Life is good

Esperando a Lucia...

2011-11-07T08:03:00.003-06:00

Si nada cambia y no te adelantas te tendremos entre nosotros en 2 semanas cerrando 9 meses de espera impaciente. 9 meses en los que hemos imaginado miles de veces como seran las cosas cuando esten entre nosotros, en los que hemos preparado a Marc para tu llegada... Una espera distinta a la de hace algo mas de 3 anyos, cuando el que llegaba era tu hermano y no todavia no sabiamos bien el significado de ser padres.

No hemos tenido mucho tiempo para escribir, no por falta de ganas, sino por falta de energia y por la fuerza de los acontecimientos que todo lo pueden... y sin embargo que ganas tenemos de verte, de acariciarte, abrazarte, acunarte... no solo tus papas sino tambien tu hermano, quien va a ser, sin duda, un hermano espectacular.

Ojala el tiempo pase rapido y llegues con salud.

L -> Luz

U -> Union

C -> Calidez

I -> Inocencia

A -> Amor

Y como cierre un recuerdo a la abuelita que no conoceras, que se emociono al saber que venias en camino, pero se tuvo que ir sin saber si eras nene o nena. Desde donde este, ella te guardara y protegera siempre.

Mama en el recuerdo...

2011-09-13T23:26:00.002-05:00

Dos meses han tenido que pasar para poder escribir estas notas, dos meses de añorarte y recordarte, tambien 2 meses para reflexionar la suerte que tuvimos, porque otros pasan toda una vida sin disfrutar de un amor como el que tu nos dabas.

Pasado este tiempo me resulta menos dificil sentarme frente al ordenador y escribir, quizas de forma desordenada, pensamientos que merodeaban mi mente durante todo este tiempo.

El recuerdo del peor viaje de mi vida, la primera vez en la que volver a Altea no era un placer, la primera vez que deseaba que el avion no llegara nunca, el miedo a verte a ti y a mis hermanos sufrir.

Luego, despues de un viaje por carretera interminable de Madrid a Benidorm, la entrada en la UCI y la constatacion de que tu luz se iba apagando poco a poco, ese ojo abierto con el que senti que me miraste al entrar en el cuarto y esas lagrimas que se deslizaban por tu mejilla. De algun modo, esa felicidad que se que sentiste al vernos juntos a los cuatro, como siempre hemos estado, aunque yo lleve tanto tiempo lejos. Ese orgullo al verlos a los 3 a tu alrededor, nada nuevo, porque siempre he admirado a mis 3 hermanos por lo mucho que tienen en comun y por lo que tienen de diferente. Por ser quienes son, por estar como siempre estan, por querer como quieren, por todo eso y por mas.

El momento fatidico en que te fuiste definitivamente cerrando mas de dos anyos y medio de lucha, duros y, al mismo tiempo, fantasticos e irrepetibles. Un tiempo añadido en el que te sentiste quiza mas arropada y querida que nunca antes, tal vez por no saber cuanto iba a durar, por esa espada de Damocles que pendia sobre todos en forma de analisis, tests y revisiones periodicas. Por la separacion fisica yo no pude pasar el tiempo que hubiese querido contigo y, sin embargo, te senti cerca cada domingo cuando hablabamos de Baobao, de las chapuzas que iba haciendo en casa, de mi huerto... como me hubiera gustado poder enseñarte nuestra casa, segun acababa cada proyecto me imaginaba cual seria tu reaccion al verlo.

Se que los ultimos anyos fueron buenos para ti, se que el nacimiento de Baobao y nuestros viajes a casa te hicieron bien. Senti el orgullo que te llenaba el corazon cuando me veias ejercer de padre, disfrutar de Marc en cada una de sus fases con gusto y feliz. Que te gustaba cuando te contaba el tiempo que pasabamos juntos los dos, cuando era pequenyo y me lo llevaba de caminatas en el porta-bebe; cuando, ya mas grande, nos ibamos en bicicleta a pasar el dia... Se que todo esto te dio muchisima mas felicidad que ningun otro "exito", porque siempre supiste separar lo importante de lo que no lo era tanto; porque una carrera o un trabajo no son nada comparado con crear una familia; igual que los regalos materiales no se pueden comparar con dedicarle tiempo, cariño y atencion de verdad a alguien.

Personalmente, te he querido y te he admirado a partes iguales, por eso, quiza uno de los primeros pensamientos cuando nacio Baobao fue el de querer ser para el lo que tu eras para mi. No ser alguien que quiere con palabras, sino con hechos. Estar ahi siempre; que en los momentos duros el primer apoyo o consejo que busque sea el mio.

Todavia se me hace dificil creer que de verdad te has ido, que el Domingo proximo no estaras al otro lado de la linea cuando llame a casa, que no cenaremos juntos las proximas Navidades... Te extraño, te extraño mucho mama y sin embargo, se que donde quiera que estes estas bien y quieres que nosotros lo estemos tambien.

Te quiero ahora como te quise siempre y te recuerdo en todo momento.

The family is back...

2010-06-12T10:35:00.002-05:00

After nearly 1 month in China, Marc and Lily is back and life could not be any better. One image is worth a thousand words...

Despues de casi un mes en China, Marc y Lily estan de nuevo en casa y la vida no podria ser mejor. Una imagen vale mas que mil palabras...

Weekends away from home / Fines de semana lejos de casa

2010-01-23T19:16:00.007-06:00

I'm writting from Maastricht, The Netherlands. I'll be out here for 4 days for business. I got here earlier today and jet lag is hitting hard, therefore no sleeping for me and not much more to do around here, so time to blog.

I can't say I enjoy business trips as much as I used to, the business part is ok, I like participating in the meetings, working with other teams, people, companies,... but I don't have the drive to spend my free time roaming around as I used to. It just doesn't feel right. This is specially true when I happen to be away from home on weekends and I just can't stop thinking about Marc and Lily, our routines, how busy life seems when we are together...

Luckily this doesn't happen often, but it was enough for me to go to picasa and check-out how things were a year ago, when Marc was barely half a year old, we were still in our Chicago condo and had just come back from spending Christmas in Spain with my family. There go a couple of pictures showing the "then" and "now".

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Escribo desde Maastricht, Holanda. Estare aqui los proximos 4 dias por trabajo. He llegado esta manyana y con el desfase horario no parece que vaya a ser capaz de dormirme a una hora normal. Como la ciudad parece bastante tranquila, que mejor forma de usar las horas de insomnio que en el blog?

No puedo decir que disfrutre de los viajes de trabajo tanto como solia. La parte de negocios en si misma esta bien, me sigue gustando conocer a otra gente, otros grupos y companyias... pero no tengo la motivacion para aprovechar el tiempo libre pateando ciudades y pueblos como antanyo. Esto ocurre, especialmente, cuando, por causa del viaje, paso el fin de semana lejos de casa y no puedo dejar de acordarme de Marcy y Lily, de nuestras rutinas, de lo ocupados que parecen los dias...

Por suerte, esto no suele ocurrir a menudo, pero fue suficiente para echar un vistazo en nuestro album en picasa para ver como eran las cosas hace un anyo, cuando Marc apenas tenia 6 meses, todavia viviamos en nuestro piso de Chicago y casi acababamos de regresar de pasar las Navidades en Altea con mi familia.
Ahi van un par de fotos que muestran el entonces y el ahora :)

Baobao is in Youtube

2009-12-27T22:45:00.003-06:00

Uploading videos to blogger can be painful and slows down the blog, so we've decided to create our own you tube channel where we've uploaded most of Baobao's videos so far:

http://www.youtube.com/macandchen

Subir videos al blog da mucho trabajo y hace que todo vaya mas despacio, asi que hemos decidido crear nuestro propio canal de you tube donde hemos puesto casi todos los videos que tenemos de Marc:

http://www.youtube.com/macandchen

Blue Christmas

2009-12-27T20:33:00.003-06:00

First time away from home (Altea) for Christmas, can't say I'm looking forward to a second time. There's something unique about being home these days, enjoy the same traditions, be close to my family...

Since this year it was impossible we tried to make the most out of it and went down to Indian Wells, probably the nicest desert city in the south-east of California.

There goes a video showing why this was a blue Christmas :)

Love and merry Christmas everybody!

Thanksgiving by the beach

2009-12-07T21:47:00.002-06:00

One of the many nice things about living in California is the amazing weather, during the Thanksgiving weekend we went to some of the beaches just North of San Francisco, it's a really beautiful and scenic drive by the ocean and the beaches are gorgeous.

Baobao really enjoyed running up and down in the sand, but not so much the wind nor the cold ocean water :)

That's one small step for man...

2009-11-22T20:48:00.002-06:00

Good times at Gymboree...

2009-10-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

Walking in the new apartment...

2009-10-04T10:10:00.002-05:00

Marc standing tall... and on his own

2009-08-01T19:12:00.003-05:00

Beach adventures...

2009-06-28T18:23:00.002-05:00

Marc playing with the sand...

2009-06-24T05:37:00.003-05:00

The family is back...

2009-04-10T13:04:00.003-05:00

Marc, Lily and Lily's got back to Chicago on Tuesday safely, tired after the long trip, followed by a long and unpleasant interaction with the immigration officer at O'Hare... Oh well, they are here and that's all that matters.

As I said in Facebook, happiness sometimes comes from simple things, when I saw Marc coming out of the gate in his stroller and he looked at me giving me the biggest smile you can imagine, that was happiness to me.

3 weeks is a very long time for a baby, he's changed a lot, he now has 2 teeth, he looks less like a baby and more like a toddler: can sit up on his own, grabs stuff non stop,...

Pictures will follow this weekend :)

One more week to go...

2009-04-01T18:15:00.002-05:00

Maybe one day as Marc grows older I'll enjoy having time for myself, I'll appreciate having some lonely days with nobody around.... but right now I'm certainly not there yet.

Lily and Marc have been gone for 2 weeks, it will still take 1 more before they fly back from Beijing and this has not been fun at all. I miss them all the time, I don't like going back to an empty home, I hate not to be able to play with Baobao.... As a result I'm working way too much (like 14 hours a day in average), reading a lot (this is good) and just counting the days missing until they get back... Less than 6 days to go now :)

Thank god for technology

2009-03-22T18:36:00.003-05:00

I'm not a big fan of technology, it may sound strange considering I'm a Telecom engineer and I've been working in the next big thing for the last 9 years, first 3G when data on a phone meant just texting, then 4G when just data was not good enough, it had to be broadband data... And yet, I often times see technology just like a means for humans to interact less with one another.

There are exceptions obviously, I love that I can talk to my family and friends on the phone no matter what the distance that separates us.

I also love that I can share special moments with special people almost immediately, through this blog for example, or our Picasa site, or facebook...

However, never did I appreciate technology more than this week. Marc and Lily flew to Beijing on Tuesday, they'll be there for 3 weeks. Since they've been gone, nearly every night we do video calls on skype and seeing them means the world to me. I love to see Baobao laughing, making funny noises. I loved how he was fascinated seeing Dad in that monitor, yet he could not touch him or hug him.

It certainly is not the same as having them home, but is much better than not seeing them for 3 weeks.

Love you both! Have fun and come back safely.

Feliz cumpleaños Mama!

2009-03-14T22:37:00.002-05:00

El pasado martes mi madre cumplio 76 años, en Noviembre durante una revision rutinaria descubrimos que Mama tiene cancer, en realidad lo descubrio Ana quien con su conocimiento e impresionante atencion al detalle vio algo en los resultados de los analisis que no le gusto y se ocupo de que a Mama le hicieran mas pruebas.

La enfermedad llego silenciosa y traicionera, sin avisar... Otra persona quiza se hubiera venido abajo, pero no mi madre, Mama es dura y fuerte, pero dura de verdad. Dura como solo lo son las personas de su generacion que nacieron entre guerras y pasaron su infancia y juventud en la postguerra, con carencias, sin libertad... Personas que salieron adelante con muy pocos bienes materiales, pero con mucho teson y caracter en la lamentable España dominada por el fascismo.

Mama no ha tenido una vida facil, le cayo en suerte un hombre que no esta a su altura, en realidad no lo estuvo nunca. Probablemente lo unico bueno que le dio ese hombre fueron sus cuatro hijos. A mama le toco vivir multitud de mudanzas, de un lugar a otro continuamente, porque mi padre no era capaz de mantenerse estable en un trabajo mucho tiempo, le sobraba caracter y orgullo; y le faltaba plantearse el impacto de sus decisiones en su familia.

Mama saco adelante una familia con dos adolescentes y dos niños pequeños mientras mi padre se debatia entre la vida y la muerte en el hospital, despues de un terrible accidente de trafico. Mama se ocupo de que nunca nos faltara nada, pero sobre todo Mama se ocupo de educarnos a todos. La educacion no la recibes en la escuela, alli te dan conocimientos, pero la educacion la aprendes en casa: como ser honesto, como ser agradecido, como ser consciente desde muy pequeño de lo que es importante, como respetar a los demas...

Mama nos enseño a demostrar el amor y el cariño con actos mas que con palabras, a querer todos los dias, a preocuparnos los unos por los otros. Cuando eramos pequeños Mama no tenia que repetirte cuanto te queria, siempre estaba a tu lado para demostrartelo. Con la edad he aprendido a apreciar mas si cabe esa forma de ser y de actuar, ahora que me llego el turno de ser padre, todos los dias intento imitar a mi madre... intento ser para Marc un padre lo mas parecido posible a lo que mi ella es para mi.

Son muchos los años que llevo fuera de casa, primero fue Valencia, luego Lisboa, despues vino Chicago, un año en Pekin y de vuelta en Chicago. Recuerdo, siendo pequeño, como Mama me dijo que yo seria el primero de los 4 hermanos en salir de casa... como siempre tenia razon, al final las Madres saben estas cosas antes que uno mismo. En todo este tiempo no ha habido un solo dia en el que no extrañe Altea y a mi familia.

Se que Mama va a ganar esta batalla contra el cancer, de hecho ya lo esta haciendo, pasito a pasito, con su animo, con su optimismo y con su fe.

Nosotros, desde la distancia, le mandamos todo el amor y todo el apoyo.

Feliz cumpleaños Mama!

Amazing...

2009-03-14T18:15:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how much Marc has grown, how he is now aware of everything going on around him, how much energy he has, how he enjoys every second that you share with him every game, every tickle, every smile, every funny face...

It's amazing what a good and social kid he is, how easy it is to go almost anywhere with him... ...

let's not forget how handsome he is :) (I know I know.... but hey, he's our kid after all :)).

Never ending energy...

2009-03-14T10:06:00.003-05:00

Marc's 6 months stats

2009-03-07T10:59:00.003-06:00

Marc is now officially half a year old, Thursday he had his 6 month check up with his pediatrician. Following are his stats:

- Weight: 19.1 Lbs (8.7 kbps) -> 75 %-ile

- Height: 27.1 inches (68.8 cms) -> 75 %-ile

Everything looked good, he got 3 more vaccines and hopefully won't have to see his pediatrician again until June. We hoped that'll be the case, he's been a very healthy boy so far, the only time he got sick, the whole family did (some sort of flu/cold).

Volver a empezar...

2009-03-01T18:34:00.000-06:00

Hoy, después de 30 años empieza una nueva vida para mi hermano Manuel, mañana pasara a engrosar la lista del paro después de trabajar en el mismo sitio, de repetir la misma rutina durante 3 décadas… No ha sido por sorpresa, ni tan siquiera por culpa de la crisis económica. A su jefe le llego la edad de la jubilación y decidió cerrar el negocio.

30 años en los que trabajo demasiado, durante mucho tiempo 7 días a la semana sin vacaciones, en los que fue leal, en los que dejo pasar otras opciones mejores por la fidelidad a ese hombre que le ofreció su primera oportunidad cuando apenas había acabado la EGB.

Después de 30 años, mi hermano y su compañero tan solo han recibido de ese hombre para el que trabajaron duro, el mínimo a que obliga la ley, ni tan siquiera un gesto para reconocer como esos dos empleados llevaron el negocio adelante…

Tampoco tuvo el detalle de dedicarles su tiempo, de hablar con ellos, quizá de ofrecerles la posibilidad de traspasar el negocio, ofrecerles su ayuda en caso que decidieran intentar la aventura por su cuenta.

Durante 30 años, ese hombre ni tan siquiera tenia que presentarse en el trabajo, ellos dos se sobraban y bastaban…. Al final de esa relación de confianza solo hubo un silencio cobarde y traicionero…

Lección aprendida, en los negocios hay que ser egoísta, no hay lealtad ni fidelidad que valga… Al final nadie se va preocupar por uno, tan solo uno mismo.

Por otra parte, se que mi hermano encontrara otras oportunidades, sin duda mejores. Siempre pensé que malgastaba su talento e inteligencia en el mercadillo, ojala este cambio forzado le ayude a ser ambicioso.

Es duro volver a empezar después de tanto tiempo, salir de la rutina, quizá aprender un nuevo oficio, pero si alguien puede hacerlo, ese es mi hermano Manuel.

Te queremos y estamos orgullosos de ti, ahora más que nunca!

Valentine's day...

2009-02-16T19:56:00.006-06:00

... or: how dad and mom get an opportunity to go out and enjoy a romantic night together.

Yes indeed, our good friend Kula volunteered to babysit Marc on Valentine's night, what a nice detail! Being far from our families, these are the kind of things that mean the world to us.

The plan for the night? Dinner a Sura Thai Bistro and a movie. Again, it may not sound like much, but to us it is. One of the few things we really miss from our life pre-Marc are our weekly movie sessions.

Dinner was amazing, a festival of flavours and great presentations. Kudos to a creative special menu built around flowers with a total of 4 dishes each one of them equally impressive, I wish I remember the names of the plates, but there was a little bit of everything: roasted duck salad, ceviche, orchid tempura,... Following are a couple of shots we took:

After the nice dinner we enjoyed "Revolutionary Road", some may say "not the happiest movie for a Valentine's date", but what a great movie nevertheless, two great actors probably at the peak of their game, specially Kate Winslet who fills the screen with an unbelievable portrait of these woman trapped in a life she cannot stand.

Happy Valentine's (even if with a little delay) :)

2nd year wedding anniversary...

2009-02-15T19:12:00.005-06:00

We've been married for 2 years! So many things have happened in this time: we looked for and found our first home, we decorated it, we've been together to Hawaii, Miami, New York, Spain and China, we got our green cards, and last, but definitely not least, we've had the most wonderful baby together.

Ours was a very unconventional wedding, we just knew we wanted to be together and we were willing to do anything to accomplish that goal, we did not want to risk being apart for long time again due to immigration aspects, we also knew that preparing a formal wedding with our families living in two different countries so far away as China and Spain was not a realistic option.

Therefore, we decided to just get married in the Chicago city hall on Feb 13th 2007, a Tuesday, in the middle of one of the worse snow blizzards of that winter. The judge joked that we would probably be the only couple getting married that day and that we should be really in love to marry that day.

It's funny, but I remember almost every second of the ceremony, I remember how nervous we were, how warm Chenli's hand felt while I was holding it.

We did not even have rings, the rings came later as a present of my family when my sisters (Ana and Mari Carmen) and my brother-in-law came to visit us. I've actually never been one who likes to wear any type of jewels and I thought wearing a ring would not work for me, but now, I love it, it reminds me of one of the most wonderful days of my life, it reminds me that I'm lucky to share my life with such an amazing woman and it reminds me that our families are always with us supporting us and loving us.

This posting is dedicated to my wonderful wife for the last 2 amazing years and for the many more that will follow... Love you more and more everyday.

Fun times indoor when is freezing outside...

2009-02-01T09:35:00.004-06:00

Surviving the winter

2009-01-23T09:43:00.004-06:00

It's been tough to find time to blog lately, specially since I joined facebook... Kind of difficult to keep both sites updated, specially during the winter when not much is happening. I just uploaded a few new pictures to Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/macandchen

Some of them were from our last couple of days in Altea, the rest were taken the last couple of weeks capturing some major milestones:

- Marc has started to eat cereal, I can't say he's enjoying it much, but hey, he'll get there.

- Marc is trying to walk, yep, he's only 4 months and a half, but he's already decided that he can skip the sitting up and crawling stages. Therefore we bought a doorway jumper for him which he really digs, good stuff!

What else? Last week we were missing Spanish food so much that we placed an order in latienda.com. We got the shipment yesterday: Jamon Iberico, Lomo, Chorizo and Paella rice. It was awesome to try them out yesterday for dinner and remember the good times we spent back home in Altea.

We miss everybody tremendously! Love!

Vacation is over...

2009-01-10T15:06:00.005-06:00

All right, it happened again.... after half and hour typing, $tupid blogger ate my post... Talking about frustration....

Anyways, just wanted to let everybody know that we made it back safe and almost on-time to Chicago, those of you reading the news about Madrid-Barajas airport know that this is already quite an accomplishment!

Vacation was GREAT, one of the best trips ever, what did we do, you may wonder. Next to nothing! We barely left Altea in the whole time we were in Spain, we just focused on relaxing and enjoying time with family and friends, that simple!

Now we are back in Chicago and missing family and friends every single second, missing the long walks by the sea, missing the awesome home cooked food, missing the long conversations over good coffee.

Marc and Lily had a great time and so did my family. Having Marc around illuminated the whole Christmas! They all love him and he got many many presents from family, friends, neighbors... he was a tiny little celebrity, everybody wanted to meet him, play with him...

May the new year bring only the best to all you guys! We love you and miss you a lot!

We will be writing individual posts for the highlights of the trip over the next few days.

Cheers from sunny Altea

2008-12-23T14:13:00.003-06:00

Life is good, but even better when the sun shines, weather is warm and you can enjoy long walks and runs by the Mediterraneum sea... These are the times when I wonder what the heck I´m doing in Chicago... Oh well, other than a long cold and snowy winter, Chicago has many perks to offer, so we won´t complain much.

I don´t have much time to write and we don´t have internet connection at home, I´m actually writting from my Ana and Jose´s plac (my sister and brother in law). Things have been great since we arrived, so much love and attention. Everybody wanted to meet Marc and Lily, they also were happy to see me, but only after Marc and Lily :)

Feels great to be surrounded by family and friends!

The trip was quite an adventure, it almost deserves its own posting... 6 hours delay in O´Hare due to snow, change of tickets in Madrid for our Madrid-Alicante flight, etc, etc... The best thing is that Marc slept really good in the plane and behaved great all the time, he seems to be quite a traveller!!!!!!!

Enough for today, time to go for dinner with friends now, it´s tough to be us :P

Love to all and best wishes for Christmas!

14 weeks stats (Marc is a big boy)

2008-12-12T20:10:00.003-06:00

Difficult to find time to blog and stuff to blog about lately, we've been preparing our trip, reading what other folks went through during their first flight with a baby and stuff like that.

This week Marc had his scheduled checkup with his pediatrician, due to our upcoming trip to Spain she also pushed her 4 month vaccination forward a few weeks. Marc did pretty good with the injections all things considered, it still breaks your heart when you see his reaction, we were playing with him while the nurse was getting everything ready and he was pretty relaxed, then when it was needle time he made this surprised what-the-bleep-did-just-happen and started crying...

Here come his current stats:

- weight: 15 lbs 1 oz (almost 7 kg)
- height: 25 inches (63.5 cm)

in both cases he's in the 75 percentile, certainly a big boy.

Marc is 3 months old...

2008-12-04T21:18:00.002-06:00

I won't repeat again how fast time passes by... but the truth is Marc is already 3 months old.

He has grown a lot over the last few weeks, next week we'll have his next pediatrician appointment and are starting to wonder what his weight and length will be... his 3 months old clothes are starting to be too short for him. During his next visit he'll get more shots, his doctor suggested to get those prior to our flight to Spain, probably a good idea, I usually get sick after that trip (how ironic that I almost never get a cold in Chicago, but almost always I get one while back home in sunny Altea)... I certainly hope Marc doesn't...

Anyways, 3 months indeed, it's now starting to be almost impossible to believe that Marc has not been always around. Everybody was right, yes, life changes once you have a baby. It did not change in the way that some mentioned though:

- we still don't feel the urge to move to the suburbs.
- we still don't feel that a condo does not provide enough space, even though right now even Lily's sister is living with us.
- we don't feel that we are giving away everything, we still go out, we still go shopping, we still meet friends often, we still take care of ourselves...

Life changes indeed, priorities change, responsibility increases and you worry more about the future than you used to before, but so far is a change for the better. We both are in our 30s, we've both enjoyed our years of going out often, and we both feel that it was probably time to move onto the new phase in life.

Other than that, not much to report.... Thanksgiving was nice, lots of food and good time spent with good people. Day after was nice too as it gave Lily the opportunity to have a break and go shopping with Danna, while I took Marc to meet Lucho and Betty (friends from Argentina who now live in Austin, TX) who were in Chicago for a few days.

The best thing though is that the countdown continues barely 1 and 1/2 weeks until our Christmas trip, we can barely wait.....

Marc plays the piano

2008-11-26T18:14:00.003-06:00

No comments needed :)

Thanksgiving is coming...

2008-11-23T20:05:00.007-06:00

One more weekend went by, not too crazy, but very nice...

On Saturday the Berniers (Luke, Isa, Emily and Peter) stopped by to visit us and meet Marc, I cooked some pizzas and we had a good time just hanging out and catching up.

On Sunday we went for brunch with most of our dysfunctional Chicago family, it was cool as always, fun conversation, very good food at "Taste of heaven"... before that I went for my first chilly long run of the winter, it was 20 F (around -7 Centigrade), but it felt great, the lake shore trail was pretty empty... life is good indeed: long run, warm shower and good food with friends!

The rest of the Sunday was pretty lazy, most of the time went by watching sports on TV. Marc likes to watch American Football (all those colors and movement). He had a very long nap lying on my chest, this is one of the best simple perks of fatherhood, when your son cannot think of a more comfy place to nap than your chest.

Thanksgiving is coming, in what has become a little tradition we will go to the Moussa's for thanksgiving. Not having our families around it feels great to share this special day with them, we are honored to be part of their extended family.

This year we have much to be thankful for, it sounds almost surreal, but only on New Year's day we found out that Lily was pregnant and now Marc is almost 3 months old. We've been blessed with this baby, our life has certainly changed, but definitely for the better. Everyday is a new adventure, Marc keeps growing, learning and surprising us.

Happy thanksgiving to our families and all our friends!

A few pictures follow (more, as usual in Picasa):

Playing is fun...

2008-11-15T18:06:00.003-06:00

Time has finally arrived, on top of crying, eating, sleeping and other basic stuff Marc has started to enjoy playing. Winter has arrived to Chicago and getting out is often not too pleasant (windy, cold, etc, etc), so we got a play-mat for Marc to play at home.

Of all the features in the play-mat his favorite one seems to be the small beach ball which he likes to hold, punch and lick. When he holds it he shows a really promising basketball-like posture, maybe we have a Yao Ming in the family :)

One more video of Marc having a blast with the ball follows:

Paperwork update... all clear!

2008-11-10T20:29:00.003-06:00

Over the last couple of months I posted a few times about our paperwork adventures, so I just wanted to share a quick update:
- Marc got both his passports.
- Lily got her Spanish visa.
- We had our green card interview today and got approved.

We can almost feel the taste of the tapas and paellas we'll enjoy during our trip to Spain :)

Meanwhile there go a few pictures (more as usual in our Picasa site).

Marc is a morning person....

2008-11-10T19:55:00.003-06:00

Just like his father... He wakes up early and full of energy, ready to play, talk with his invisible friends and have a good time.

This is a video taken at 5:30 am (and for that reason a little dark)

Nov 4th 2008, Obama wins!!!!!!

2008-11-05T08:53:00.004-06:00

Man it's great to be in Chicago! We are witnessing history in the making, after the dark last 8 years we get some light, some hope, Obama won and Chicago was an amazing party yesterday!

I know that moving forward everybody will claim to have been in the Obama rally that night, I won't lie to you, we were not there. We had plan a romantic night in the city to celebrate Lily's birthday in advance and we carried on as planned. This was our first night out alone since Marc was born, we enjoyed a great dinner at Aria (outstanding restaurant) and then Wicked the musical at the Oriental Theater.

The atmosphere was unbelievable when we got to the loop, the amount of people walking towards Grant Park was amazing, young people, whole families...

Once the musical was over and we left the theater it was official that Obama had won, the crowds were celebrating, singing,... This is what hope in a better future is all about.

It won't be easy for Obama, the expectation level is really high and the task at hand a tough one, but hey, who better than him? He is smart, he can communicate and he wants to negotiate rather than impose his will on everybody. All the best to you Mr President!

This event is even more relevant for us now, after all our kid is an American citizen and Obama is his president :).

My father always used to joke about how I was born in Democracy in Spain, how Franco (our terrible, cruel, assassin dictator) died a month before I was born after 40 years of dictatorship out of fear of what was coming (me :)).... Well, luckily enough Marc will not have to enjoy the soon-to-be-former president for long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost 2 months old

2008-11-02T20:15:00.006-06:00

Tomorrow will be Marc's second month birthday, hopefully he will feel better then than he does now. He took 3 shots on Thursday (2 month vaccinations), he was doing pretty good until now, but today it was a rough day. His pediatrician told us to use Tylenol for infants if/whenever he was feeling "miserable", at that time I thought she was exaggerating... but she was not... he truly felt miserable today, crying often, looking tired but not being able to sleep deeply...

On Thursday we also went to the Spanish consulate in Chicago, paperwork is moving forward, Lily got her visa on the same day, Marc's passport will be sent to us by mail. As we stand it's just a matter of getting Marc's passports and we'll be ready for our Christmas vacation. I can't wait, I'm looking forward to this trip very much, work keeps being hectic and intense and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon. It will be great to be back home, to spend time with my family and to disconnect of everything that has to do remotely with telecom.

What else what else? Friday it was "trick or treat" day in the US. Marc, Lily and I went for a walk around the neighborhood, weather was great (70 F). On our way back home we decided to walk around some of the streets where there are more homes than condos, it was pretty cool. Soooooooooooooooooo many kids.... the homeowners were great, most of them dressed in scary costumes and making the kids have a great time... you gotta love how folks really enjoy this very holiday!

On Saturday night we had some friends home for dinner, we had a great time, if there's something we really enjoy is to entertain friends, share a good conversation, a good glass of wine... Food was very good too, Lily cooks better better every time, thank god I'm keeping up with my running, otherwise I would have put a good amount of extra pounds by now :) Following are a few shots of Marc in his baseball outfit, we bought this a few months ago and Marc is now able to use it since he's grown so much:

Marc smiles...

2008-10-26T20:07:00.003-05:00

Those of you with kids certainly understand the excitement of seeing your kid's first smile... We finally started to enjoy that pleasure ourselves, so far it does not come for free, Marc mostly smiles when we play with him clapping his hands with ours... One picture is worth a thousand words...

Paperwork update...

2008-10-26T19:54:00.002-05:00

Well well well, we finally got Marc's birth certificate in the mail on Thursday. Not the copies we requested from the hospital (these would still take a couple of months since the office of Vital Records is still working in the certs for babies born in July), but the one I requested in person (more details in a post from a couple of weeks ago).

Getting the birth certificate allowed us to get started in preparing for our Christmas trip to Spain:

- we bought the air tickets before their prices get even higher.

- we applied for Marc's US passport.

- we will go to the Spanish Consulate to register Marc, apply for his Spanish passport and Lily's Spanish visa.

We also got scheduled for our green card interviews... hopefully all these procedures will go smoothly and very soon we will be able to stop worrying about visas for a while... We can't wait.

Once again though, reading through all the laws and regulations it's quite amazing to see how easy is to run into catch-22 situations. We already ran into this last year when Lily could not get a Spanish visa, we basically had everything ready for her to apply for a new US visa at the US embassy in Spain. Unfortunately she could not get a Spanish visa because she had a single entry visa for the US and therefore could not guarantee that she would be able to come back...

This time the dependencies were between Marc's SSN and passport. It's recommended to have SSN when applying for the passport, but it's almost required to have a passport when applying for an SSN (unless the SSN application is filled by the Hospital). In theory the Hospital did apply at the same time they applied for his birth certificate, however in true Chicago fashion that may take over 4 months, so I was considering re-applying in person... not a chance, after reading what it would take to verify Marc's identity as a newborn I decided to apply for his passport without SSN.... we will wait for his SSN, hopefully he'll get it before he graduates from college :)

One more weekend flew by....

2008-10-20T20:21:00.004-05:00

Not a whole lot to report, this was a fairly quiet weekend, after the craziness at work and the short trip to DC I took Friday off. What did we use the long weekend for? Just chill out, go for walks, go for coffee, read a little bit, clean, cook (Lily cooked some really tasty ribs on Sunday, great stuff!!!!!). The highlight of the weekend was probably our outing to downtown, we decided to take the EL and this was Baobao's first trip on the train. He slept the whole time on our way there, while we were walking around Millennium and Grant Park, when we stopped for coffee at Intelligentsia and on our way back. Amazing! He definitely sleeps like his dad, once he's focused nothing bothers him matter how much noise, vibration, people,...

A few pics from the last couple of weeks:

Blogging from DC again...

2008-10-16T18:24:00.006-05:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

After more than half an hour typing a very cool and fun post, somehow I lost it all... darn you blogger, I don't like you anymore :(

I'll try again (too much for auto save)....

One more time I'm blogging from the Dulles International Airport (DC), which basically means we had another crazy week at work which resulted in a urgent trip out here to deal with another crisis... I can't say that things are getting any better or more relaxed...

We (John, my co-worked who joined me this time) and I had tickets to go back home at 9:50 pm tonight, however, we got done with most of the critical stuff at around 2pm and decided to rush to the airport hoping to make it into the 5:20 pm flight. Unfortunately, so did some other 2000 people... finally we did not make it and had to wait around (thus this blog).

Waiting in stand-by (and not being called) gives you time to witness some really interesting stuff:

- some people really wait until the last minute to board.
- even better, some of this people don't really get stressed out about it even a tiny bit. This one guy literally came walking as he had all the time in the world, enjoying the airport decoration at 5:19pm, approached us and asked us if they were already boarding the 5:20pm flight... ALREADY????? Did you mean STILL??????? What the hell....
- I don't understand how they manage the stand-by list thing. Today they really created a big mess, in the last 5 minutes they decided to let some of the folks in the stand-by list in ("just sit wherever you see a seat available"), basically assuming that the actual folks with boarding passes would not make it. Sure enough 2 minutes later a family of five showed up running at full speed through the terminal..... all of a sudden they had more folks into the plane than they could sit, what a mess.... I'm happy I wasn't one of them, otherwise they would have to call the national guard to get me out :)
- I also don't understand what the lady in the boarding desk types in her computer, but it's gotta be some really complicated stuff, like nuclear reaction formulas, the new federal budget for 2009 or something.... it always reminds me of "Meet the parents".

Anyway, I have some time in my hands so decided to post, too bad I could not make the other flight, I would be almost home by now... the good side is I'll get lots of stuff done tonight and I'll take tomorrow off, LIFE IS GOOD.

It's tough to be a mom... and a baby...

2008-10-12T21:37:00.004-05:00

No explanation needed, I took this picture today at noon, after his feeding Marc fall asleep in mom's arms... and she followed soon. It doesn't get any sweeter than that, when I saw them enjoying their sleep like that, I can't stop thinking how blessed I am to have them both in my life.

This other one shows mom and Marc all pimped and ready to go out for a walk (Marc is wearing his first pair of blue jeans, talking about cool).

)

2nd doctor check and paperwork

2008-10-11T09:53:00.002-05:00

Hey hey hey,

It's taken me another week to finally sit down and blog, another week of economic crisis, stock prices dropping, increased insecurity, 401ks becoming 201ks... oh well, we'll take it one day at a time.

The first half of the week was pretty uneventful: work and more work, some short walks around the neighborhood, etc. Wednesday night, I took Marc to the library, we got him a cool little book in Spanish titled "Cocorico" :)

On Thursday we had Marc's regular scheduled checkup with his pediatrician, everything is good, Marc is growing fast and healthy, he's up to 11 Lbs now (5 Kg) and 23 inches (58.5 cm).

That same day, I decided to go to the city hall to request Marc's birth certificate which we need to apply for his passports (Spanish and American). Now, this was quite a frustrating experience, one that tells a lot about how the public services work (or better don't work) in this city... you really have to wonder how Chicago could even consider organizing the Olympic games when it has all these very basic issues (really poor public transportation, poor public services, ...).

Anyway, here's how the story goes. When Marc was born the hospital filled all the registration paper work with the city of Chicago as usual. They gave us a document that we have to fill and mail to request the birth certificate to be sent to us. In that document it was written that processing time is 3 to 4 weeks.... well, 5 weeks later I called the office of vital records, to ask about the status and the lady on the other side of the phone told me that they were still processing requests from July!!!!!! (we are almost in mid October).

I asked her what could I do to get the certificate faster and she told me to go to the city hall to request it person... so I did, this is where things get really messed up. They have 2 offices for vital records, the regular one and one for kids under 6 months old. The second one only opens from 2 pm to 4 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that small detail is nowhere to be found in any document or even in their website. Most of the people who had already taken a day off from work, obviously decided to stick around until 2 pm, queuing in front of that very tiny office, most of the people actually brought their kids along (again, most of them under 6 months old), I'm glad I didn't. You can imagine the amount of stress in the parents, kids crying... all while the queue kept growing as if we were waiting to buy tickets for the Superbowl.

Once they finally did open things only got worse... the office is tiny and barely has space to sit or stand up, everybody was very crowded with diaper bags and strollers all over the place... you take your number like you would in the deli and wait again..... once your number gets called a rather impolite lady takes your documents and informs you that there's no chance in earth you will get the certificate the same day because they close at 4 pm...

So at the end of the day, after all this waiting in a tiny crowded dirty office you really don't get anything other than their commitment to send you the certificate within 5 business day, now again, they had also committed to attend my initial request within 3 to 4 weeks and we are up to 6... and they are still processing apps from July.... so really, confidence is very low...

It's amazing to witness this is how public services work in the 3rd biggest city in the US, the whole time it felt like I was in some 3rd world country.... one thing is for sure, I will never again complain about bureaucracy in Spain.... all things considered, it turns out things work pretty good back home.

Baby fashion

2008-10-05T20:58:00.004-05:00

Marc is almost 5 weeks old now, he's getting bigger and can start wearing cool clothes. Those of you who know us, know that we like our fashion, we could probably participate in the Olympics if shopping was a competition, so getting cool clothes for Marc is one of the things we are planning to enjoy to its fullest :)

The next picture shows Marc asking his paparazzo Dad to leave him alone:

... but we all know this whole fighting the paparazzi is just a pose, at the end of the day we all enjoy modeling:

The weekend that was...

2008-10-05T20:32:00.003-05:00

It's getting increasingly difficult to post often, work is crazy as usual and finding motivation to sit in front of the computer when I get back home every night is quite a challenge, specially because what I really feel like doing is spending time with Lily and Marc, go out for walks or just chill out doing nothing.

To make things even crazier, this week Chicago held Wimax World, the most important trade show for the technology I've been involved in for the last over 3 years. Since I refuse to blog much about work, one of the biggest events of the week was to use for the first time the front baby carrier. Marc seems to like it and we've used it a number of times since, it's really convenient, specially when you go grocery shopping.

The weekend was a lot busier. On Friday we got together with our dysfunctional family (Kula dixit) and went for dinner at one of the many Vietnamese restaurants in the Argyle area, I'm a big fan of Pho, the delicious Vietnamese beef noodle soup, so I was happy to see the rest of the folks enjoying the experience. After dinner we went for a late coffee and cake to Kopi. We brought Marc along and he pretty much slept the whole time, no matter how noisy, how many people... he really is an easy guy, no drama whatsoever.

Saturday was even more eventful: shopping at Target and Babies'r'us. The Spektors came to the city to visit us and meet Marc in person. It was a very nice evening, we went for a walk to enjoy the nice cool weather, enjoyed a great dinner at Andie's where they prepare some mean kabobs and couscous and afterwards we went back to Kopi (yep, amazingly in a neighborhood like Andersonville, Kopi is one of the few places where you can catch a late coffee). Once again we brought Marc and once again he behaved amazingly, this time he did not sleep, but he was just quiet, enjoying the "action" surrounding him... So far, we are truly blessed with Marc's behavior, which is why our life has not changed so much after he was born. We can still get together with friends, we can go out for walks, shopping, coffee,... he is cool with everything and really easygoing.

Sunday was time to relax, I did get out for my long run of the week and for a long walk with Marc in the afternoon, but mom really needed a long nap and some do-nothing-at-all time, which she finally got.

I had to use most of the remaining time on Sunday to complete my on-line traffic school class... About a month ago I got a ticket for speeding, so I had to spend 4 hours going through this class. There are definitely more important reasons for not speeding (safety being the top 1), but not having to take this looooooooooooooooooooong online class is a pretty big one.

Marc likes coffee shops...

2008-09-28T20:46:00.005-05:00

Marc is just 2 days shy of being 4 weeks old, he now enjoys more going out and about. This week a couple of times we stopped in coffee shops half way during our daily walk, he seems to dig them, which is really good news considering his dad is a coffee-addict.

Yesterday's outing was specially nice, Danna and Missy stopped by and we spent some time chatting and catching up, I always enjoy these unplanned get together, we just sent them an SMS to let them know we were nearby and they were happy to come join us.

Today, we went shopping, first time we go for a long outing with Baobao, he did great. Lily and Xia spent sometime looking for clothes while the 2 of us just hanged out, walked around, read a little bit, even got some clothes for Marc... he still is a cool cat, quiet and easy going...

We uploaded a bunch of pictures to Picasa, there goes a video that we took at Pause Cafe yesterday, this shows pretty good the sequence of moves and faces Marc goes through to let us know he's hungry. After he starts his routine, we usually have 45 seconds before he gets really anxious and starts licking whatever happens to be nearby: his clothes, the car seat, his father's nose :)

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Marc esta a punto de cumplir 4 semanas, ahora ya le empieza a gustar mas y mas salir y pasar tiempo fuera de casa. Esta semana, paramos en un par de cafeterias del barrio durante nuestro paseo diario. Afortunadamente parece gustarle, lo que es un alivio teniendo en cuenta que el padre es cafe-adicto.

Ayer, ademas fue especialmente agradable, paramos en Pause Cafe y mandamos un SMS a Danna y Missy para decirles que estabamos cerca de su apartamento, asi que vinieron a pasar un rato con nosotros, charlar y ponernos al dia.

Hoy fuimos de compras a un centro comercial, mientras Lily y Xia buscaban ropa para ellas, Baobao y yo estuvimos de paseo disfrutando del sol, leyendo. Al final incluso paramos en una tienda de ropa para bebes y le compre un modelito nuevo a Marc. La verdad es que sigue siendo un bebe tranquilo y relajado.

Esta tarde puse un monton de nuevas fotos en Picasa, tambien queria compartir el video que aparece arriba en el que se puede ver la secuencia de caras y movimientos que "ejecuta" Marc para informarnos de que tiene hambre. Desde el momento que empieza la rutina, tenemos unos 45 segundos antes de que se ponga hiper nervioso y empiece a chupar todo lo que pille: su ropa, la silla del coche, la nariz de papa....

Blogging away from home...

2008-09-26T20:35:00.002-05:00

This first week back at work has been pretty hectic, things were crazier than usual, not just busy, not just stress, not just pressure... it was more like panic. I did not have a chance to have a slow catch-up-after-almost-3-weeks-away period, so much so that today (Friday) I flew to Virginia to meet with one of our customers, it was just a one day deal and I will be flying back tomorrow.

Anyways, this is the first trip since Marc was born... tonight when I called Lily on her cell I could hear him in the background making noises (basically asking for more food), it broke my heart to hear him crying while being apart, not being able to hold him.... I guess I am starting to understand why folks always talk about how much more difficult is to be away from home once you have kids...

What do babies dream about?

2008-09-21T17:08:00.007-05:00

As a new parent one of the things you can't stop doing is looking at your baby while he's sleeping, it's surprising to see the amount of different facial expressions they go through.... in our case, considering Marc has only been around for 19 days I always wonder what he's dreaming about? Is it the last yummy feeding right after mom had eaten a blueberry muffin or a chocolate croissant? Is it a recurrent dream in which he remembers his last nap?

One thing is for sure, he loves his naps, one cannot look any happier or more relaxed:

Not much more to report, last week we had both Marc's and Lily's checkup with their doctors. Marc is growing nice and healthy, he's up to 9 lbs and has grown one inch. Lily meanwhile is doing good, she's already lost almost half of the weight she won during pregnancy and is starting to recover her stamina. A couple of days ago we went for a stroll by the lake, which gave us a chance to compare Marc's and daddy's cars, I think we still like daddy's better :)

Marc goes out!

2008-09-17T13:43:00.006-05:00

Tuesday was Marc's two-weeks birthday, how about that, huh? After a rainy weekend the good sunny days came back to Chicago and we could finally take Marc out for a stroll. His pediatrician had recommended us to wait a couple of weeks, so we did.

It was a short walk around the block, but Marc seemed to enjoy the fresh air and so did mom. After 10 minutes walking Lily was really tired, she's doing great with the recovery after the long labor and cesarean, but still needs to take it easy, relax and not push the envelope.

Also, after we've had time to settle down, friends started stopping by. Last Friday Danna and Rami came home for a late coffee and some candy, it was nice to chill out, chat and catch up. A couple of days later Lily's friends stop by to meet Marc as well!

Otherwise, no news good news, days keep passing by fairly quietly. I can't believe that Monday will be time to go back to work, aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I will miss spending time home and seeing Marc meet slowly, but surely the small milestones. There go a few pictures of Marc napping (his favorite sport :)):

Prioridades

2008-09-12T17:36:00.002-05:00

La mayoría de la gente con la que he trabajado seguramente coincidiría en que en el trabajo siempre lo doy todo, por una u otra razón siempre acabo implicándome personalmente en mis proyectos, muy a menudo mas allá de mi rol y responsabilidades para ayudar a compañeros que están soportando clientes alrededor del mundo.

Periódicamente, atravieso momentos en los que me pregunto el porque, a veces ocurre al darme cuenta de que el tiempo pasa y el crecimiento profesional no es siempre acorde con la cantidad de trabajo y esfuerzo que uno pone, otras veces es simplemente al sentir que debería ser capaz de separar la vidas profesional y personal mejor. Durante un tiempo, al regresar de Pekín, conseguí controlar las horas que estaba trabajando, en buena medida al involucrarme en otras actividades: clases de fotografía, disfrutando muchísima música en directo, ejerciendo de profesor voluntario para alumnos de 1er y 2o curso...

Este año no tome ningunas vacaciones hasta ahora. Descubrimos que Lily estaba embarazada el día de Año Nuevo y, por lo tanto, decidimos usar los dias después del nacimiento de Marc y durante nuestro viaje a España en Navidades. Sin duda, esta fue la decisión correcta, pero según pasaba el verano me encontraba más y más cansado, especialmente en el plano mental; la presión que nunca acaba en el trabajo al desarrollar, optimizar y llevar una nueva tecnología al mercado, las constantes visitas a clientes...

Tomar 2 semanas de vacaciones para desconectar totalmente no es sencillo y tener una Moto Q conectada a mi servidor de correo electrónico constantemente no ayuda gran cosa, es casi imposible evitar echar un vistazo de vez en cuando a los correos y todavía mas difícil no reacciona...

Es entonces cuando me planteo mis prioridades, la llegada de Marc es un evento que cambiara nuestras vidas para siempre, un evento que nunca volverá a ocurrir. Quizás o quizás no tengamos más niños, pero Marc es irrepetible y se merece mi atención por completo. Cuando estamos tendidos en la cama jugando, cada vez que llora cuando le cambio el pañal, la primera vez que le bañamos en su bañera nueva, etc... Sinceramente, durante esos momentos me planteo si todos esos problemas urgentes en el trabajo son realmente TAN importantes comparado con ver a tu hijo crecer feliz y saludable.

Ahi van unas cuantas fotos divertidas que tomamos ayer cuando Marc y yo estábamos jugueteando (mas como siempre en nuestra Web en Picasa)

Priorities

2008-09-12T17:24:00.002-05:00

Most people I've worked with would tell you that I'm a dedicated engineer, for one reason or another I always end up personally involved in my projects and more often than not I go the extra mile to help folks that are struggling in the field supporting customers around the world. Periodically, I go through periods of time in which I question this behavior, sometimes it's triggered by the realization that time keeps passing by and the professional growth doesn't always match the amount of work and effort, other times it's just the feeling that I should be able to separate professional and personal aspects better. For a period of time, after my return from Beijing, I did manage to control the amount of working hours and to get involved in other activities: photography classes, lots of live music, volunteering as a teacher for 1st and 2nd graders....

This year I did not take any time off at all until now. We found out about the pregnancy on New Years Day and, therefore, decided to save all the vacation days for Marc's arrival and for our trip to Spain for Christmas. Although this was the right thing to do, I was mentally exhausted as the summer passed by, the never ending stress level at work creating, optimizing and deploying a brand new technology, trips to visit customers... Taking 2 weeks off is not an easy one, having a Moto Q connected to my work email server doesn't help either, it's impossible to refrain yourself from checking out what's going on and even more difficult not to react...

That's when I think about priorities, Marc's arrival is a life changing event, once that will never occur again, we may or may not have more kids, but Marc is unique and he deserves my undivided attention. Every time we lay down on the bed just playing around, every time he cries during a diaper change, his first full bath, etc... And quite frankly, during these moments I wonder whether all these work high priority issues are really SO important when compared with seeing your son grows healthy and happy....

There go a few fun pictures that we took yesterday when Marc and I were having fun (more as usual at our Picasa gallery).

More pictures...

2008-09-11T18:17:00.004-05:00

I still get amazed on how much you get for free from the Google folks, obviously Picasa is one of the tools I started using more often recently and I have to say it's a pretty cool and easy to use tool that allows you to perform basic tuning on your pictures quickly.

This morning I spent a few hours glancing through all the pictures we've taken since Marc's birth as well as some from the pregnancy, it's kind of difficult to settle on just 25 of them, but I finally did and created this collage using Picasa:

Days keep passing by pretty uneventfully, which is a good thing, baby and mom are getting a good amount of rest. Dad, on the other hand, can get by with just 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, so I'm killing the rest of the time running errands, reading as much as possible (about to finish "A thousand splendid suns" by Khaled Hosseini; and about to start "Delirio" by Laura Restrepo), going for long runs by the lake, catching up on movies ("City of men" was the last one a couple of nights ago) and just chilling out and enjoying the dolce far niente.

All that changes when Marc is awake, then it's action time :)

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Todavia me sorprende la cantidad de cosas que la gente de Google pone a nuestra disposicion de forma gratuita, obviamente Picassa es una de las herramientas que empece a usar mas a menudo ultimamente. Sinceramente me parece una herramienta muy interesante y facil de usar que te permite editar fotos de forma simple y rapida.

Esta manana pase un par de horas mirando las fotos que tomamos desde que nacio Marc y tambien las del embarazo, fue dificil selecionar solo 25, pero al final lo consequi y cree este collage en Picassa.

Los dias siguen pasando sin grandes novedades, lo cual es, en si mismo una buena noticia. Baobao y mama descansan y dormitan frecuentemente. Yo, por mi parte, no necesito mas de 4 o 5 horas de sueno, asi que estoy dedicando el resto del tiempo a tareas varias en el piso, leyendo tanto como puedo (estoy a punto de acabar “A thousand splendid suns” de Khaled Hosseini y a punto de empezar “Delirio” de Laura Restrepo), saliendo a correr por el lago Michigan, viendo peliculas en DVD (la ultima resanable fue “Ciudad de hombres” brasilena de la misma gente que hizo “Ciudad de Dios”) y simplemente disfrutando del dolce far niente.

Todo esto cambia cuando Marc esta despierto, esos son momentos para la accion :)

Family photos...

2008-09-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

Lily is feeling much better and slowly but surely going back to her old size. Face, legs and hands are no longer swollen.... on top of that yesterday, finally, there was a moment in which we were all 3 awake at the same time, so it was family photo time, the first one with all 3 of us since we got out of the hospital.

Additionally, there goes a short clip we took a couple of days ago when Marc had hiccups :)

Bao bao ya cumplio una semana

2008-09-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

El tiempo vuela cuando te lo estas pasando bien, bao bao (baby en Chino :)) Marc ya cumplio una semana, no pretendo ser el psico-analista de Woody Allen ni tampoco ser capaz de entender completamente su personalidad, pero sin duda hay algunos indicios interesantes:

- parece ser un tipo bastante tranquilo.

- cuando se enfada es por una buena razon (tiene hambre, necesita un panyal nuevo).

- no le gusta vestir un panyal manchado, pero odia que le cambien.

- definitivamente no le gusta ser banyado, por lo menos los banyos de esponja que le estamos dando de momento.

- una vez dormido, no parece especialmente sensible a ruidos y movimientos (como su padre).

Lo mas interesante de tener un recien nacido en casa es precisamente eso, observar su comportamiento y reacciones, sus expresiones faciales, cambios de humor, etc.

Lo mas estresante es el numero de tomas y lo impredecible que son por el momenot, a veces parece poder pasar 4 o 5 horas sin alimento, mientras otras veces apenas 10 minutos despues de que Lily le acabe de dar el pecho ya esta pidiendo mas...

Una de las cosas mas bonitas como papa es comprobar el increible lazo existente entre mama y bebe, los dos caen dormidos al mismo tiempo durante las tomas de pecho e incluso, por sus movimientos sincronizados, parece que tengan suenyos parecidos!!!!!!

Bao bao is one week old...

2008-09-09T14:13:00.000-05:00

Time flies when you are having fun, bao bao (baby in Chinese :)) Marc is already one week old, I won't claim to be Woody Allen's psychologist and to be able to fully analyze his personality already, but there are definitely a few interesting signs:

- he seems to be pretty quiet.

- when he gets mad is for a good reason (need food, needs a diaper change).

- he doesn't like to sit on a dirty diaper, but doesn't like to be changed either.

- he definitely doesn't like baths (at least the sponge baths he's been getting so far).

- once he falls asleep noises don't seem to bother him much.

The most interesting thing about having a newborn home is exactly this, to observe his behavior and reactions, the facial expressions, mood changes, etc.

The most stressful part is the amount of feedings and how unpredictable they are, sometimes he seems to be able to go through 4 or 5 hours without eating, while some other times 10 minutes after Lily is done feeding him, he's already asking for more...

One of the nicest things as a daddy is to witness the amazing bond existing between baby and mom, they almost always fall asleep at the same time late in the feedings, they seem to have similar dreams...

Un reconocimiento especial... (A special acknowledgement...)

2008-09-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

Ahora que Marc ya llego y todo salio bien, es el momento de reconocer a alguien muy especial, tanto tanto que queremos que quede reflejado en nuestro blog.

Nuestras familias y amigos han sido increíbles durante todo el embarazo, pero hay una persona que merece un reconocimiento especial.

Como algunos de vosotros sabéis, mi hermana Ana es enfermera y matrona en España, de hecho hace unos cuantos meses acabo el programa de 2 anyos para certificarse como matrona con honores y en el top de todos sus compañeros de promoción. Ana es sin duda la matrona más profesional y laboriosa en el mundo entero, siempre preparándose con devoción, leyendo y estudiando, aprendiendo todos los días.

Durante todo el embarazo tuvimos la bendición de tenerla a nuestro lado, bien por e-mail, bien por teléfono... siempre ahí a nuestra disposición, para responder a nuestras dudas, para darnos consejo y tranquilizarnos..

Ella fue la primera a la que le contamos que Lily estaba embarazada, como no fue un embarazo pre-meditado hubo algunos momentos de estrés al principio... su tranquilidad, su actitud positiva y su alegría cuando le comunicamos la noticia nos dio muchísima confianza y optimismo.

Después, durante todo el embarazo, sus consejos siempre nos ayudaron: que comer, que complementos usar, que podíamos hacer y que deberíamos evitar...

Si en este momento me siento tan capaz de cumplir mis obligaciones como padre es, en gran parte, gracias a ella, en cualquier momento durante el embarazo y durante el mismo parto, siempre sentía que estaba listo para cualquier cosa que pudiera ocurrir porque Ana me había preparado de antemano: pistas sobre síntomas, como reaccionar.... Era increíble ver como, mes a mes, cada visita al doctor confirmaba algo que ya Ana nos había comentado.

Ojala todo el mundo pudiera ser tan afortunado!

Ana, sabes que te queremos con locura y que te estamos eternamente agradecidos por todo lo que has hecho por nosotros!

Con carino...

Marc, Lily y Miguel

------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Marc is here and everything went well, it's time to record a very special acknowledgment in this blog. Our families and friends were great during the pregnancy and beyond, but one person specially...

As some of you know, my sister Ana is a nurse and a mid-wife in Spain, she recently finished her 2 year program to become a certified mid-wife and as usual she completed it with honors, on top of her class. Ana has to be the most professional and dedicated mid-wife in the whole world, she prepares herself with amazing dedication, she reads and studies, she keeps learning everyday.

All the way through the pregnancy we felt blessed for having her available to us by phone or by e-mail, she was always there to answer our questions, give us advice and comfort us.

She was the first one to know about the pregnancy, since we were not really trying to have a baby yet, we went through some stressful moments early on... her calm demeanor, her excitement about the news was really encouraging...

Then, throughout the whole time, her advice was always there: what to eat, what vitamin complements to take, what we could and shouldn't do....

If I've felt so ready to become a dad has been in big part due to her, at any time during the pregnancy and after the delivery, I feel that almost no matter what could happen, Ana had already given me hints on what do look for, what to do next... It was amazing to witness how the monthly doctor visits were confirming one by one everything that Ana had previously anticipated.

I wish everybody could be so lucky!

Ana, you know we love you and we are grateful for everything you did!!!!

Love,

Marc, Lily and Miguel

... y el gran dia llego

2008-09-04T16:27:00.001-05:00

(Fotos y mas fotos en: http://picasaweb.google.com/macandchen/Sept08MarcArrives#)

Esta historia empieza el día del trabajador (primer lunes de Septiembre en USA), alrededor de la 1:30 de la mañana, cuando Lily empezó a sentir contracciones. Hubo otros síntomas que no voy a describir ahora, pero todas las señales eran claras, el momento que habíamos estado esperando durante los últimos días había llegado por fin. Era la hora de tomar las maletas, la sillita, las cámaras y salir rumbo hacia el hospital. Si es cierto que todo gran evento y viajes importantes tienen una banda sonora, en este caso serian los grandes éxitos de Phil Collins, ese era el CD que sonaba mientras conducíamos dirección al hospital, siempre recordare el recorrido cuando escuche estas canciones: hacia el Sur en Clark, al Oeste en Bryn Mawr, al Sur en Ashland y luego Oeste en Foster hasta llegar al hospital.

La admisión en el hospital fue rápida, nos pusieron en lo que llaman una habitación de transición e inmediatamente empezaron a monitorizar tanto a la mama como al bebe. Las contracciones eran fuertes y regulares, las cosas parecían estar ocurriendo deprisa, la realidad seria bien distinta....

Alrededor de las 7 AM, las contracciones empezaron a ser demasiado dolorosas para Lily, sintiéndolas como un dolor muy fuerte y agudo en la parte baja de la espalda... A las 9 AM le pusieron la epidural (gracias a Dios por los avances médicos!), funciono como un reloj suizo, Lily fue capaz de descansar y dormir tranquilamente, la otra consecuencia fue que el progreso del parto se ralentizo considerablemente. Las contracciones seguían su curso, pero la dilatación ocurría muy despacio... y cuando digo muy despacio es realmente MUYYYYYYYYYY DESPACIO... Era casi media noche cuando Lily estaba finalmente lista para empezar a empujar, lamentablemente los efectos de la Epidural estaban desapareciendo, Lily puso todo su empeño y esfuerzo, también las enfermeras y la doctora, pero no iba a ser posible que Marc saliera mediante un parto natural, era demasiado grande y Lily estaba sintiendo muchísimo dolor otra vez. Después de casi 2 horas intentando decidimos recurrir a la cesárea... sin ninguna duda esta fue la mejor decisión posible.

El personal del hospital empezó inmediatamente a preparar el quirófano y a la mama para la operación... a papa le dieron un traje azul, una mascara, cubre zapatos y un gorro y le pidieron que esperara en la habitación hasta que el quirófano estuviera listo... Estos fueros los minutos mas largos de mi vida, es difícil intentar expresar la mezcla de emociones que sentí: excitación, miedo, estrés, alegría... todo al mismo tiempo.

Alrededor de las 3:30 AM vinieron a buscarme. En la mesa de operaciones había una pantalla, yo me senté al lado de Lily sosteniendo su mano y acariciando su cara, pero sin ser capaz de ver la operación... el tiempo parecía volar rápidamente mientras intentaba entender las conversaciones entre el personal medico, tratando de analizar los ruidos y sonidos.... de repente alguien exclamo: "el bebe esta fuera" a lo que rápidamente siguió un llanto fuerte de Marc. Se que las cosas cambiaran y que lo que hoy suena a música celestial seguramente seguramente nos ponga de los nervios muy pronto, aun así... nunca había oído nada tan lindo... Lily empezó a llorar inmediatamente y yo la seguí enseguida, especialmente cuando la enferma apareció de detrás de la pantalla con Marc en sus brazos, esa primera visión de su carita y cuerpo es sin duda la experiencia mas impactante en toda mi vida, allí estaba, se veía grande y fuerte, moviéndose y dando patadas, lleno de energía. 9 mese de ilusión, de anticipación habían llegado a su fin y el final era ese increíble pequeño hombrecito que habían colocado allí, en la mesa de la enfermera, al que estaban limpiando, pesando... esa personita que no paraba de moverse y emitir sonidos... Un cuerpo pequeño lleno de energía y con toda la vida por delante... Podría haberme ahogado en mis propias lagrimas que empapaban la mascara y no me hubiera dado cuenta... Todos los comentarios y experiencias que nuestros familiares y amigos habían compartido no son capaces de comunicar la energía del momento... El pequeno Marc llego a las 3:50am el 2 de Septiembre, su peso fue 3.870 Kg. (8 libras y 2 onzas) y midió 51 cms, el parto desde que llegamos al hospital hasta su nacimiento duro 26 horas!!!!!!!!

Una vez que la cesárea acabo nos llevaron de vuelta a nuestra habitación, era la hora de descansar para la mama y el bebe de descansar después de todo el estrés y el esfuerzo... y era hora de que papa empezara a cuidar a ambos, reflexionar sobre todo lo ocurrido, admirar a su hermosa y valiente mujer y su bebe... también era hora de ocuparse de las relaciones publicas :), hacer decenas de fotos, enviar mensajes de texto y e-mails, llamar a la familia...

El resto del día paso volando entre visitas de enfermeras y doctores, las primeras tomas de pecho, cambios de pañal, mas fotos, mas mensajes y emails... así como llamadas y visitas de familiares y amigos, todos ellos sacando tiempo para cerciorarse que los 3 estábamos bien, para compartir su amor y su afecto... Para todos vosotros, tanto los que pudieron venir a vernos, como los que no pudieron, para todos los que están tan lejos físicamente que no pudieron venir aunque sus corazones y almas si lo hicieron... para todos vosotros un enorme GRACIAS por todo el cariño y soporte durante este viaje maravilloso, OS QUEREMOS, incluso cuando nos cuesta llamar y/o escribir, siempre os recordamos.

Con todo el carino de la familia Carames-Chen!

Marc, Lily y Miguel

.. and the big day arrived

2008-09-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

(Lots of pictures available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/macandchen/Sept08MarcArrives#)

This story starts on Labor Day at around 1:30 am when Lily started feeling strong contractions, there were other signs which I will spare here that clearly indicated the moment we had been waiting for days had arrived. It was time to take the bags, the car seat, cameras and go to the Hospital. If big events and important trips are to have a soundtrack, this one's was Phil Collins' greatest hits which was the CD that was playing on our way there, I will always remember the journey when I listen to these songs: South on Clark, West on Bryn Mawr, South on Ashland then West on Foster all the way to the Hospital.

The admission process at the Hospital was quick, we were placed in what they call a transition room where they immediately started monitoring both Mom and baby, contractions were strong and regular, things really seemed to be developing fast, little did we know...

At around 7 am contractions started to be too painful for Lily to bear, she was feeling very sharp and strong pain in her lower back... At 9 am Lily got the epidural (thank god for medical research!), it worked like a charm, she was able to rest and sleep great, the downside was that the whole labor process slowed down considerably, contractions kept coming, but dilation took a very long time... when I say long I really mean LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG... It was close to midnight when Lily was finally ready to start pushing, unfortunately at that time the Epidural was starting to wear down, she put an amazing effort and both the doctor and the nurses were great, but it was not meant to happen through natural delivery, Marc was just too big and Lily was feeling a lot of pain again, after a couple of hours we decided to go for the cesarean... without any question that was the best decision we made.

They immediately starting preparing the room and the mom for the surgery... dad was given a blue jumpsuit, face mask, shoe covers and hat and was asked to wait in the room until everything was ready... I have to admit, those were some of the longest minutes in my whole life, difficult to even try to express the mix of emotions: excitement, fear, stress, happiness... all at once.

At around 3:30 am they came to get me. They setup a screen so that the dad-to-be can sit close to mom's face and hold her hand without being able to see the actual surgery... time seemed to fly quickly while trying to understand the ongoing conversations, making sense of all the noises around.... then out of the blue somebody said: "baby is out" which was followed quickly by Marc's loud crying voice, I know things will change and what know still sounds like music from heaven may become nerve-racking soon and yet... I had never heard anything so beautiful in my whole life... Lily started crying immediately and I followed shortly, specially once the nurse came around the screen holding Marc, that first glance of his little face and body it's the most intense experience in my whole life to date, there he was, he looked big and strong, already moving and kicking, full of energy... 9 months of illusion, of anticipation had come to an end and the end was that amazing little human being placed there, at the nurse station, being cleaned and weighted, moving and making noises... A little boy full of life with all time in the world in front of him... I could have choked in my own tears as the mask got wet and heavy and I wouldn't have even realized.... All comments and shared-experiences from family and friends don't come remotely close to the real thing; even as I type this I realize I'm not able to convey the energy of the moment... Baby Marc had arrived at 3:50 am on September the 2nd, his weight was 8 lb 2 oz (3.870 kg) and he was 51 cm long, the whole labor process took nearly 26 hours!

After the cesarean was completed they moved us back to our room, it was time for both mom and baby to rest after all the stress and effort... It was time for daddy to look after both of them, to reflect on all that had happened admire his beautiful and brave wife and his big baby boy.... also to take care of the PR portion: take lots of pictures, send text messages and emails, call family...

The rest of the day flew by in between nurse/doctor visits, first breast feedings, diaper changes, more pictures, more text messages and emails... also family and friend visits and phone calls, taking time of their busy schedules to check on all 3 of us, to share their love and support... to all of you, the ones who could stop by, the ones who couldn't, the ones who are really far away and wouldn't be able even if they wanted to... to all of you a huge THANK YOU for your love and support and encouragement through this amazing journey, we love you all, even when we take a very long time to call and/or write, you are always on our mind.

Love from the Carames-Chen family!

Marc, Lily and Miguel

Family, friends and presents...

2008-08-27T11:17:00.001-05:00

This is a long overdue post, one to give a big THANKS to our families and friends for the presents received over the last few months of pregnancy.

Our family from Altea started early sending us tiny little clothes for Marc almost immediately after we announced Lily was pregnant, it was a great surprise!

Our friends in Chicago followed shortly during our home warming party and kind-of-but-not-quite baby shower: clothes, gift cards... and even the coolest running stroller ever which Papa Miguel and Marc will use heavily putting miles on it by Lake Michigan!

Our family from Altea also sent us a big money gift which was enough to pay for everything we've had to buy so far: crib, stroller, car seat, bouncer, etc, etc, etc

Our family from China sent us cool clothes that will keep Marc warm through the long Chicago winter.

Yesterday we got one more package from Altea with all sorts of cool things for Marc...

There go a couple of pictures, we really appreciate every body's love and support during these last few months, it feels good to know so many people around the world care for us.

Once again a big THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Space management...

2008-08-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Living in a condo space management is critical... with Chenxia (Lily's sister) visiting and Marc's imminent arrival we had to decide what to do with the crib, etc...

We finally decided to temporarily move the crib to our bedroom, the move took place on Sunday and it involved a good amount of furniture re-shuffling, it was like playing with Lego, we finally managed to fit everything nicely.

There go some pictures from Marc's room (now crib-less):

I've been chained....

2008-08-22T13:32:00.000-05:00

Well well well... those of you living in the US may be aware of the chain bowling ball tradition, basically they have a very heavy iron chain attached to a bowling ball in one side and to a pair of hand-cuffs in the other.

When you are about to get married your co-workers hand-cuff you to the bowling ball and make you walk around the whole day trying to find out who has the key, you ask people and they are supposed to tell you if they ever had the key and if they did, who did they give it to....

In my department, they've taken this tradition to the next level, for folks about to have a baby they have a new "device", basically:

- somebody bought a plastic baby doll.

- filled it with concrete.

- attached the same heavy iron chain and pair of hand-cuffs.

The basic "rules of the game" are the same.

Yesterday was my day to "suffer" this nice tradition, my co-workers prepared a surprise meeting, brought the chain-concrete-baby and showed some videos of crying babies using the projector... We went out for lunch to Chili's and I only manage to find the key at around 2:30pm.

I have to admit it was fun and a very cool surprise, it was nice of them to take the time and effort to prepare the whole thing, thanks guys!

Some pictures were taken with cellphones....

We've been tagged...

2008-08-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

Wow! This is gotta be a good sign, we've been tagged for the first time (thanks Missy!), so we are now official bloggers :)

There you go:

1. Where is your cell phone? Sitting by the kitchen window
2. Your significant other? Behind me reading Chinese news in the other computer
3. Your hair? Weird
4. Your mother? Too far (miss her)
5. Your father? Retired
6. Your favorite thing? Harmony
7. Your dream last night? Can't remember
8. Your favorite drink? Coffee
9. Your dream/goal? Happiness
10. The room you’re in? Living room (watching Spain struggle against US in the hoops game)
11. Your hobby? Reading
12. Your fear? Loosing any of the loved ones
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hmmmmmm, home (wherever home happens to be)
14. What you’re not? Patient
15. Muffins? La bella easo (yummmmm)
16. One of your wish list items? We get through the delivery with both Lily and Marc healthy and happy.
17. Where you grew up? Sunny beautiful Altea (Spain)
18. The last thing you did? Long run, shower and breakfast.
19. What are you wearing? Shorts
20. Favorite gadget? Camera
21. Your pets? Do plants count????
22. Your computer? Sucks :)
23. Your mood? Relaxed
24. Missing someone? Always
25. Your car? Orange Murano (love it love it)
26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
27. Favorite store? Zara, H&M, Armani Exchange,...
28. Like someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? This morning
31. Last time you cried? Last December (at the cemetery back home visiting a good old friend)

2008-08-11T19:00:00.000-05:00

How about that? I finally broke 1:44:00 in the half marathon... and was able to sustain a better than 8 min/mile pace, not bad at all for an old dude like me :)

I really think the new wave start method they employed this year help me push it a little bit extra, it took forever for my group to get started and I wasn't able to see what the race time was when we actually started running, so at every check point my time looked "not so good"... when I finished the race time (measured from the time when the first runners started) was close to1:50:00... therefore I thought my actual time would be around 1:47:00, what a nice surprise when the official results were posted and I saw this wonderful 1:43:53...

I'm the 178th fastest half-marathoner among Chicagoans between 30 and 34 years old!!!!!!!

The countdown has started...

2008-08-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Time flies indeed... it almost feels like it was yesterday when we found out about the pregnancy, but little Marc is getting ready to leave the comfy and nice life he's had so far and join all of us in this not-always-nice world.

If everything goes as planned he will arrive on 08/31, only 2o something more days to go... to make things even better Dr Brennan told Lily yesterday that based on her experience, Lily may go into labour early since she is petite (I haven't seen Lily so happy for quite a while :)).

In any case, the last doctor visit confirmed that Marc is already head down and getting ready for his first trip, it will be a shorter but intense one, maybe one day he'll follow on his parents footsteps and will travel all over the world, will meet wonderful people and will go through amazing experiences.... time will say.

It's almost impossible not to think about how life will change for us in the next month, the added responsibility, etc, etc. For now, we can only cherish all the moments we are going through, the excitement of our families and our friends around the world and here in Chicago...

We saw Marc's face!

2008-07-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

(More pictures at:http://picasaweb.google.com/macandchen )

Jezzzz, keeping a blog updated is tougher than I thought. Who in earth feels like sitting in front of the computer at work after spending 10 hours working in front of a trillion PCs at work?????

Oh well, I owe a posting summarizing some of the cool events we enjoyed this summer: BBQs, street fests and miscellaneous parties...

But I could not let this opportunity escape, on Saturday we went to have our 3D-4D ultrasound so we now kinda know what little Marc looks like, we know that he likes sucking his thumb and showing his tongue...

One month to go, we can barely wait, specially Lily who's had enough of pregnancy already :)

A day at the park

2008-06-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

We just wanted to upload a few pictures from our day at the park during Memorial day weekend. It's finally time to celebrate that the good weather has arrived. The belly keeps growing and Marc kicking stronger every day :)

The blue room

2008-05-07T18:18:00.000-05:00

I guess 3 posts is enough to let people know that this blog exists :), maybe tomorrow I will send the email.

The last 3 days I've been working from home, on Monday I got a root canal and today we had our monthly appointment with the doctor to check on the pregnancy progress, everything is good. I really think we are very lucky with the nurse and doctor we got assigned at the Swedish Covenant Hospital, I can not imagine more supportive and encouraging people, they really are great, they were during the first few months when Lily was feeling terrible and they are even more so now, more than half way through the pregnancy.

Yesterday was the day when the room formerly known as the office became Marc's future room, gone is the salmon color we chose back in the day and in is the new "Honolulu blue"... Lily and I often times talk about how lucky children are nowadays. Marc's first room is a small one, but one very bright and sunny. I remember how growing up I used to share my room with my 2 sisters, only when I was 12 I got my first room and I remember the excitement as if it was today. In any case, sharing the room with my sisters was great, my older sister Mari Carmen is the best old sister you could dream of, I remember the games we used to play before Ana and I would fall asleep... jezzz, I'm starting to sound like grandpa Miguel.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, Marc's room is blue and ready, so the future arrival of Marc is becoming more and more real... in any case, everyday he let us know that he's around, kicking and moving more and more often, as Dr Brennan said, we may have a little soccer player.

Love

Things you do when you are bored

2008-05-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

A friend send me the link to this website, pretty cool stuff:

To blog or not to blog...

2008-04-28T18:23:00.001-05:00

All right, it's taken us a while to finally go for it, to join the big family of bloggers... So many times we've talked about it, so many times I've had in my mind stories that I wanted to post and share with others, but for one reason or another it seemed impossible to find the motivation to sit down in front of the computer after work.

I guess it only takes a big important reason and now we have it, the family is growing, if everything goes well by the end of August Marc will be among us and will turn our lives upside down... in a way it already has...

I guess I'm stating the obvious, I'm sure if I look around other blogs I'll find similar sentences elsewhere and yet... it's so true, it's amazing the illusion that one can feel, the love for that little person developing and growing inside the mom's belly... the first time you hear his heart beating, the ultrasounds, the movements and kicks...

Yes, it took a big event like this for us to start blogging, to try to keep family and friends around the world updated.

We promise to try to post every so often, to upload pictures as they become available...

Enough for the first post, I don't want to use all my vocabulary the first day :)

Love and peace!