Belated Mother's Day Post

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

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!

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

Memorial Weekend - Boston 2008`

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

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

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

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 :)