Raul Malo Is The Man!

With the rush of excitement over Cameron's pending arrival, the fact that Cyn and I are getting married is pretty easy to sweep under the rug. For those of you who know me, you know that getting married is not something I take lightly, nor is getting engaged. When we found out that we were pregnant, I rushed out and got a small ring that I hid in an Easter Egg and placed it on her pillow. I wanted her to know that the pregnancy only changed the timing of things not the direction. And she loved it.

But I had bigger plans for the "real" proposal.

"Feels Like Home" is a song that Cyn introduced me to shortly into our relationship. Its a beautiful song written by Randy Newman that talks about finding the person and the relationship that makes you feel like you have finally found your home. She had heard the song on Chantel Kresviusak's album and it quickly became one of our favorites.

Last summer, we were going through some rough times, and because we already had the tickets we went to Raul Malo's show at the Birchmere. If you don't know Raul Malo, google him now and get to know the best voice to grace recorded music. His show was a tour de force as it was just him and his acoustic guitar. Listening to him was like being a feather in a gale storm, he blew us away. Especially when he sang, "Feels Like Home." Listening to him sing our song, I knew things would work out for Cyn and I.

Last night we went to see Raul again at the Birchmere. This time he was accompanied by his band and again delivered a lush river of aural perfection. It was as if we were floating in his music, unbounded by space and time. Unbeknown to Cynthia I had put a post on the Raul Malo website asking if he could dedicate the song to us at the show. I never heard back, although all the other posters thought for sure if he saw it he would. I also wasn't sure if we were going to be able to afford going to the show, given the upcoming wedding and baby costs.

Thank God we did. The piano started playing the intro to the song. Then Raul started saying how he received a beautiful email telling him how special that song was to two people. He then told the crowd how we were expecting our baby in November and planning on getting married too. He joked about how I have no idea what I'm getting into and wished me luck. Then he sincerely dedicated the song to us and melted the room with his voice. As soon as Cyn heard him say something about an email, she turned to me and just started crying. We held each other tight as he sang to us and I slipped the ring on her finger.

After the show we met him in the bandstand. We each gave him a thank you hug and he told us it was his pleasure. He was as gracious as you could imagine and definitely the kind of guy you could have over for poker sometime. He signed our ticketstubs and CD cover, so that we can someday show baby cameron mementos from his first concert.

It was an amazing night. Thank you Raul for giving us a treasured memory. You know....Raul is a pretty cool name too ........... ;-)

Its Official...I've Joined the Cult

In the past two days I've had the great fortune to spend time with close friends near and dear to my heart. People I've had the great fortune of knowing for the past two, almost three decades. Some knew of the new news, for others it would be their first time finding out. What I wasn't expecting, was what I would find out about myself.

I've become one of those Baby on the Brain people! How did this happen? I've been a brilliant conversationalist all my life, able to dance across all topics from any discipline. So why was I only able to talk about my plumb sized baby, who's growing inside Cyn's womb? What made it so difficult to find any other topic to talk about? How can a grown man, (at least age wise), be reduced to such a giggling, glowing schoolboy?

I remember when I was single and listening to friends of mine talk about being pregnant and becoming parents. They looked the same, but their words and actions were somewhat askew. I listened attentively to them, hoping to understand and embrace the transformation they were undertaking. I thought I got it. I believed I understood. I was full of crap. OK, that's a bit harsh. What I thought was understanding then, was a snowflake on the top of the tip of the biggest iceberg ever.

Now, I truly get it. Now I know the secret handshake and will continue to learn the double secret Hi-signs. As with much of my adult life, I have stumbled my way into the most amazing situation. I am now a chapter member of the Cult of Parenthood.

Week 13 Day 1

Can the first Trimester really be nearly over? Seems like just yesterday we found out. OK so it was almost yesterday. Life has changed so much in the last 3 weeks. Priorities are different now. As is my view on life. I notice things that I would have passed by before. Like today I saw a pacifier in the street. Not only did it blip my radar, but my first thought was the sad child who was without his favorite "binkie" Guess that's Dad Mode kicking in. I'll do my best not to hike up my pants to my belly button or switch to white belts and slip on's just yet. I'll try to put the current belly shots on board so you can see Cyn as Cameron grown inside her. As amazing as I found all this when I studied neonatal development in school, this rocks. Its the best thing I will ever be a part of. Thank you God for blessing us.