OUR GREATEST ADVENTURE YET...

Eleven (nearly sleepless!) days so far and all is well.  Here's the first round of pics of the little critter--enjoy!!

https://plus.google.com/photos/106866973565951157311/albums/5801425889525214945?authkey=CKuc-sKX3rzrdA

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

Alexander has arrived! ¡Alexander ha llegado!

Alexander Siconolfi Palacio was born on Oct. 9th at 5:35pm, weighing 3.25 kg (7 lbs. 2 oz.)  Mother & baby are doing great!!

Alexander Siconolfi Palacio nació el 9 de octubre a las 17:35h, con un peso de 3,25 kg.  ¡Madre e hijo están estupendos!

:-)

BREAKING NEWS:

Sooo...against our better judgment, Luz and I have decided to go ahead and reproduce--yes, I'm gonna be a dad!!  Here's a picture of the little critter (sex unknown) from the 12-week ultrasound (in week 15 now, due date Oct. 5th, mother and fetus healthy and happy  :-)

***  UPDATE  ***

Due to recent changes, some of the older links to photos may not work.  If you would like to see those albums, please e-mail/FB me and I will send you the appropriate link.  Thanks!

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS...

No, this photo isn't from this past Christmas season, but it is a good place to start off with an interesting anecdote...  You see, here we have five generations of my mother's side of the family: yours truly as a baby, my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother!  Funnily enough, before heading home this xmas, through the magic of Facebook we discovered we had some long-lost relatives in South America (descendants of my great-great-grandmother's brother, who, instead of leaving Italy for the States, emigrated to Argentina, as many Italians did at the time).  They in turn told us more about the family back in Italy, with whom they've kept in contact, and were also able to give the exact details about when my great-great-grandmother arrived in New York as a teenager, and even where she first lived--yup, you guessed it: Little Italy!  And not just any ol' Littly Italy...right on Mulberry St. (140 to be exact, as per the next photo!)

So this was a time to spend with family...thankfully Mom is doing well; the surgery went smoothly and chemo is underway, and everything points to a full recovery.  She and Dad were happy to have us there, and we even surprised them by keeping Luz's arrival a secret (we told my mom that she couldn't take off from work, but then surprised her when I got there and told her I found a "stray" at the airport  ;)

All in all a wonderful visit--here's to a bright 2012 for everyone!  More pics below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106866973565951157311/NY2011Xmas?authkey=Gv1sRgCMzh8tuchanH1gE

FREUDE, SCHÖNER GÖTTERFUNKEN!

So I was privileged enough to be able to sing Beethoven's 9th Symphony (the Ode to Joy) this past October at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional, with the Orfeón Donostiarra and the Filarmonía Choir and Orchestra--a truly incredible experience!  Click the link below to see some pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106866973565951157311/BeethovenS9th2011