From Russia they came with love

The Second Year... Happy Birthday Sunshine

Today my little Naomi turns 2 years old. I’ve spent the past two years sharing an experience with my wife Nadia that is hard to put into words - a shared feeling of amazement watching her grow. In that time, I’ve learned so much about life. Not just a perspective change, but an awareness change. You develop this lens that captures your world differently. Suddenly colors are more vibrant, sounds are more clear, the sun just that much warmer. It’s as if life grants you this second chance at experiencing all the things that make this world miraculous. One morning you wake up, and your baby girl is not a baby anymore. She’s this little person, full of curious spirit for the world around her, looking to me and all the people who love her to share in her world. What an amazing privilege for every parent. For this I will forever be grateful to my little Naomi and my wife. Happy Birthday sunshine. Thank you for two amazing years and for the lifetime of birthdays to come.   -Papa

 

babushka & dedushka

Dear Naomi,

I love seeing how you've really begun to understand that family is love - and what a special kind of love it is when it's from Grandparents.

Love,

Papa

Grandma Kat and Mike come to town

One thing that is always nice about the Holiday's is being able to see family that you don't always get to see very often.  This Holiday is even more special because we play host for the first time in our new home.  Although I was humble in not mentioning it much, it was a very proud moment for me to have my Mother resting under a roof that belonged to me and my little family.  I truly hope her and Mike enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them.  I only have a few pics to share since I left most the picture taking to Grandma Kat.  I'm sure I'll be receiving a disc full of pics soon in the mail :)

Hosting our very first dinner guests :)

Sitting in Papa's chair at work

Enjoying the DreamWorks campus

Taking advantage that Mike was around to snap a rare shot of the three of us

In front of the house by the Xmas lights

Pictures from Grandma Kat

All of the pictures in this post (with exception of the ones that she's in) are courtesy of Grandma Kat :) 

I'm embarassed to be so late with this post, but better late than never right?  A few weeks back, my mother came to town to pay us a great visit.  It had been a few months since she last saw Naomi, so we were anxious for her to see just how amazing our little Naomi has grown in that time.  We visited our usual spots and also enjoyed a trip to the Aquarium.  Throughout the trip, Grandma Kat, in her typical fashion, was a little shutterbug taking tons of photos.  And as many of you know, I love photography, it's no wonder where I get it from.  I wanted to dedicate this entire post to sharing Grandma Kat's visit through her eyes and her lens.  Thank you for the beautiful pictures Mom! 

Father's Day

Although I don't know my biological father, and my last memories of him were from a visit I took to Venezuela when I was around 12 years old, I know that he loved me then as I know that I am in his thoughts to this day and loves me now.  I understand that life serves us all many challenges.  Sometimes those challenges Keep people apart.  Sometimes those challenges steer our lives in different directions.  But life also has it's way of bringing people into your path, even if it's just to walk with you for a short while.  In my younger years, my step father served as my example of what a man was.  There was the good, and of course there was the bad, all of which I remember, and the things I did not understand then, I grew to understand now.  I think of both these men every day.  Later in life, I was introduced to my future father-in-law.  I've never really told him so, but as I have my entire life, the men who have either entered or exited along the way, I have loved each of them for different reasons, and from him I have adopted inspiration and a much needed example of what a hard working father is.  I have never to this day held a grudge for those whom have left, and I have taken from each and every one of them bits and pieces that somehow have helped shape me into the man I am today.  So today on father's day, I offer my love to all of you,  I offer re-assuremence that I took from all of you every bit of love you had to offer me and I've also learned from the examples, good and bad that you shared with me.  I have grown to be a good man, and I have learned to be the best father I can be.