January was a pretty awesome month...

January was a memorable month full of moments to cherish...  

Bill, Cristina and I had the amazing opportunity to go to DC for President Obama's Inauguration festivities and it will forever be something we remember as a family. We also got to experience it with our close friend and Cristina's god father, Todd, which made it all even more special...and to hear President Obama acknowledge in his inaugural address that gays and lesbians should have equal and fair treatment under the law was so encouraging. And everyone around us cheered...I had the warm and fuzzies and wanted to hug the person next to me (but don't worry, it didn't happen). Some photos from the weekend...

Cristina also got to dress up in her cold weather clothes...which was fun...and cumbersome...all at the same time. But she was a trooper for the most part....

While we were in DC, Cristina got her first tooth! Once we figured it all out, we were fine...but the fever and the fits of discomfort threw us for a loop in the beginning. I swear we didn't give her whisky like some of our friends told us to do...

It was also the first time that our surrogate was reunited with Cristina since she was 9 days old. This was a very emotional moment...and I'm so glad we have such a special relationship with our surro. She's been absolutely wonderful throughout this whole experience. She even got to babysit a couple nights which was very cool...

And Uncle David got to see Cristina for the first time since we were all holed up in his place waiting for her arrival.  The reunion was very serious...but special...

We got to meet Baxter, son of Kevin and Jeff of Jeff and Kevin DC.  K, J and B graciously hosted us for brunch one Saturday and it was super fun to see B and C play together. Though Cristina was being a bit of a snob and well, Baxter was a bit upset when Cristina arrived. But in the end, we were super happy to see "The Boys", especially after all their hospitality when we were in DC in May for Cristina's birth. Baxter is such a happy little boy, and clearly has his fathers wrapped around his finger. His smile is infectious and I think Cristina is smitten.

To boot, we had a small cocktail party so we could see our friends from near (DC, MD and VA) and kind of far (NJ). Super awesome to see some of these folks after so, so long (25 years for some)...

All in all, Cristina was a wonderful little traveler, settling in for the 8h 45m direct flight to DC and then the 10h 20m direct flight home. We're getting lucky so far, but once she starts walking, it's all over (right?)...

And yes, we are still two of the luckiest guys in the world...

Be well everyone...and congrats to all those new parents out there!

Love and Aloha,

Cristina, Doug, Bill and Chloe

Ma-Ma, Pa-Pa, Da-Da...OH MY!

Recently (along with some progress on the mobility front), Cristina has become increasingly verbal, from quiet to extremely LOUD. It seems she's sounding out words, from what we can tell anyway. And even further, it sounds like she's saying 

"Ma-Ma-Ma!!!!"

I know, I know...this is something that every same sex couple who are parents deals with eventually, but I had to scratch my head and say, "how are we going to explain this to our daughter one day?"...when we "think" she can understand the concept that she has two fathers (Daddy and Papa)...and that while she does have a biological mother, she is not her parent, as Bill and I are her parents. This is not anything new, but it's new to us. So hence, we are trying to figure things out.

So...in the spirit of sounding out words and especially ones that have parent/family references, Bill and I have started the practice of "announcing" the arrival of Daddy and Papa -- particularly when we enter the room and she sees us for the first time after a long spell away from her. For example, I come home from work after not seeing her since 7 am, and Bill will say, accompanied by lots of pointing and motioning towards me...

"Who's that, Cristina?? 

That's PA-PA, PA-PA, that is PA-PA!!" 

And vice versa when Bill will enter the room. I know, sounds silly...but we're trying to work it out on this end. Maybe we'll come up with something better soon. Suggestions welcome!

Funny sidebar though...is that we think she's mostly remembering Chloe's name, as she seems to look right to Chloe when we say our dog's name. Oh, to have a dog's life!...it must be Chloe's undeniable cuteness, which isn't saying so much about us.

Anyway, tidbit of the day...lots of talking and lots of crawling! Life has once again changed. For the good!

Be well...

Cristina is officially mobile...

It ain't pretty but she's definitely moving. 

What a super cool milestone! 

(We know, time to baby-proof the entire place. And what a wonderful reason to do so!)

Enjoy...