mom.

We had decided that Sandra would stop working to stay and raise Markus, and that has been the most surprising aspect so far in that I didn't really understand the dynamics of that decision. It's invaluable to have Sandra at home with Markus, and we knew that, but it's also difficult to be with him all day. I never appreciated just how difficult that would be. And while it's great for me to work, well, not work per se, but to get out of the house each day, it's tough not to be with Markus during that time. It'd be great if we could alternate! I love when I come home and Markus gets so excited. I play with him for about and hour, give him a bottle, and put him to sleep. It's so very special. I really look forward to weekends so I can play with him more.

Well, what can I say? I have no words to describe just how I feel about Markus. I love being a father. It really is a different world that I live in now. My thoughts and feelings are so different than before. One small, but powerful moment came a few weeks ago when we were visiting my parents. Markus was sitting down and I was standing next to my dad. I looked at Markus and said, "look, this is my dad, just like I am your dad". It was just a second, but it was one of those "wow" moments. Hard to explain, but very surreal, very spritual.

Well, Happy belated Father's day to everyone! I'm excited to see what the next year of fatherhood will unveil.