dad the grad

here's us at my commencement. there are not any photos of my actual walking across the stage, andrea was our only photog and also grace's only companion so... but afterwards we caught some good snaps.

2 1/2 years of too much to do, only made possible with the love and help and support of all of you, but most especially thanks to andrea who has done a LOT of single-mom-for-the-night situations, especially this last semester while i finished my thesis. not that i wasn't already forever grateful, but it just keeps running deeper. thanks so much babe. i. love. you.

then, this weekend, my folks and brother and people from all over time and space got together for dinner and dancing. the dancefloor was blazing and steamy so it was impossible to take photos. but here we are looking lovely at the end of the meal.

thanks to everybody that came out, we missed you to those that couldn't, i'm sorry to the ppl i was supposed to invite but got out-technologied / out-busied, and thanks double tons to every one for carrying me, carrying us, through these years of constant holy-smokeness. my diploma should have all yer names on it. (then maybe we could all be faced with the ego-wrestle of whether or not to hang our diploma in our office....)

seriously. love and gratitude from here to forever.

happy new year!

well, it's 2009 now. unbelievable: grace has been with us in some part of 3 calendar years (born in 2007, wowing em all year in 2008, getting ready for the next level in 2009) (don't even get us started on her plans for 201o). this last year was an amazing one - our first year as working parents, our first just about everything as parents, grace's first just about everything (steps, words, barfight, etc.) lots of new beginning to build on (kidding about the bar fight, it was more of a scuffle, really. the important thing is that she won). seriously, a TON of new beginnings to build on.

on one of the last days of the year it was just me and grace, baby and daddy. one last "first" before the year was over: our first whole day with just the two of us, ever. we celebrated in style with a trip to moma, but not before we did a photo shoot in her santa pjs. check out the evidence below.

we went on to a new years that was quiet but awesome, just we three and channel 1, which plays times square's action without all the carson daly blah blah that goes on on every other channel.

we're off to a great start to the new year - grace is back in business at day care, andrea and i are doing the same at work - me newly freed up to have a little more energy for work, having finished up the requirements for my msw. graduation is later this month - keep an eye out for cap n gown with baby in tow type photos. and we're just generally doing the best we can to do the best we can. we've been saying our prayers for a beautiful 2009 for everybody out there, and we'll keep it up all year long. please keep us close to your hearts, too - and maybe we'll get to see each other (whoever you are) sometime in the coming days and months? we sure hope so.

ps - yeah, i just posted for the first time in a month with no mention of the fact that it's been that long. sometimes that's how i do - i don't ALWAYS broadcast my feelings of guilt for crummy blog maintenance. at least not always in the beginning of the post.