Re-united in a sunny place

Saturday morning at 0700, almost 18 hours after having stepped on a Mercedes Vito minivan outside his office in London Markus parked his car in front out our home in Vienna. The trip via the EuroTunnel, Dunkerque, Brussels, Aachen, Frankfurt, Wuerzburg and Munich airport where Stefan was already waiting for him is definitely one to remember. The flattened bum and the sleep deprivation during the drive will be forgotten soon, but not so the cumbersome and long drive. The big smile and joy on Jakob’s face let Markus forget immediately that he was dead tired when he entered the flat and we were all extremely happy that we were re-united.

Afternoon in the park with the Bella Familia

As the weather was absolutely gorgeous on Saturday there was no way Markus wanted to go to bed and get some sleep, but we went out doing some weekend shopping, spending time in the sun and in the afternoon we met up with the Bella Familia on the Jesuitenwiese for Max & Bruno’s combined 40^th birthday pick-nick, Jakob was in top form and enjoyed the large crown and on his first contact with the lawn on Jesuitenwiese our junior did make friend with the grass and in the end he even preferred to sit on the lawn rather than on the blanket.

4 fans cheering for Peter and some others

On Sunday morning not only the Austrian airspace remained closed but also a large part of the Viennese city roads was closed due to the Vienna City Marathon. We followed the race together with Anna and Lini as Peter decided to take the challenge of the half-marathon distance. While the temperatures were perfect for runners (yet a bit chilly for spectators) the wind was a bit too strong so that the top athletes could not improve the race record and also the Austrian athletes Andrea Mayr and Guenter Weidlinger failed to improve their personal best. Peter was definitely a winner and very happy when he reached the finishing line after 2:25:47 and was already talking about the next race. Our large group of fans and spectators (more than 10 parents and almost 10 kids!) gathered and warmed up in the kid-friendly restaurant Dschungel Wien in the MuseumsQuartier.

On Sunday evening Markus was “able” to stay at home as airports in Vienna and London were still closed and so he was stuck with the family. While Austria opened up the airspace and airports on Monday morning, many other European countries still have the restrictions in place and its very unclear as to when the situation will change. So long we will enjoy the time together

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Going underneath instead of over the top

The icelandic volcano continued to blow ashes and smoke into the skies and as a consequence flights in many parts of Europe remained disrupted through out Friday. As the cloud continued travelling southwards and reached more parts of the continent, airspaces in Germany, Poland, France and even Austria were closed during the course of the day. For Markus this meant: stay in London and not see your family for at least another day. But as the outlook for improvement is not really looking good markus was looking for alternative routes to get back home.

The obvious first choice was the EuroStar train connecting the UK with Belgium and France, but a few others had the same idea and the trains were booked out. So the only other way was to re-book to a flight on Saturday and pray. By coincidence Markus overheard one of his German colleagues about driving to Munich in a minivan and that sounded like a good idea. Markus was lucky, grabbed the last spot on the car and set off towards the channel just after lunchtime. As there was no queuing in front of the EuroTunnel they reached mainland Europe by and the arrival at Munich airport, where Stefan is supposed to pick him up, looks realistic after midnight.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Iceland, send CASH, not ASH!!!

Markus' parents spent the afternoon and evening of Jakob's 9-month anniversary with us and the following morning Markus was picked up early to fly to London again for work. While it was neverending raining in Vienna the weather in London was really nice with sunshine and blue-sky. During Wednesday noone yet was aware of the eruption of the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland and even less so anyone was foreseeing the impacts of that natural event. When the newswires were reporting about the cloud of volcanic ashes moving towards the UK and Nordic region on Thursday morning first fears of an impact on airport and air travel came up.

Ashes to ashes, but Markus not to Jakob & Kerstin

Markus at that time was still calm and relaxed that his flight back home to Vienna on Thursday evening would not be affected, but by lunchtime he realised that it might be a good idea to consider re-booking to a flight on Friday in order to have a seat guaranteed, as UK airports were closed down. The sky above London did not look like a huge cloud was hanging on the sky, as the sun was shining and all seemed normal, yet airplanes were grounded and thousands of passengers stranded. The more time advanced into the afternoon the clearer it became that Markus will not come home Thursday night and so he was not surprised seeing flights suspended until at least Friday morning. As a consequence he went shopping for clothes (obviously he only brought stuff for 2 days!), supported the UK economy and is hoping to be able to hug Jakob again on Friday evening. Somehow the odds look less and less good for that, but maybe the night brings some wind which could lighten up the cloud of ashes.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

9 months in - 9 months out

It is now ¾ of the first year that we are living as small family and the past month was a truly exciting one for Jakob - 9,6 kg in height and 71 cm in weight today - and us. Jakob’s christening was the first highlight on a day when his third tooth appeared on the horizon. The whole day was very nice with the enlarged family and if there would not have been this priest who poured water over Jakob’s head, our little sunshine would have really enjoyed it a lot. The following weeks were tough for Markus as he had to stay in Vienna (and travel abroad) while Jakob spent time with Kerstin in Vorarlberg and hence we were separated for the longest period of time in the past 9 months.

You won't believe what I experienced this month!

The first Easter celebrations were sweetened with many presents for our sunshine who improved and perfected hit crawling and standing skills every day and every now and then there was already a hint of a step. What is normal for us adults turns into real hazards for Jakob – be it drawers, doors or stairs – and obviously Jakob is very keen to explore. A flight of stairs is by now not really a barrier anymore and he is crawling up swiftly, whereas we are always behind to catch him in case he turns back and falls. The motion downwards has to be still worked on and is something for the coming months.

After having lived with 2 teeth since the age of 3 months and us having almost given up on expecting more teeth to come, the past months has brought pain, sleepless nights and several new teeth. During the course of the months the 4 upper front teeth have moved forward and started to break through. Clearly the time for the first sausage is approaching now at a fast pace. And the birthday cake is soon waiting as well!

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

The Easter bunny does not mind the roaring lion

The preparations for the big Easter weekend with the enlarged family were well advanced when Markus arrived in Hoerbranz late Thursday night having left Vienna after work. Friday morning Jakob was full of joy seeing Markus again after more than 1,5 weeks and the two spent quite some time together playing, laughing and having fun. They also enjoyed the beautiful weather walking alongside Lake Constance towards Bregenz while Kerstin was in Heaven, her hairdresser in the city centre. Having slept all the way into town Jakob was wide awake when they strolled through the centre visiting some shops and buying flowers on the market. In the afternoon Kerstin went for a run together with Sandra while Markus went for another "sleep-walk" with our sunshine before we had meatless dinner - grilled trout with vegetables

The house was decorated nicely

On Saturday morning the three of us walked together to Bregenz meeting Sandra & Flo there for some more shopping. As the last day of nice weather had to be exploited we took along our running gear and after having fed Jakob's lunch at Sandra & Flo's place Sandra & Kerstin as well as Markus & Jakob set of to run back home to Hoerbranz to earn the traditional Easter dinner - eggs, boiled ham and fresh horseradish.

A toyboy in the new toybox

Sunday morning the big family brunch was on the cards and the Easter bunnies had lots to do indoors as it was cold & raining. Jakob crawled through the house, featured his impressive roaring sounds and was not yet too impressed with the easter eggs, chocolate rabbits and presents that were hidden all over the living room. After all he did discover though his presents: new hats, a cuddly bathing-poncho and a large wooden box for his toys - built by grandpa. We do hope that the weather will be better next year on Easter Sunday so we can search the Easter eggs and presents in the backyard where. Already now we are looking forward to that!

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Seperated, deprived and yet all smiling

On Sunday after the christening our families separated again into all possible directions – to the Burgenland, Vorarlberg, Spain and Poland. While Kerstin and Jakob started their Easter vacation early and joined Sandra and Flo on Sunday evening driving to Bregenz, Markus stayed at home in order to fly to Warsaw for exciting two days visiting companies with a client and returning via Frankfurt where he met some clients.

Hey, what is better than eating outdoors?

Jakob enjoyed the spring weather dining outside on the terrace in the sunshine and going shopping with the ladies which he seemed to like as well (hmm – may one of the reasons for that be, that he joined all the ladies in the changing room??) Markus in the meantime went to work, tried to get the flat sorted and followed the Sweet Sixteen round of the March madness. As a result of watching the games Washington vs. West Virginia and Xavier vs. Kansas State until 0530 Friday morning as the latter game was only decided after 2 overtimes and the fact that there was no junior who woke him up he overslept and was late at work. Obviously all his colleagues knew that he was home alone and he could only save himself by buying all of them coffee.

There is one thing: in the first row in front of the catwalk!

As on the weekend already the Elite Eight round was played there was more college hoops to watch, but luckily Markus could sleep in both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night though his bet on this year’s college champion was lost as the Butler Bulldogs managed to fend off mighty Kentucky Wildcats after an early lead of UK and advanced to the Final Four on the Easter Weekend in Indianapolis. With clocks being put forward Sunday night due to the change to European Summer Time, we all were “stolen” one hour which is compensated though with brighter evenings. With the time having been shifted Jakob’s sleeping rhythm has changed (actually his rhythm is unchanged and its only 1 hour later that he wakes up and goes to bed!) and we are not entirely sure yet if we want to bring him back to the usual times. We are still thinking about that – Markus in the office in London and Kerstin in Bregenz and a decision will be taken soon though.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Joining the club - Jakob's christening

The past weekend was a very big one for Jakob as Thursday night the first family members arrived in Vienna from Vorarlberg for our son's christening. By the time the big day came not only we had full house with Kerstin's mom and dad as well as her aunt Renate and uncle Werner staying in our place, but godmother Sandra and Flo stayed with godfather Stefan and Viki and Anja & Gian-Luca stayed in a hotel. On Saturday morning we all met for brunch in our flat at 1000 and one could tell, that it was not a normal day as everyone was a little bit nervous. Markus parents and sister joined us around lunchtime just as well as our neighbors Stefan and Andrea.

The sun was shining and heated the air to mild 20 degrees when we got on our way at 1300 towards the 19th district where the Jakob's christening was scheduled in the Weinbergkirche and once we have reached our destination the first thing on the agenda was to change Jakob's diapers as also he had to pay tribute to the nervousness and filled it on the way in the car. Once he was fresh again, Markus uncle and godfather has arrived and when the priest, one of Markus' teachers back at school, was ready the ceremony got under way. Jakob, neatly dressed in a white shirt and dark blue trousers, was very calm and focused when we the organ was playing and we were all singing but was talking and active whenever the pastor was preaching. Luckily Werner was filming so both Kerstin and Markus can re-visit the sermon as the parts that we could pick up were very nice and moving.

A large group gathered for Jakob's second big day after his birthday

When the highlight of the ceremony was approaching Jakob got a little bit more unsettled as it seemd that he wanted to play with the water rather than only having it poured over his head. Sandra almost struggled to hold him steady and as soon as the first drop of water touched Jakobs still hairless head he started complaining loudly. Somehow we were not really surprised about the scope of the reaction, even though we were optimistic that he would not mind the water as he loves babyswimming and bathing. But quite obviously its something completely different.

The moment of truth

Lateron there were a few more very moving moments in the ceremony like when Heidi wanted to recite a short poem for our sunshine but choked and had to ask her sister Renate to step in for her or when Sandra, Ines, Stefan, Markus' dad and Markus recited their intercessions. At the end of the service Jakob was all delighted again and was very pleased once the worship was over and he was allowed to "play" with the water while Flo took some pictures.

Finally allowed to have some fun!

After the Agape in the foyer of the church we made our way to nearby Heuriger Kroiss, which is run by one of our friend's brother where we had booked the back room for food and drinks. While Jakob slept for more than an hour after the exertion of the christening the rest of us enjoyed the delicious homemade food, wine and grapejuice. Once Jakob was awake he received lots of presents from all the guests - some for right now (various toys) and others for later in his life (cutlery or a savings plan for his first iPhone) - he was in a good mood and had a lot of fun with the gifts and guests. The early dinner was rounded up with delicate cakes prepared by Markus's mom and Andrea before we headed back home where the big day was concluded with a large bottle of champagne we had on the health of our little sunshine.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Its time for bracketology again

Thursday night the US College basketball was moving back into the spotlight with March Madness, the annual tournament of the 64 best teams for the national title kicking off. With the crowds in the arena being noisy and loud to a level it hurts and the players on the court being fully motivated the nickname of the tournament has a very strong fundament.

Markus has been following the season relatively closely thanks to the subscription to ESPN America and realised that the NCAA Division I was lacking key characters in the season 2010. After a very strong class of 2009 a lot of players left college hoops behind and either finished their college career or opted early for the big money in the NBA. Some of them like Tyreke Evans or Stephen Curry managed to become important players in their Rookie season in the world's best an most spectacular league while highly ranked players like Blake Griffin(out due to an injury), Tyler Hansbrough or Hasheem Thabeet have not taken off (yet).

The destination each of the 64 teams wants to reach: Indianapolis

While the NCAA tournament will for sure be a very intense and interesting set of games where players like Sherron Collins and Marcus Morris (Kansas Jayhawks), John Wall, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky Wildcats), Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler (Duke Blue Devils), Andy Rautins and Wes Johnson (Syracuse Orange) will have to do their best to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis in early April. Markus believes that Kentucky, albeit the team is very young yet talented, has best chances to crown themselves national champion with John Wall being the Naismith College Player of the Year. The next weeks bring clarity and Markus will be there to follow the developments.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

Stories of a weekend

With Markus being very busy travelling again a lot for business purposes weekends have become very important again for all of us and so we try to spend as much time together as possible. During the week its sometimes only possible for Markus to spend some time in the morning with our junior as he is coming home only late and due to the fact that Jakob is making huge steps in his development he does not want to miss any minute. Our little energetic sunshine is doing a lot of workout these days crawling already through the whole living room and using any possibility to stand up. Not only that we have to secure the stairs and flowers but Markus also bought and mounted glass doors to the TV rack so that the Playstation 3, surround system and HD-Box are safe.

Gosh! I was supposed to practice in secret!

The past weekend was clearly dominated by friends and family as Stefan and Viki joined us on Saturday for some shopping in the city whereas Jakob was wide awake in the pram up until the point where we have been so hungry that we wanted to go to Burger King, eat and return home. As we approached the entrance to the restaurant he fell asleep and so we scrapped the food-plans and Kerstin dived into the shops for some outfit for the upcoming christening. Unfortunately she came back after more than 1 hour (J still fast asleep) very frustrated and without outfit. She is thinking of a Plan B now. Saturday evening Ines stopped by after her massage course and stayed with us for the night.

Sunday morning Markus took care of Jakob while Kerstin visited family Moelzer in order to pick up the "cage" for our little one and in the afternoon family Strutz joined us for a walk in the Prater, lunch that Markus prepared and a nice and easy going Sunday afternoon. Anna and Jakob discussed a few things in a language we did not understand and us parents discussed a few things which we assume our kids did not understand. That way we all had some benefit. And after some fun for Jakob in the bathtub a nice weekend found an end followed by an early pickup for Markus on Monday morning for a 1-day trip to Frankfurt followed by meetings in Vienna on Tuesday and two days in the polish capital Warsaw. But the next weekend is coming soon.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus

8 months - Tropic of cancer

Today we have reached yet another level with Jakob reaching the age of 8 months. The past weeks have been very exciting and interesting as one could really see development on a daily basis. Slowly but surely our junior developed some more independence by learning to sit himself upright, turning over and since more than 1 week now to crawl.

Not holding a speech (yet) but practising for the next step

With Jakob now being mobile he is trying at any point of time to follow his curiosity and explore the surrounding area. Electronic equipment (preferably iPhones) are topping the list of "most interesting items" followed closely by flower-pots and toys. Apart from crawling the little one has also improved his ability to stand up and is trying permanently to find someone or something to hold on to and get into the standing position. Alongside the mobility the dangers have increased aswell and so we now have to be more alert than ever.

Jakob, Kerstin & Markus