Schipani Degan Blog » Friends’ News http://www.schipani.org/blog Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:09:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The Rest of August http://www.schipani.org/blog/2010/09/14/the-rest-of-august/ http://www.schipani.org/blog/2010/09/14/the-rest-of-august/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:35:28 +0000 Frank http://www.schipani.org/blog/?p=606 The Cape Charles and August Odyssey photos that we’ve already posted covered the first half of the month.  This slide show rounds out the month with a bunch of solo shots of Nico, plus our trip to Pittsburgh for Lisa’s bat mitzvah and the spice rack Frank built to house all of the Penzey’s goodness we brought back from Pittsburgh.  Unfortunately no cameras were allowed at the synagogue during Lisa’s bat mitzvah so we have no photos.  But she did an amazing job with her Hebrew and her remarks to the congregation and Andy, Sadie and Jonah also were excellent in their roles.  We were really glad to be there to celebrate with Lisa.  And, since most people make their bat mitzvahs at the age of 13, Lisa’s friends threw her a great ’80s themed party so we could party like we would have when Lisa was 13.  She and Andy went to the prom together and they recreated their promwear. (Lisa actually wore her prom dress and Andy was somehow still able to find a white jacket and turquoise accessories.)  Frank wore his actual jean jacket from junior high.  And I grabbed all the Desperately Seeking Susan clothes I could find at a local costume shop, including the white socks and black high heels that were oh-so-fashionable at the time.

In terms of Nico’s developments in August…he turned 8 months old, ate some cantaloupe, and started grinding his teeth, which is a sound worse than fingernails on a chalkboard!  He also ate some peaches and rice cereal, but got pretty sick when we gave him egg yolk.  At the very end of the month he actually asked for some food by making up a sign; then he successfully swallowed some banana pieces!  That was a huge step.  (He’s regressed some again, but we’re optimistic that he’ll eat someday.) 

Enjoy the photos!

]]> http://www.schipani.org/blog/2010/09/14/the-rest-of-august/feed/ 0 Bonnie, Tom and Seda http://www.schipani.org/blog/2009/06/06/bonnie-tom-and-seda/ http://www.schipani.org/blog/2009/06/06/bonnie-tom-and-seda/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:15:18 +0000 Frank http://www.schipani.org/blog/?p=360 Bonnie and Tom came to visit last weekend.  We wanted to post then, but had some technical difficulties with the computer (keyboard not working — not so useful for writing blog posts, and network card that failed).  Thus the flurry of postings this weekend.

It was great to see them.  We went to a neighborhood BBQ and then played a competitive game of Clue.  Turns out it was Mr. Green with the wrench in the Library.

For those of you that know Bonnie, she’s looking fabulous at about 20 weeks.  See for yourself:

2009-05-31-bonnie-and-tom

Next weekend Seda will be arriving.  Many of you may remember her — she is the Chechen woman who lived with us a few years ago when we were still in the condo.  She has been studying for her MPA (master’s in public administration) in the US through a Muskie Fellowship since last August.  She has an internship in DC for the summer and will return to her university for her final semester in the fall.  We’re looking forward to seeing her again soon!

]]> http://www.schipani.org/blog/2009/06/06/bonnie-tom-and-seda/feed/ 1 Congratulations Monica! http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/09/01/congratulations-monica/ http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/09/01/congratulations-monica/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:51:41 +0000 Frank http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/09/01/congratulations-monica/ My friend, Monica, just got a story published on a website called Mamazine.  Check it out — it’s great!

]]> http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/09/01/congratulations-monica/feed/ 1 Surprise! http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/05/26/surprise/ http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/05/26/surprise/#comments Mon, 26 May 2008 15:02:52 +0000 Frank http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/05/26/surprise/ Back in October of 2007 (that’s right, October 15, 2007), when David asked us to save the date for his 40th birthday party / going away party (before they move to Scotland), we thought they were planning a bit in advance, but we didn’t think anything of it.  We marked the date on our calendars and knew we’d be in NY that weekend.

A month or so ago, when we were in NY for Suzanne’s birthday, David asked if Frank could bring his camera to the party so we could take some photos of Debi and David in their favorite park before they move to Scotland.  Again, not an unusual request.

So, the morning of the party, we headed up to the park and started taking pictures, all the while unsuspecting that there was something else planned.  We happily decorated the party tree (the location of a FABULOUS party 5 years ago), drank delicious tea and hung around with friends.  When Debi passed out kazoos for us to “sing” happy birthday to David, it seemed normal.  When their friend asked us to take a pinch of charcoal and sage, put all of our good thoughts for Debi and David in it, and burn it, no one blinked.  But when Debi started getting adorned with presents, we started to get confused.  This was David’s birthday, right?  When she got a bouquet we started to figure it out.  And when their friend unrolled a scroll and said “Dearly beloved,” we all screamed and started to cry (tears of joy, of course!).

The ceremony was lovely and they somehow pulled it off — not letting us in on their secret all these months.  In retrospect, there were many clues.  But it was even more fun because none of us had figured it out.

Check out pictures of the party and the ceremony here.  Note that there are 159 photos, and it’s all one slide show.  These individual links will just help you get to different sections more quickly.
If you want to skip to the after-party pictures in the New Leaf Cafe or to pictures of Debi and David walking around in the park, click one of these links.

Congratulations, Debi and David!

]]> http://www.schipani.org/blog/2008/05/26/surprise/feed/ 2 Eloisa Lucille Somodevilla http://www.schipani.org/blog/2006/12/03/eloisa-lucille-somodevilla/ http://www.schipani.org/blog/2006/12/03/eloisa-lucille-somodevilla/#comments Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:50:59 +0000 Frank http://www.schipani.org/blog/2006/12/03/eloisa-lucille-somodevilla/ Gina and Chip had their baby at 4 AM today!  Gina is a superstar — she started feeling funny around 9 PM, her water broke after 1 AM, they got to the hospital at 2 AM and the baby was in her arms at 4 AM!  The baby has red hair and blue eyes and when we’ve visited later today we’ll attach some more pictures.

Gina looked fabulous when we saw her for brunch yesterday — no one could believe how tiny she still was.  It’s hard to believe that so much has happened since we saw them less than 24 hours ago! 

eloisa_lucille.jpg

Here’s the email from Chip:

Dear Family and Friends,
We are pleased to introduce to you our new baby girl, Eliosa Lucille
Somodevilla. She was born at 4 AM on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006 in
Washington, DC. She weighs 6-pounds, 15-ounces and is 20.5 inches
long. Mom and baby are heathy and beautiful.

Thank you all for your good wishes and !

Love,
Chip, Gina and Eloisa

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