Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
25 Semanas
Hola! We hope that everyone in the East has survived the cold snap, and that you're enjoying a relaxing MLK Day (or as Virginias until recently referred to it: "Lee Jackson King Day") and preparing for tomorrow's inauguration - the Dulles airport in DC certainly is. We just returned from our trip to Spain and wanted to share some pictures!
Last Sunday we arrived in Córdoba, Spain, on an advance planning trip for the Islamic Art History Symposium in November. VCU, VCU Qatar, and the Qatar Foundation host the event every two years - check out the website to learn more about this year's event. http://www.islamicartdoha.org/
We help with web, IT, graphic design, and advertising. It was so helpful to be there in person to see the site and meet with the awesome planning committee members based in Córdoba. It gave us a unique insight to the culture of this beautiful city, and we enjoyed our time immensely. The below pictures were taken at the Mezquita, which the city is well known for:
Andrew was at first pretty happy to be able to get the Giants-Eagles game in our hotel room... we won't show any 'After' pictures.
Our final day in Córdoba included a trip to the Medina Azahara, a smaller Mosque set in the countryside about 10km outside of the city.
After our planning work was done, we decided to spend a few nights in Madrid before flying out on Sunday. We fell in love with the architecture and the delicious tapas; visited the Prado and Reina Sofia museums, and viewed their extensive collections of work by Miro, Picasso, Dali, Goya, Velazquez, and Rubens. Ironically, Art History was neither of our strongest suit, but we recognized quite a few masterpieces (and the rest we identified with help from the museum brochures!)
And below is a Prego pic in front of the Prado museum! Traveling went pretty smoothly for the Mom-to-be (the second trimester really is the best!) Plenty of energy, a healthy appetite, not too big to be uncomfortable, but just big enough that people felt sorry for us and gave up their seats on public transportation (score!)
Last Sunday we arrived in Córdoba, Spain, on an advance planning trip for the Islamic Art History Symposium in November. VCU, VCU Qatar, and the Qatar Foundation host the event every two years - check out the website to learn more about this year's event. http://www.islamicartdoha.org/
We help with web, IT, graphic design, and advertising. It was so helpful to be there in person to see the site and meet with the awesome planning committee members based in Córdoba. It gave us a unique insight to the culture of this beautiful city, and we enjoyed our time immensely. The below pictures were taken at the Mezquita, which the city is well known for:
Andrew was at first pretty happy to be able to get the Giants-Eagles game in our hotel room... we won't show any 'After' pictures.
Our final day in Córdoba included a trip to the Medina Azahara, a smaller Mosque set in the countryside about 10km outside of the city.
After our planning work was done, we decided to spend a few nights in Madrid before flying out on Sunday. We fell in love with the architecture and the delicious tapas; visited the Prado and Reina Sofia museums, and viewed their extensive collections of work by Miro, Picasso, Dali, Goya, Velazquez, and Rubens. Ironically, Art History was neither of our strongest suit, but we recognized quite a few masterpieces (and the rest we identified with help from the museum brochures!)
And below is a Prego pic in front of the Prado museum! Traveling went pretty smoothly for the Mom-to-be (the second trimester really is the best!) Plenty of energy, a healthy appetite, not too big to be uncomfortable, but just big enough that people felt sorry for us and gave up their seats on public transportation (score!)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
24 Weeks
Though someone is a little hormonal and may have had a hysterical crying episode, our Dr Visit this morning went very well! We were relieved that the ultrasound technician was able to see whatever she was looking for, and reassured us that the heart looks perfectly healthy. We saw the baby tapping its feet, moving its hands away from its face, and squirming around a little - so incredible. It has quite a bit less space to move around in than it did in early December... as you may be able to tell by the bigger belly pictured below! (This is the last photo ever of Teresa, not wearing black.)
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Thanks to our awesome friends Brooke & Andy for inviting us to spend New Years Eve in the Blue Ridge Mountains with them at the Wintergreen resort. We can now outwardly share the exciting news that they are expecting their first child, due on the 4th of July! A fantastic dinner then games and a movie back at the condo was the perfect way for 2 pregnant couples to ring in the new year (plenty of wine for Andy and Andrew; Brooke and I got to wear pajama pants.) We wrapped it up this morning with a hike to take in the fresh air and beautiful views. Happy new year to all!
A Holiday Group Photo Extravaganza
Hello 2009! We hope our family and friends all enjoyed a very joyous and fulfilling holiday season. We have just returned from 2 weeks in upstate New York. With occasions both happy and sad, we feel so blessed, reflecting on the wonderful (and large!) group of people that we are able to call family. Thank you all for making our trip so meaningful. Some of our favorite photos are below!
We left for the holidays earlier than expected to attend Grandpa Leonard's funeral. He was 87 years old and led a full and beautiful life, evidenced by his 9 wonderful children who have almost 50 years' experience posing for photos together:
The silver lining of these sad occasions is being able to spend more time with family. Sarah and Siena flew in from Iowa, and beautiful, bubbly 5-month old Siena was instrumental in cheering everyone up. (Sarah isn't too bad either!)
A happier event towards the end of the week was the baby shower that Sarah hosted at Mom & Dad's house in Vestal. We had a great time, yummy good, and excellent company. Thanks to all for the beautiful gifts!
The following day, we had an exciting drive through some typical New York weather (a.k.a, white-out blizzard) to Amsterdam for Festivus, the Ilnicki family pre-Christmas get-together. Special thanks to Grandma Ilnicki, the woman whose culinary expertise is without fail worth risking our lives for!
We enjoyed a lovely, laugh-filled evening with Kim, Jane, and the Ilnicki sisters (from left, below: Anna, Emily, Andrew, and Elana).
We relaxed for few days with the Ficarettas in Saratoga Springs, exercising at the beautiful new YMCA, and of course playing plenty of Rock Band with Elise (below left, with Cleo) and Bridget (with Otis). We attended Mass on Christmas Eve, had a delicious dinner with Grandpa Tuman and cousin Jenny, and enjoyed opening presents on Christmas morning before heading back to Binghamton.
We spent the second half of Christmas day with the Engles in Vestal, opening presents, eating wonderful food, and laughing at Siena. Joe had arrived from Iowa with the dogs several days earlier, and it was great having everyone together.
The following morning we took a daring new spin on a generations-old tradition: the Engle family post-Christmas Boot tradition took place during brunch for the first time in known history. Everyone enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and delicious food; Grandpa enjoyed the pepper jelly. Pictured below are happy Boot Attendees: Engle first cousins.
Thank you [Great] Grandma and [Great] Grandpa for the Boot Magic!
A precious couple of hours at the Ale House in Vestal with Radhika, Mary, and for the first time Gary, the dashing young man who accompanied Mary from Portland, OR.
The following day, the Ilnickis ventured to the Pennsylvania border for more food at the Leonard family get-together. Thanks to Ed & Beth for providing your warm and love-filled home for the occasion, and to all who traveled to be together again. Some girl cousins below: Bride-to-be Nikki; Pregnant Teresa; Melissa; Jessie; non-Pregnant Laura!
A happy couple, little brother Bobby and the lovely Amanda, who is very much a member of our family:
And one more happy and tired couple (back in Richmond) before going out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary, on December 30. As our beloved Ms. Carly Hebert put it: 3 years down, eternity to go! We very much enjoyed a quiet dinner at the Hard Shell, reminiscing about all that we have to be thankful for over the last few years, and our hopes for the years to come.
Thanks to all whose efforts made our holiday travels memorable, and whose support helps us as we enter the biggest year of our lives thus far. Best wishes to each of you in 2009!
We left for the holidays earlier than expected to attend Grandpa Leonard's funeral. He was 87 years old and led a full and beautiful life, evidenced by his 9 wonderful children who have almost 50 years' experience posing for photos together:
The silver lining of these sad occasions is being able to spend more time with family. Sarah and Siena flew in from Iowa, and beautiful, bubbly 5-month old Siena was instrumental in cheering everyone up. (Sarah isn't too bad either!)
A happier event towards the end of the week was the baby shower that Sarah hosted at Mom & Dad's house in Vestal. We had a great time, yummy good, and excellent company. Thanks to all for the beautiful gifts!
The following day, we had an exciting drive through some typical New York weather (a.k.a, white-out blizzard) to Amsterdam for Festivus, the Ilnicki family pre-Christmas get-together. Special thanks to Grandma Ilnicki, the woman whose culinary expertise is without fail worth risking our lives for!
We enjoyed a lovely, laugh-filled evening with Kim, Jane, and the Ilnicki sisters (from left, below: Anna, Emily, Andrew, and Elana).
We relaxed for few days with the Ficarettas in Saratoga Springs, exercising at the beautiful new YMCA, and of course playing plenty of Rock Band with Elise (below left, with Cleo) and Bridget (with Otis). We attended Mass on Christmas Eve, had a delicious dinner with Grandpa Tuman and cousin Jenny, and enjoyed opening presents on Christmas morning before heading back to Binghamton.
We spent the second half of Christmas day with the Engles in Vestal, opening presents, eating wonderful food, and laughing at Siena. Joe had arrived from Iowa with the dogs several days earlier, and it was great having everyone together.
The following morning we took a daring new spin on a generations-old tradition: the Engle family post-Christmas Boot tradition took place during brunch for the first time in known history. Everyone enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and delicious food; Grandpa enjoyed the pepper jelly. Pictured below are happy Boot Attendees: Engle first cousins.
Thank you [Great] Grandma and [Great] Grandpa for the Boot Magic!
A precious couple of hours at the Ale House in Vestal with Radhika, Mary, and for the first time Gary, the dashing young man who accompanied Mary from Portland, OR.
The following day, the Ilnickis ventured to the Pennsylvania border for more food at the Leonard family get-together. Thanks to Ed & Beth for providing your warm and love-filled home for the occasion, and to all who traveled to be together again. Some girl cousins below: Bride-to-be Nikki; Pregnant Teresa; Melissa; Jessie; non-Pregnant Laura!
A happy couple, little brother Bobby and the lovely Amanda, who is very much a member of our family:
And one more happy and tired couple (back in Richmond) before going out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary, on December 30. As our beloved Ms. Carly Hebert put it: 3 years down, eternity to go! We very much enjoyed a quiet dinner at the Hard Shell, reminiscing about all that we have to be thankful for over the last few years, and our hopes for the years to come.
Thanks to all whose efforts made our holiday travels memorable, and whose support helps us as we enter the biggest year of our lives thus far. Best wishes to each of you in 2009!
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