Little Men in A Big World

March Beach Days

2010-03-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Whenever I start missing my life on the east coast, which happens every now and again, I take a look out of the window or step outside and soak in the beauty that is Southern Californian weather...

Last week we spent two, yes two, mornings at the beach in Malibu. How insanely wonderful is that? Being able to jump in the car with your two little boys and play in such a beautiful place is something that we are so grateful for. Who knows how long we will last in SoCal, but I hope to be reminded on a regular basis to take daily advantage of the time we have here.

Heading to School

2010-03-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

Markus has started his 3rd school in 1 year...

Poor little guy has gone through quite a few transitions in his short life. He was born in Boston, moved to Hoboken, NJ when he was just shy of a year and then it was off to Los Angeles at 3. Talk about a state hopper! All in all he has taken it very well and been quite the trooper. He has had his moments here and there where it is obvious that all the newness he has experienced has made him a little more sensitive to being away from us, but in general, he's a very social, fun and bright little boy.

A few weeks ago he transitioned from Glendale Presbyterian Preschool to Camelot Kids in Silver Lake. We are so psyched about the change. First of all it is closer to where we live and hope to continue to live for quite some time, so Markus will attend kindergarten with some of the same kids. Secondly, there is more of a focus on academics than at his previous school (and I'm not talking hardcore, just a little more). And thirdly, it's a TON OF FUN! They have the most amazing playground with a bunny rabbit and birds and the teachers are a bunch of young, energetic and happy people. I always feel good dropping him off and picking him up which is a HUGE relief. For everyone. Seriously. A stressed out Svan is a stressed out family. I can fully admit that I spread the anxiousness like an infectious disease. Not a happy thing.

But the picture of Markus ready to rock it to school is a tremendously happy one :)

My Little Shoe Lover

2009-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

While I hit an amazing shoe sale at Bloomie's a while back, my little man was not about to be left out! Pabbi got some photos....

27 weeks and 20 lbs

2009-09-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

'Nuff Said...

Our New Addition - Zoe the Kitty!

2009-09-19T08:41:00.001-07:00

So, I'm a cat person. I can't remember a time growing up when my family didn't have one. When I went to college I sorely missed it and managed to convince my then-boyfriend now-husband to get one during our last year in Madison. We had that crazy-arse, borderline-psychotic animal for ten years before moving to Hoboken where we remained catless for 2 years.

I decided this summer that I had had enough of our fur free existence and we started on our journey to find a kitten to join our family. Initially we were focused on getting a Scottish Fold. This was a result of seeing some viral videos of Maru the Japanese Scottish Fold who seemed unmistakably awesome and sweet natured. After years of abuse by the aforementioned psycho feline, temperment was obviously very high on our list of "requirements" and the Fold is supposed to be perfect for families with small children...

However, the search turned out to be futile. Who knew that cat breeders don't return e-mail inquiries? I guess people are still spending their hard earned money on animals despite the economy.

After being ignored by a number of these crazy cat ladies, we (read: I) decided to take matters into our own hands and hit some local shelters and check out their selection.

Well, it ended up being the best decision we could have made, because we found the newest member of our family, Zoe. Now the testosterone/estrogen balance in our family is a little more balanced...

While we were slightly nervous about being clueless about her background or personality going into the adoption, she seemed incredibly sweet and mild mannered when we played with her at the Pasadena Humane Society and once we found out she had lost her tail in some unknown altercation/accident we decided to give her a chance.

She has ended up being one of most amazing cats I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. First of all, she LOVES Markus. He is allowed to pet her and poke and prod her without and repurcussions. She actually seems to enjoy it! How many kittens enjoy playing with todllers!?!?There have been some good lessons learned about sharing and being gentle that I am sure will come in handy in three months time.

She is one big fur ball of love and wants to cuddle as much as possible, but is also independent and does her own thing. She is a gentle soul and if you can't already tell, I am totally in love. We lucked out.

Watching a movie on a Friday night...

She is going to be SERIOUSLY disappointed

when she loses her belly perch....

Teeny Tiny Diaper

2009-08-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dave came home from spending a few days in San Francisco for work on friday and pulled this little thing out of his pocket:

Yes, I used the magazine as a point of reference...this is a diaper for a 1000 gram baby. Markus was 3,650 grams when he was born (for you non-Europeans, that is 8 lbs). Do the math...yikes!

Dave was visiting the NICU at a hospital in San Fran and got a tour of the facilities. As a result he saw a bunch of the teeny, weeny, itsy, bitsy babies that aren't doing too well. I'm glad it was him, because I'm not sure I could have dealt. It really made me think about what amazing people those doctors that choose to work in pediatric medicine are. Saints, that's all I have to say. Let's all take a moment and be thankful for the little things in life :) xo

Fern Dell walk in Griffith Park

2009-07-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

This park is a whopping 1.5 miles from our house. Add the fantastic weather and the SoCal thing ain't so bad ;-)

Dirty Diesel

2009-07-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Little Dude looooves this song. It's a little grating after a while, but you gotta smile...

Just Another Day at the Rollo...

2009-07-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ridin' My Trike

2009-07-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so he started riding his tricycle about 2 months ago and we'll be starting him off on a real bicycle around his birthday in three weeks, but I haven't gotten around to posting very much since we moved as y'all know....

Here is some footage. He's obviously got some work to do on his steering, but he's taking it one day at a time :)

New Favorite Food...

2009-07-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

CORN!!

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-13T08:26:00.001-07:00

New Favorite Game!

2009-07-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

New Camera!

2009-06-29T08:59:00.001-07:00

We finally took the plunge and bought a Canon Powershot G10 camera!

We are super psyched about the results - beautiful high quality photos that kick our old photos' butts. Hopefully it will also inspire us to take more photos and videos of our beautiful, photogenic little guy and the upcoming addition to our family....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2009-06-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Amma and her Crew

2009-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Amma is quite possibly the richest woman in the world....she has the complete and unquestioning adoration of this incredible crew (including the buddha cat, Stulli).

xoxo

I Love Afi :)

2009-06-28T09:57:00.001-07:00

It's been a loooooong time since we posted last, but hopefully things will change and we'll get a little better with keeping peeps updated with our ever-changing lives :)

One of the things we did during our blog hiatus was spend a month in Iceland with our fam. Markus Kari loved many things about our trip, one in particular was his afi...

Here's some video of the dudes doing their thing:

A Few More From Luca's B-Day Bash

2009-03-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Just adding a few more photos from Luca's awesome b-day party/ Enjoy!

Deville's name misspelled....he deserves better ;-)

Smiley face is appropriate for the happiest little dude ever!

Parachute Fun!

2009-03-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Markus Kari attended an awesome birthday party this weekend. His little buddy Luca Van turned 1! I still can't believe it, but I guess time isn't going to slow down just because it freaks me out ;-) In any case, Markus had a fantabulous time and experienced his first parachute game which he looooooved!!! More photos from the festivities to follow...

Life Is Simple

2009-03-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amazes me how easily amused a toddler can be. Mostly, all Markus Kari really needs is his pabbi, but a little something like a flashlight never hurts...

Dancing with the Stars Here I Come!!

2009-03-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Ummm, maybe I'll have to do some work on the tongue control thing first followed by the getting famous thing, but now that we're moving to LA, maybe the latter will just happen instantaneously...

Markus Kari is a Closet Hippie :)

2009-03-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

ABCs

2009-02-02T05:26:00.000-08:00

Markus Kari first sang his ABCs for me when he came home from his first NBA game in Oct/Nov. It pretty much made me cry to see what a big boy he had become. Now he sings it 10 times a day, along with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald Had a Farm and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Below is one rather successful run through of ABC followed by another, a little less successful, yet more "soulful" version. Enjoy :)

Markus Kari and the World's Best Buddha Cat

2009-01-13T12:31:00.001-08:00

Stulli is the most loving, lovable, fantastic cat in the whole world as is evidenced by his patience in his dealings with small children (ok, he's also a pretty old cat these days, but he has always had this demeanor). If you listen to the dialogue in this video you'll hear Markus Kari's father teaching him that he has a tail - real quality parenting in motion here :)

Markus Kari and Katrin Jammin Out on X-Mas

2009-01-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ummm...is it bad that I crack up at my son's lack of coordination every time I see this?

Christmas Card Photo shoot Out takes

2008-12-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would become one of those parents that set up a "photo shoot" for their annual Christmas card. But I have indeed, become one of those parents. Although, at least up until this point, it is strictly limited to photos of my child ;)

We decided that we had reached last minute status on our card for this year, which we had, last weekend and proceeded to dress Markus Kari up in his finest duds and go for it. After about 20 minutes of shooting, with minimal, yet palpable angst, we got a usable shot. Here are some out takes from the experience:

DuPage Children's Museum, Naperville, Il

2008-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Markus Kari, Pabbi, Pops, Rob, Ethan, Ben and Christopher had a great time playing at the children's museum during our recent trip to Chicago. Meanwhile, the chicks did some pretty good shopping in the cute center nearby.

Markus was absolutely amazed by this pipe that shot out air and balanced a ball. I really wish I would have been there to see his priceless reaction, but the video will have to suffice.

And how cool are the giant Tinkertoys!?! I'm not sure what his reaction was once he realized that he was built into his complex fort, but I think he had a helluva time during the process :)

Sorry about the sideways video...I'm too lazy to figure out how to rotate it on iMovie. Lame, I know...

Markus Kari's First NBA Game!

2008-11-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

Pabbi took Markus Kari to his first NY Knicks game a few weeks ago. It went as well as one would imagine an outing to a professional sporting event with a 2 year old would go. The boys left at about 4:30 while mamma was getting her nails done and came home at about 8:00. They made it around an hour + at the game itself and took the PATH to and from the game. Markus enjoyed the action and clapping with the crowd and pretty much hated the time outs...

I think his favorite part of the whole thing were the cracker jacks, but his father will make him a basketball ball fan soon enough!!!

Here are some photos of their big night:

GOBAMA!!!

2008-11-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

The family is waiting nervously to begin watching election coverage tonight. We are all so hopeful, but at the same time, scared!! Get out there and vote and vote for change!!

Cutest Bath EVER!

2008-11-02T14:43:00.001-08:00

Ari and Co Come to the 'Boken!

2008-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

My broski Ari, his wife Kristin and their girls Katrin (almost 4) and Isol (almost 1) came for a visit in September and I am finally posting photos and videos now! It's so amazing to get these kids together and see how much fun they have despite their age differences. I know we're going to have many fun family vacations in the years to come!

plant

2008-09-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Since I was posting about the bouquet, I decided to go full on dork mode and share a pic or two of my favorite plant on our porch (or deck, or balcony, or terrace, or whatever it is!).

It's a happy plant:

Pabbi Rocks!

2008-09-13T11:22:00.001-07:00

Mr Bubbles

2008-09-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

Markus Kari's Crown

2008-09-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend Amanda from Boston (or now it's Natick!) sent Markus a lovely handmade on-of-a-kind crown for his birthday. First of all, let me say just how impressed I am at her handiwork! Secondly, Markus says "takk!". Since he isn't a big fan of hats, it was a fun surprise how much he really enjoyed wearing it...he loved it! Here's some proof below:

AWESOME

2008-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

You gotta love it when these little ones start talking more. It is an absolutely amazing experience. Here's some footage of just that...and some questionable Lady/James action ;)

Trip to Central Park Zoo

2008-09-04T18:48:00.001-07:00

We spent a bit of our Labor Day Weekend on a trip to Central Park with a stop at the zoo. This was Markus' first time at a "big kids" zoo where he truly enjoyed seeing all of the animals. It was a lovely day with Pabbi, Mamma and Amma :)

Markus Kari at the Water Park

2008-08-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

One thing that has to be said for Hoboken is that it has an abundance of really great playgrounds for the kiddies. One, in particular, that is very popular in the summer months is the Madison water playground. It gets annoyingly crowded during the mornings and earlier afternoons with many of the area summer programs making use of the facilities to occupy their time.

Here is a video of Markus having some good times there the other day:

All Points West

2008-08-11T09:26:00.001-07:00

We headed to the All Points West Music and Arts Festival on Friday evening to check out Radiohead. Despite some rain early on, it ended up being a beautiful evening. The Radiohead set design was awesome and they put on a really good show...

B-Day weekend Outings

2008-08-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Pabbi did a great job taking photos during our park outing on Saturday. Despite some serious trips that resulted in some big fat lips and out of character crankiness, we all managed to have a good time...

I Love Pablo!

2008-08-11T08:59:00.001-07:00

Aunt Janna sent Markus a Pablo doll for his b-day. Markus looooves Pablo....

He used to say "Paplo" but he's pretty much got it down now :)

Takk, aunt Janna!

xo,

Some Pre-Party Wii Action

2008-08-11T08:21:00.001-07:00

The Kempers were the first to arrive to Markus' b-day shindig and the boys decided to get their Wii on before the other's arrived. As it turned out, this was just the thing to capture the attention of Markus and Stella...check it out:

B-Day Party Pics

2008-08-11T08:16:00.001-07:00

B-Day Party!

2008-08-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

Markus Kari had an awesome birthday weekend, starting with spending the evening on Friday with his favorite person of the moment, his babysitter, Babita. We had our first experience of leaving for the evening and our little boy just gave us a kiss and said "bye!". Not sure how to take the fact that he really didn't care that we were going. I know I should be proud, but I can't help but be a little sad. I'm a 'tard, I know.

Saturday was a little rough, as he had a couple of accidents that resulted in a fat lip and some serious crying. But we all made it to Sunday, which was PAAAARTY DAY! I'm a little worried that little man is going to expect presents every day, but the cruel reality of the real world will set in soon...

All of our buddies came over and had a great time playing, eating and drinking. Here's some documentation of the event!

Happy 2nd Birthday!! Til Hamingju med Afmaelid!

2008-08-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

I so cannot believe that our little boy is two years old now. He's not a baby anymore!

He has already gotten his gifts from us (read: purchased by his pabbi) a Diego jungle set, Diego stuffed animals and some serious new Thomas the Train gear (of course!). He's a happy boy right now :)

We are having a BBQ with Markus' BFFs on Sunday to celebrate...we're hoping for great weather and tons of fun!

Something is off with our camera upload, so I will be adding more photos this weekend.

Markus Kari and Stella Being Cute

2008-07-22T12:07:00.001-07:00

Those Eyes...

2008-07-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Markus Kari and Hekla

2008-07-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Markus Kari met Auntie Lola's best friend's daughter on our trip home and they seemed to get along swimmingly. Had some good laughs over the toys and then proceeded to get a HUGE kick out of licking the mirror in the foyer. Hekla enjoyed for about 3 seconds, but Markus stayed on for more. You've got to wonder - what does this say about him exactly?

I Love Stulli the Kisa

2008-07-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

Markus was remarkably gentle with my family cat and local buddha, Stulli. All he really wants is love and affection...or maybe it's just attention that he's after. Here's a little video of them watching some boob tube together :)

Markus Brushing His Teeth

2008-07-16T19:09:00.001-07:00

So, Markus has recently begun to really enjoy brushing his teeth. I might be exaggerating slightly, but he, at least, does not mind when I give his teeth a good brushing followed by his replicating the experience while sucking off as much baby toothpaste as possible from the brush. Here are some photos...please excuse that they are a little out of order :)

Markus, Katrin and Isol

2008-07-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

Markus spent some quality time with his cousins Katrin and Isol while we were in Iceland. While Isol is just 6 months old and not really interested in getting her play on yet (although she is super, super cute as evidenced by the photo below), Katrin and Markus had a great time tearing it up (or, um, screeching, in Markus' case). Unfortunately, most of the photos of them together were taken on my mother's camera and are only available on ofoto, so I can't post more now. I am going to try and figure out my new Mac (it is so pretty!) and do some cutting and pasting soon, but until then there is one good one of them here...

Markus is on a Private Jet to Paris!

2008-07-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

There are likely not very many times that a girl gets the chance to fly off to Paris in a private jet for 48 hours...

Does it change things a bit when she is accompanied by her 23 month old son? Sorta, kinda, but in a good way. Although I was slightly nervous about taking off on this family adventure with Markus (as was the rest of the family!) he ended up being, for the most part, an angel. Apart from some slight misbehaving, which any boy his age would partake in, he did an extremely good job. We hung out a little bit in our hotel room, but it was pretty much good times all around. Here are some photos:

We're off to Wisconsin for the 4th!

2008-07-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

I will finish uploading pictures from the Paris trip and the rest of Iceland once we return next week from our week in Wisconsin....we still have a bunch of stuff to post!

Yes, that is who you think it is....

2008-07-02T04:56:00.000-07:00

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE AT LANVIN!!!

How funny is that??

Here we are, driving down one of the swankiest streets in Paris and who do we see in the window of the Lanvin boutique, but Thomas!!

I, being the super speedy mom that I am, grabbed for the camera and caught a quick photo of Markus' hero through the window of the taxi.

Markus Hanging at Le Meridien Avec Maman

2008-07-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

I went to Paris with Markus with the clear understanding that, depending on his highnesses mood, I might be stuck in our hotel for the majority of the 48 hours that we were in the city of lights. However, he surprised all of us with his even keeled temper and good humored nature during the trip. The first night, however, we did stay behind at the hotel while my sister and mother went to dinner and my father gave a speech somewhere...

We watched some European Cartoon Network and ate some seriously overpriced Caesar salad with chicken :)

I went to Paris with the understanding that I would be a little stuck with the Little Man here and there. Actually, it ended up being much easier than anyone had anticipated since he was clutch, as always, under pressure.

Here are a few photos of our first evening at the hotel while my sister and mother went to dinner and my father was giving a speech somewhere...

Walking to Dinner with "Mamma 2"

2008-07-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Markus Kari refuses to even try to pronounce his Auntie Solveig's name. No Sola, no Lola - simply mamma. I guess he agrees we look enough alike to share the same name...don't know how

to feel about that one ;)

Strolling in Paris With the Fam

2008-07-01T09:40:00.001-07:00

Little Plastic Houses and Big Cousins Rock

2008-07-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Who knew how happy a plastic playhouse would make Markus!? Maybe it was also playing with his ever so cool "older woman" cousin, Katrin. Even though I'm sure it isn't en vogue to play with little kids, she did a fantastic job entertaining and seemed to have a pretty good time herself...

Markus and Langafi

2008-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

One of the pleasures of visiting Iceland with Markus is spending time with his great grandparents. This time around he was very quick to take them into his favor...which was awesome. Here is a classic video of him playing the piano with his 90 (almost 91) year old great grandfather. How freaking cute are they???

Some Iceland videos of Markús Kári

2008-06-26T04:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some videos taken on my mother´s camera of Markús with the Buddha of all cat´s, Stulli as well as of Markús getting his groove on with his amma at the summer house.

Visit To My Cousins...

2008-06-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

I have not been as good as planned at posting pictures since we arrived in Iceland because I was so smooth as to not bring along the cord to download photos. Nice....
Well, I finally have a few photos from a trip we made earlier this week to our cousins place in Hafnafjörður. We all had a great time, btu especially Markus, since his cousins paid him extra attention and made sure that he was well entertained.
Here are a select few:

We're Leaving For Iceland!

2008-06-05T05:22:00.001-07:00

Markus Kari and I are very excited to go to Iceland today, but we're going to miss pabbi, our friends and hobo!
Here are a few photos and videos of our last week.
See you on June 26th!!

Series: Markus and Stella Watching TV...and I mean REALLY watching TV

Markus and Stella doing some ring-around-the-rosie:

They're playing really well together these days....

Belated Mother's Day Post

2008-05-29T05:37:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely mother's day together as a family in the city. We started with a thoroughly tastey breakfast at the Hudson Hotel, where Markus was an absolute angel. This was followed by an outing to the Central Park Zoo where we all got a good dose of animals and play (although Markus seems to be getting a little more weary of critters these days...).
We timed our trip so that little man would take his nap in his stroller post-zoo while we made a pit stop at the Whitney Biennial. Ummm...not so much. After about 30 minutes of walking around with a wailing hysterical toddler, we decided to try bringing him along to the museum. Ummm...not so much. Word to the wise - contemporary art museums and 21 month olds do NOT mix. Needless to say, Pabbi Daverino spent most of his time with Markus in the courtyard while Mamma Svansi checked out the exhibition (which wasn't very good, in my view).
Of course, not 5 minutes after we left, the little booger passed out, so we spent the next hour or so wandering around and shopping a bit.
All in all, a great day!

I can't figure out how to flip this...duh...

Markus Playing T-Ball

2008-05-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Markus is obviously going to be a stellar t- ball player. Although some may say that his technique is a little "off" (note his grip on the upsidedown bat), but in my unbiased view, I think that is what will set him apart!

Stella Turns 2!

2008-05-28T05:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, "Lella"!
Love, "Gakus"

Memorial Weekend - Boston 2008`

2008-05-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in our old stomping grounds living it up with all of our great friends. We had a blast, as evidenced by the photos and videos below. Markus especially loved the loads of attention that everyone lavished on him. He says "thank you!"

Markus and His Buddies

2008-05-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

Master Markus has made some pretty good friends since coming to Hoboken. If he doesn't see some combination of them every day, he becomes very concerned...

Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate:

St John 2008

2008-04-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is a photo that Dave actually took while on a drive with Markus in St John. It is truly an amazingly beautiful place. We really, really, really, really love it there!

And this is Markus swimming in the equally amazing ocean. It is so crystal clear that it's amazing that it's not a pool! He loved the water, but was a little freaked out by how his feet sunk into the sand...

Here's his first dip in the villa pool. You gotta love his suit, right?

Pabbi Dave was pretty incredible with his little man on our vacation. This opinion was seconded by Markus' undying love and adulation of his father during the week he had him all to himself :)

Just A Little Bit of Parenting Advice

2008-03-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Dave, Markus and I had dinner with the Kempers last night, which was really nice. We have decided that it is essential that we actually venture out of the house on week nights on a regular basis. Why? Basically to retain some semblance of normalcy outside of family life. It makes us feel a little bit more like people rather than simply parents. Mind you, there is a lot of running around chasing toddlers and borderline mortifyingly embarassing entertaining (see photos), but it's still good. Our little golden nugget advice for the day is bring a portable DVD player with some of your little one's favorite shows and it might buy you a few more minutes to enjoy your meal...maybe :)

Welcome Baby Luca Van!!

2008-03-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

Luca Van Palaitis has been a part of our crazy world for a week now. Amazing!! He's absolutely gorgeous, just like his big brother, Deville (and mamma Karen!).

Ummmm...this one is just really cute :)

2008-03-27T05:31:00.001-07:00

I cut his bangs myself - you like?

Wednesday Morning Ritual

2008-03-06T04:39:00.001-08:00

Every morning after our weekly Romparoo session, various very hungry members of the CSP crew convene at the Frozen Monkey for some seriously tastey eggs (or paninis or salads, depending on the day). The waitress tends to be eternally patient with the kids (and the mommies!) and normally there aren't many patrons at 10:30. When there have been, they are usually enamoured by the kids...how couldn't you be?

goppiti gop!

2008-02-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

i think it is still safe to say that elmo is markus' ultimate favorite, but his little stuffed icelandic horse is quickly gaining in popularity...his afi would be proud!

morning ritual

2008-02-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

i know it's probably not "recomended" but markus and i spend some quality time every morning after his shower cuddling in bed watching TV. it is awfully cute. and he so looooooves TV. there is no question about it...

Most Favorite Uncle!!

2008-01-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

Markus Kari found two other true loves during his stay in Iceland. Fireworks and his uncle Ari. The combination was almost just too much for him to handle. Again, he was surprsingly absolutely unafraid of the low bangs and bright lights of the endless fireworks that his uncle set off in his presence. And with my brother being the father to two beautiful little girls, he couldnn't contain the joy of having another little dude to play with fire with...he even came over on New Year's Day to set off some more :) But don't forget the safety goggles!!

This Is Only the Beginning!

2008-01-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

My father is obsessed with Icelandic horses. Obsessed. I think he owns somewhere around 38 of them now...yes, 38. He never does anything half-assed, that's for sure. Well, of course, we had to go and visit a few of them with Markus while we were there. Some of you know, I'm sure, that Icelandic horses are smaller than most - but they're only tiny if you compare them to gianormous Arabians. In my opinion, they're still big enough to make me a little bit nervous. My son, obviously, is not of the same opinion. He was not afraid of them AT ALL. I see a big horsey future for the grandfather-gradson team...

I Want To Be Just Like My Afi!!

2008-01-14T07:06:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time in Iceland on so many levels, but one of my most favoritest things about the whole experience was how close Markus became with his afi. They spent all of their time chasing each other and playing and it was simply the cutest thing in the world to see this big, imposing man loving this tiny little man so much. There's not much better than that...

p.s. My new niece's name is Isol.

Introducing My As Yet Unnamed Niece

2007-12-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

SOOOO tiny and cute! It is incredibily easy to forget how fragile and soft these little critters are when they first arrive in this world...
And yes, I am dying of curiosity about what she is going to be named!!! Any day now, peeps!

Exciting News!

2007-12-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share that I am the proud auntie to another beautiful little girl!!
My sister-in-law gave birth this evening at about 10:40 pm GMT.
No stats or pictures to share as of yet, but will post them as soon as I have them.
Hope everyone is doing well!

Little Man on a Little Island

2007-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Not that all of you don´t know this by now, but we made it to Iceland in one piece! I was terrified - and I mean losing sleep at night mortified - of flying alone with the little bugger, but he did alright. We had some rough moments wandering the aisle of the Icelandair plane in the middle of the night, but all in all, it was ok. As I told someone the other day, I have almost forgotten my fear.
And on top of the decent flight, he is sleeping pretty darn well! You have to disregard the fact that he wakes up 2-3 hours after he goes down and gets into bed with me for the rest of the night...but he is sleeping 11.5-12 hours straight! Since he is going to bed between 9:00-10:00 at night, that means I have been getting more sleep than I have basically since he was born! It is all very exciting, despite the fact that some serious sleep training is likely to take place once we return to the States.
Here are a couple of photos of him taking an extraordinarily long nap today with our favorite fat cat in the world, Stulli.

Markus Falls Asleep in his Stroller - Never Happens!

2007-11-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

We had a busy morning today, including a trip to the gym where Markus made a b-line, on his own, to the day care for the first time (yay!). The gym was followed by a rockin' Music for Aardvrark's class where he had a very good time. I was a little curious about how quiet the little man was being in his stroller covered with plastic (rain cover, that is)...that curiosity was answered when I got home to find this scene in the Bugaboo.
Not only was he asleep - he was using the bar as a forehead rest!! Poor little dude...

Parent's Party Night!

2007-11-19T16:14:00.001-08:00

Well, Dave and I went out with 2 other couples for a night out on the town in the city for last Friday the first time in...well, in a really long time. We went with Susan, Scott, Christine and Robert - parents of 2 of Markus' good buddies from the park (and playgroup, of course!).

We had Korean BBQ (which was awesome) and I had too much wine at dinner...followed by too much at the bar we went to afterwards...which is fairly apparent from the photos here (stolen from Christine's blog - because of course I forgot our camera!).

We stayed out until 3 am. WHAT!?!?! I know, we're crazy. And we paid dearly for it the next day. Good times were had by all, though, and we hope to do it again.

Potty Trouble Part Deux

2007-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

This happened during the same bathroom "experience". He's starting to play with his potty much more these days, which is supposed to be a positive first step towards potty training, but I'm not sure he's getting the point of it...at all.

What do you think?

Things I Shouldn't Be Doing or...Potty Trouble

2007-11-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

I wasn't quite sure which to name this entry, so I decided to go with both. I was folding laundry in the bedroom while little man got in trouble in the bathroom. Thankfully I got the camera in time to document, although I'm not quite sure I should be sharing them ;)

On some level I know Markus Kari knows that he's doing something wrong...but it really doesn't seem to phase him at all!

Judge away, ya'll!

p.s. Check out his sweet new Adidas track jacket!

I'm Cute

2007-11-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

Totally unbiased right?

Nothing much to report on this post. Dave is away on business and unfortunately none of my mommy friends were at the park today :(

The only good to come out of it was that I actually paid enough attention to take a couple of pics of the munchkin with my i-phone!

Enjoy...

Green Bay Packers

2007-11-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know us, it will come as no surprise that Packer football games are important events in our household...

Yesterday was no exception :)

In fact, I don't think that there is any other circumstance where David would find it unbelievably cool for him and his son to dress identically (thank god!).

After it was clear that the Pack were going to destroy the Vikings we decided to take a trip to the park. After a brief debate, I finally convinced the insane Packer fan that it was not a good idea to figure out a way to get Markus' Favre jersey on the OUTSIDE of his coat. Amazing.

Markus Kari Wears a Hat!

2007-11-07T13:40:00.001-08:00

After what can only be described as a day filled with the impending dread of winter (read: I stayed in most of the day with a cranky baby that refused to nap), I finally gave in and took Markus to the park. I had yet to have success with getting him to wear a hat, so I decided to wait until we actually GOT to the park before giving it yet another try. Amazingly, the hat stayed on after the first try and for the entire time!! Kudos to those crazy Norwegians who make this awesome hat (and to my brother and sister-in-law who gave Markus his first one!). They're also pretty darn cute.

Halloween

2007-11-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween has come and gone and I think, all in all, that it was a success. Markus dressed as a monkey and considering that he's not a big fan of being dressed in a lot of clothes, he did very well. At 3:00 we met up with his partners in crime Deville, Luis, Oscar and Stella to participate in the Hoboken Halloween Parade. Markus did ok in his stroller for a while, but as is usually the case these days, after a while he became very restless. Thankfully, Dave had come home early to join us, so I had some help dealing with the squirmy dude. His father's strategy tends to be buying toys (an inflatable Spider man in this instance) or bribing him with sweets (his first Twix bar). Neither one worked for very long, but it was a beautiful day and once we returned to the park to play after the parade, all was well.

p.s. Just so his father doesn't get to pissed at me - I also use the "sweets strategy" quite often to tame the beast :)

I Really Love Grover and My Stroller

2007-11-02T04:52:00.000-07:00

So, it was about a month a go when I came to realize that Markus had fallen in

love with the doll strollers that were running ramapant at the park

When Dave came home that night I told him the news - we were going to have to buy his son a doll stroller. He was surprisingly amenable to the idea, his only caveat being that it had to be blue - NOT pink. I thought that was fair. In any case, Markus absolutely adores his blue stroller and puts whatever toy he is feeling particularly close with in it every day.

The other day, his father had the brilliant idea of actually putting Markus himself in the stroller and pushing him around....not a good idea. Markus isn't a particularly large toddler, but doesn't he look huge!?

Grandma and Grandpa at the Central Park Zoo

2007-10-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

Afer an eventful day at IKEA on Saturday we decided that it would be unforgivable not to take Grandma and Grandpa into the big city for a proper outing. Markus, not being a car baby anymore, wasn't too please with the ride through the Lincoln Tunnel, but once we arrived at the Hudson Hotel for brunch his mood improved markedly.Again, he was surrounded by people eager to give in to his every whim. Everyone took turns walking him around the halls to keep him entertained (well, everyone but me, that is!).
Once we finished our meals we were off to the Central Park Zoo to check out the Children's Zoo - Markus' favorite. Other than an incredibly LOUD wipeout on the concrete outside the gates of the zoo (loud enough to warrent the attention of some random do-gooder man who came running over to pick Markus up - which was kind, but weird) all went extremely well. Basically, Markus adores the zoo. And he is completely unafraid of the animals. And when I say completely, I mean completely. Which I think is phenomenal. Needless to say we became members and plan on going again and again and again....not to mention because of the special relationship grandma fostered with a gianormous white goat!

IKEA

2007-10-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Who knew going to IKEA would be akin to traveling to playland and spending a blissful afternoon frolicking amongst the little people!?!? We decided, as a result of inclimate weather, that we would make a trip to IKEA with grandma and grandpa to pick up a few things. Once we entered the children's area, we soon realized that Markus would not - under any circumstances - remain calm in his cart. So, we decided to let the monster loose. Fortunately, grandma and grandpa are inclined to do anything for the little guy, so they allowed his father and I to go check out the items we intended to buy.

He had a WONDERFUL time playing with toys and furniture and taking umpteen rides on the slide that those IKEA folks ingeniously installed in their showroom.

The highlight of the trip, however, was our stop at the cafeteria. For some reason (I think it might have something to do with the gravy), Markus absolutely adores the Swedish meatballs. After eating a few of those (which I must stress - is a lot for his tiny belly to handle) and using a french fry as a conduit for ketchup (and I'm serious here - the french fry was never eaten, but a lot of ketchup was consumed), the little man did something that he never done before: had chocolate milk. As he sucked this nectar of the gods through his straw, he had no idea what was coming....

Once he realized, however, it quickly became clear that this was something serious. He was not even going to spare a moment to breathe as he inhaled a third of the carton down in one fell swoop. This was one - happy - baby.

All in all, this was a very successful venture on a rainy day. Ask Markus and he would say it was the best!

I Like Almond Butter

2007-10-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

'Nuff said.

Some Videos We Have Neglected to Post

2007-10-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

These videos were taken in the last month or so, but we hadn't posted them to YouTube. Enjoy!

Welcome to Markus Kari's Life!

2007-10-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Well, my Hoboken mommy friends have inspired me to start a blog for the little man. It seems like a smart and fun way to keep everyone posted of things going on in our lives :)

Grandma and Grandpa Merriam are visiting this weekend and, while the weather is not really cooperating, we're looking forward to a nice weekend filled with attention!