April 9th:

Wow, what a busy few weeks! We received a much appreciated visit from my brother Bobby, his wife Taz and their 3 kids (my Mom came along too). They are on their way to Japan for the next 3 years and made a pit stop in San Diego prior to their departure. We're sad to see them go, but the military calls. Needless to say, we enjoyed every minute we had with them...I'm sure the kids did too since they got to visit SeaWorld, KidVentures, and Chuck E. Cheese. Geez, it must be rough to be a kid! The pictures are posted below. Jake did his best to keep up.

We also had a quick visit from one of my best friend's who left San Diego several years ago to experience New York (and never came back!). It's been over 2 years, so it was great to see Sarah and Travis (her bf) and introduce them to Jake. To no surprise, Jake loved on them both and it was so heartwarming to see them return the love. They're gonna make such great parents one day, hopefully sooner than later (sorry for the lack of subtleness Sarah! :)).

With all that behind us, we are eagerly waiting for Easter for 3 reasons. 1. Marshall's case will finally be over with and we'll have our husband and a father back (we miss him!), 2. I'll have returned from my mini work trip and 3. Jake will get to celebrate his first Easter now that he is old enough. I've already got the Easter basket stuffed and ready to go. Yes, I'm THAT Mom!

On other news, Jake is as delightful and happy as ever. Our only 'trouble spot' seems to be the occasional hitting of his peers which means that we're trying to master the 'time-out' technique. Ah, the tribulations of being a parent. Otherwise, he is a little saint and learning so much by the day. His most impressive word to date is "Argos". It took a while to get that 's' in there, but he finally nailed it. His favorite things right now…monkeys (he loves, loves, loves his Paul Frank monkey shirt and would probably wear it every day if I let him), trains, buses, coloring, somersaults, vitamins (yes, he's a product of Marshall), being clean (yup, that would be my fault) and reading books. His favorite book is "Yummy Yucky". Thank you Aunt Michele! He's finally sick of Baby Einstein, but loves TV so we're trying to find a happy medium while finding the appropriate kids program. The next time you hear from me, it'll probably be with pictures of his SECOND birthday which were currently planning. It won't be anything major like the first one, but we're still looking forward to it nonetheless.

As a side note, I'd be remiss if I didn't take a quick moment to thank Allyson, Milt and Marlene for all their help with Jake lately. Marshall's schedule has been crazy and I couldn't have done it alone. Thank you!

Jake has some BIG shoes to fill!

Grandma with Abby, Riley and Xander.

Marshall, Me, Bobby and Taz.

The kids...