"The Force is strong with this one."

After attending 3 shows of the Jedi Training Academy, we became those obnoxious parents who made a sign to help their child be chosen to participate. I have to say, it was worth it! Andrew still talks about how he finally got to be a real Jedi. Having watched the show three times before, Andrew did really well during the training exercises. But, when it came time to fight Darth Vader, he had a lot of delay in his actions. He really didn't seem afraid, I think he was just focused to distraction on his training light-saber and executing the fight sequence correctly. He still practices the sequence at home with the light-saber he and Scott built. Anyway, the words that I didn't quite catch from the Master Jedi are about Andrew's "slow motion technique".... and no, we did not add the 'laugh track', people just thought it was that funny!

A year has come and gone...

I don't know where the time went! How could it possibly be a year already? We were traveling home from our family trip to Disneyland on Jake's actual birthday (the pictures with the striped shirt). We had a little family party yesterday for him (pictures with the blue playsuit). And here are some fun facts about Jake:

1) He can say no ("nu-nu-nu-nuh") and cheese for the camera ("eeee"- complete with a cheesy grin).
2) He really doesn't like having his diaper changed (I have to use my feet and my hands, even for quick wet-changes).
3) His second strongest dislike is having his clothes changed.
4) He has 7 teeth with plenty of space. That's good for when the adult teeth come in, but for now, he looks a little like a jack-o-lantern.
5) He crawls with his belly up off the floor now about half the time. He still has a wicked-fast army crawl.
6) Although he's always pretty busy at home, he loves to be cuddled and rocked by Miss Jeannette when we go to the gym.
7) He is starting to climb up and down the stairs with out falling.
8) He loves attention from Andrew (usually this means some form of wrestling), but lets us all know when he's had enough.
9) He is very curious, and LOVES the kitchen.
10) He likes to 'dance' by sitting on the floor and using one leg to spin himself in a circle and rocking his body.

We love you Jakey!

Old MacDonald's Farm '09

So we started off our Memorial Day weekend at Old MacDonald's Farm, with cloudy skies and few sprinkles, we almost had the whole place to ourselves. The kids got to ride ponies...

....hang out in the stroller.....

...hold baby chicks.....

....and feed the calves.

Cleaning the Bathroom

We have recently assigned chores to Eden and Andrew that they are responsible to do with either Mom or Dad. A lot of times, they both want to do both chores, so Saturday morning during Jake's nap, the kids cleaned their bathroom. I also cleaned the master bathroom, so for the firt time in way too long, we have two very clean bathrooms!

This is THE ONLY time its OK to climb up on the counter!

cleaning the bathtub- don't fall in Andrew!

Storybook Island Grand Opening!

After cleaning the bathrooms, I took the kids to Storybook Island for the first day of the season. They have a new pirate ship!

Jakey really wishes he could keep up with Eden and Andrew, but he's usually happy enough to hang out with me!

Photo-op with the captain of the pirate ship.

the Jake-cam

These videos of Jake are a few weeks old, but in honor of Mother's Day (late for that too).... here they are: "Jake's favorite mealtime talent" and "Playing 'fetch' with Jakey"

Unfortunately I haven't been diligent in getting footage of the other kiddos (you might hear them in the background), Jake tends to have the leading role when it comes to these things. We all love him so much!

This video was taken around the time the army crawl took over his rolling shenanigans. I never did get good video of his awesome rolling skills, but now he army crawls EVERYWHERE and tries to pull himself up on just about anything or anyone! Also, notice the "nananana" when I take the paper away. I'm positive he is trying to say "no!" since this is what he does whenever we take something away. I guess it shouldn't come as a suprise since we're usually saying "no-no Jakey" when we take things away!