We're official!

We're official: Rafael's adoption finalization occurred on December 27, 2007!  What a Christmas gift it was.  Nicole's mom and dad were with us for the momentous occasion.  It was a short but moving event with our lawyer and staff of the adoption agency with us.  We went out afterward to celebrate with some champagne.  Rafi was, as usual, a prince throughout.

The holidays were fun, both in Houston and home, and this was truly the capper. Two photos from the big day here -- one taken just after the signing of all of us with the presiding judge. The second was after our celebratory brunch.  We couldn't have been happier...then or now!

Happy Holidays from Rafi!

In all likelihood, this very sweet image of Rafi by the Christmas tree willl be our holiday card to friends and family this year...we attempted to do the cute photo card thing but I'm not sure it's going to happen in time. So we thought we'd post the contender for the front of our would-be greeting here.

Happy holidays to all...with much love.

The holiday photo shoot

Rafi, who turns seven months old tomorrow, is enjoying his first Christmas tree and the wonder of the twinkling lights...we tried to stage a few holiday pictures in front of the tree but realized he was dressed, again, in his Janis Joplin t-shirt. He has other clothes but he really looks pretty cute in the Janis tshirt, so it's a favorite. Plus we wanted Stella in the shot and the baby + dog photo is very hard to capture. We may need a second take...and possibly a wardrobe change.

For now it's snow snow and more snow around these parts. It definitely feels like the holiday season here. We are expecting another foot in the next day or so. Flying to Houston on Tuesday where it's 75 degrees. Can't wait.

A few pictures of the attempted holiday photo shoot -- Rafi, Stella, the tree.

Janis Joplin is so cool

Our friends Joan and Beth (the twins, aka Hoan and Betty, aka the egg) sent a care package to Rafi when he was first born. It was such an amazing gift: a veritable panoply of Lucky Brand baby clothes -- onesies, t-shirts, etc. We were anxious to dress him in these wonderful and oh-so-hip clothes, but alas they were sized for when he got bigger.

And now he's bigger. Here are two shots of him in his Janis Joplin t-shirt. Very cool.

First thanksgiving

Rafi spent his first Thanksgiving at the barn surrounded by family: grandmas, g-dad, aunts, cousin (one!), moms and dog (one!). We had a great time gathering in Pine Plains after being in NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and cousin Anna's special dance performance at the opening of the parade. We all had so much to give thanks for this year.

Rafi enjoyed his rice cereal, sweet potatoes, avocado and banana while we feasted on the traditional turkey and some traditional and not so traditional fixings (thanks to Gail and Di's long hours in the kitchen). We also had delicious coconut cake homemade by Gail for Anna's 11th birthday. Here are a few shots of the fun, including breakfast the morning after t-day and Anna and me after her performance.

Half-Year Birthday!

Happy birthday to Rafi!

We had a lovely day yesterday with a number of firsts to commemorate Rafi's six-month birthday: first snow flurries, first taste of bananas, first meal in his high-chair at the dining room table... And tonight we went out to celebrate: we had a family date of dinner and an opening reception at Mass MoCA for the new Jenny Holtzer installation. Rafi was riveted.

Here's a few shots of him in various states of calm and glee on his half-year birthday.

mi osito

Rafi and I have a Spanish lesson every morning over breakfast. It's been fun to brush up on my v-e-r-y broken but quickly returning Spanish (I did very well in high school and college, I'm recalling!)

Here is a shot of us going out for a brisk walk last weekend. Cute hood.

Tortia Hoan's Magical Bear

Our friend Joan is a wonder knitter and not only did she knit R the cutest sweater ever, but she also gave him his first stuffed animal -- a teddy bear she made by hand. Rafi loves it; here he is with it one morning after his bottle. It was hard to pick just one shot.

I should note that many have said it's time for a haircut for Rafael, but I will not have it. Someday I will give him a haircut (maybe not me -- I love him too much for that torture) but not anytime soon. I like his crazy locks. He looks very Elvis in these pics. In a good way.

First Halloween

Rafi celebrated his first Halloween wearing an outfit sent to him by his aunt Tirza (and cousins Anna and Georgia). He went as a monkey and he wore it well. Very, very cute.

Here he is at dress rehearsal the night before -- the costume wearing on Halloween itself lasted about 10 minutes for the babe, as he's pretty set on his bath-massage-books-bottle-bed routine (as we are, happily, too!)

Five months old!

Rafi turned five months old on October 16. Here are two shots taken right around his birthday...he's sitting up, sort of. And what a smile.

We did not have a doctor's appointment this month, but wanted to see what his weight was up to. So Nic got on the scale with R and without...we think he's about fifteen pounds at this point. He's a growing boy.

Rafi's First Fall (w/ Grandma & Grandpa B)

My mom and dad flew in on Wednesday to visit Rafi -- and us, by association. It's wonderful to have them here and Rafi's having a great time. Here's a picture of us together.

Pumpkin Time

Since autumn has arrived in the Berkshires, yesterday we drove up to Vermont with Grandma and Grandpa to pick out a pumpkin and get apple cider donuts (yum!). A few iconic fall shots appear here -- a view of the beautiful landscape and the obligatory pumpkin patch photo.

Tummy time for Rafi

Here is Rafael showing off his extreme stomach muscles during a tummy time session.

Rafi's Visage, Take Forty-Seven

Rafi is, perhaps, the most photographed baby in the world. At right is an assortment of my favorite portraits of Rafael Henry, posted today, his four month birthday! They are all from the past month. Sigh...

August was a prolific month: I completed my master's degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs (FINALLY and with many thanks to all those in Austin who scuttled about to make it happen long distance), Nicole returned her edited book manuscript; and I went back to work!

But most of all, we're relishing the many Rafi developments that happen seemingly every day. He is almost rolling over on his own, he has belly laughs now, he loves to play airplane (the biggeest, dimple-est smiles erupt in the air), and he has slept through the night three times! 7 pm bedtime, 6 am wake time. He's a wonder baby.

Cutest Baby Ever

I've shared this photo with many folks already, but it's too darn cute not to post here. I love the Don Ho outfit (which he wore in the family photo in Houston).

Greetings from Maine!

Happy 37th birthday to Nicole! And happy three month birthday to Rafi! To celebrate, we packed up the car and drove to see Great Grandma Phyllis in Maine where Nic has been going since she was, well, about Rafi's age. It was a fun trip -- Rafi went swimming in the ocean for the first time! Well, sort of -- he put his feet in a tidal pool. I worked diligently on my LBJ final project, and got ever closer to finishing... and we took lots of walks on the beach with the baba. We love the Bjorn (thanks, Gretchen!)

From top:

Adorable Rafi going to the library

Great grandma with a smiling Rafi

Mommy and Rafi post-swim (sun hat courtesy of Aunt Stacy)

Mama and Rafi on the beach on a chilly day

Texas Fun

A few images to capture the incredible family-fest that was our Houston trip at the end of July. Rafi was an angel (called so by several passengers around him) on the flight down and back, and many hugs and kisses were given by his cousins (Truman, Cameron, Anna, Jourdan, Georgia, and Jenna). It was a wonderful time for all, and we are so happy Rafi made his first trip to the Lone Star State!

From top:

Cousins Anna and Jourdan with Rafi (on the day of the family portrait)

Self portrait with cousins Anna and Georgia, Aunt Tirza, Paige, Nicole, and Rafi

Saying goodbye to grandma, July 30

Welcome Rafi shower (and yummy cake) with Grandma and Grandpa in the background

Rafi returns from Texas!

Many wonderful photos from this great family excursion to the heat of Houston, but this one picture will have to do for now: Rafi in his cowboy hat from Aunt Stacy. He wears it well.

More soon, but scary computer action (God help me if I lose all 800+ photos of the baby!) prevent me from posting more. My iBook is 6+ years old and is acting its age...

Fauxhawk

As we all know Rafi has a gorgeous head of hair. But what many don't know is that Rafi's hair has transforming abilities: when he's just out of the bath, it's very curly. Then it dries perfectly straight (see pics below of his clean cut, Beaver Cleaver look). And sometimes his hair is wavy, landing somewhere in between the two extremes.

Rafi is amenable (most of the time) to my hair brushing and styling. The look in this picture -- hip, urban casual -- occurred naturally after Rafi woke from a nap. I fluffed it a just a bit to make it into a semi-fauxhawk.

Lech Walesa comes to visit

Texas friend (now a landscape architect in L.A.) Lech (aka Alexa) visited Rafi and his moms in mid-July. This photo is from an outdoor concert. I love this shot of both of them -- power to the people.

A later occurance: my computer DID crash; RIP to the iBook. A new one is on the way and, hopefully, the computer tech guys were able to back up all our files (including those 800+ pics of Rafi!). Then, once my final LBJ project is done, I'll be back with lots more photos of the Houston visit to see the family...

RAFAEL HENRY SMILES

Not much else to say except here's the boy, finally showing his big grin and a couple of shots of him in various stages of smiling. Heartbreaking, really.

The smiles come fast and furious now, so I will try to rotate the Rafi smile photo often.

Two months old today!

Happy birthday to Rafi! He turns two whole months today. Here's a photo of him at the ripe old age, already looking very wise.

We've been enjoying the summer (thank God the heat has broken and we are now enjoying the summers as they should be, which is mid-70s and no humidity.) -- taking long walks at the lake with Stella and Rafi, eating ice cream, sitting in the hammock w/ Rafi while he naps. Pretty nice.

Aunt Kimmy was here for a visit and we had lots of fun. Here's a shot from her stay.

Documentation of the smile coming soon...I can feel it.

Summertime (and procrastination)

It's summertime in the Berkshires! I should be working on my final LBJ project but instead I'm writing about Rafi.

It's HOT today -- 92 degrees -- which doesn't sound too bad for July, especially if you're from Texas, but if you don't have A/C (which we don't) it's pretty toasty.

Here is a pic of Rafi in his summer gear -- his diaper and that's about it. He would probably prefer to lose the diaper as well, and we do occasionally give him a break from wearing it. But for those of you who have baby boys, you know this can be a dangerous venture.

In other news: Rafi took his first road trip last week to Philly. We drove down for my b-day and to see dear friends Christian, Sunila, and Sahil. He had a good time. Rafi will take his first plane trip to Houston to meet the whole Bartels family including all his cousins, aunts, and uncles at the end of the month -- he can't wait! He's especially excited to meet Grandpa Ralph and see Grandma Wanda again.

Aunt Kimmy arrives tomorrow. More fun for Rafa (another nickname I like).