And I'm finally playing catch-up. I have the age-old excuse as to why I've been MIA, but we'll get to that in a minute.
So, February, ahem...
We celebrated our 9th anniversary and Jake was in charge of planning. We went to dinner at Geoffrey's in Malibu, which is a really swanky place overlooking the ocean. The food was amazing and even though it was past sunset, it was so fun to hear the waves, smell the ocean, and see the distant lights while we ate. One of the most romantic dinners we've ever had.
Jake also gave me these enormous calla lilies and my favorite surprise present ever: a piano tuning appointment! He is so thoughtful and called around and scheduled a piano tuner to come the next day. All I had to do was write the check. It is so nice to see that piano get some love, and for Jacob to encourage me in my playing that way. Just so sweet.
Plus, I made up for it on Valentine's Day.
So here's the big news: we're expecting baby #2! I found out 2 days before Valentine's Day and I WAITED TO TELL JACOB OR ANYONE FOR TWO WHOLE DAYS! Which was no small feat. (I had to take three or four test to confirm it. It's so hard to tell with the two-line tests! So I bought the digital one that just says "Pregnant" or not, and sure enough, we had a winner!)
So I wrapped up the test in this little box...
And put it in a celebratory gift basket with chocolates, sparkling cider, and an H&M gift card...
And gave him a "Congrats on your Baby" instead of a Valentine's card. That night we went to his "Freakshow" wrap party and dinner afterward, and I was complaining about smells, so he knew what was up. But still, fun to tell him the big news on the most romantic day of the year.
And how is our little man? Well, he's not so little anymore. He still loves books and he's WAY into Mickey Mouse.
He's SUPER cute and a handful and a half. I don't think it's a coincidence those two things go hand in hand in this case.
I got him this Avengers shirt since his dad worked on the movie. I thought that was clever. This boy and his dad: both superheroes.
He's reading a Sesame Street book from his Grammy. Another thing he loves as of late: Elmo. He's starting to really talk a lot. He can repeat almost any one syllable word we say. His first word after mama and dada was "please" and I literally screamed when he said it! He loves to count to 10, but he skips 1 & 2 and starts at 3. He's working on his ABC's too. And he loves to sing along to songs we sing. Every night Jake sings to him "If I only had a brain," the "Tape of Love" song from Flight of the Conchords, and "Love at Home." Jasper knows all three verses to "Love at Home" and he fills in the last word of each line when we sing it to him. It's the sweetest thing.
We had a little photo shoot, he and I, and this is the official picture I chose to announce our news to friends and family.
This was a close second.
So, what else? In February we went to the premiere of Cavalia, which was a special treat thanks to Larry King. I guess the Kings do stuff like this a lot for their employees and close friends. We got VIP passes and had a buffet dinner before the show, free souvenirs, drinks and desserts at intermission and after the show. It was NUTS! We felt so spoiled. And we just so happened to run into a few friends from church, including Kathy & Paola Nelson (pictured) and the Walkers. We saw a lot of celebrities, too. Reba McEntire, Alessandra Ambrosio, Mario Lopez, Jillian Michaels, Mary Steenbergen, Diane Lane, and Laura Dern: we were all kind of geeking out. That's just a lot of famous people in one place. We did not know what we were in for.
Jake and Drew. If you don't know about the friendship between these two, this pretty much explains it.
Jake's holding Flat Stanley, who we brought along at Eve's request per her school assignment.
One of the stars of the show. It really was amazing. Like Cirque de Soleil, but with horses and spoiler alert: water!
On the red carpet after the show.
We've taken a trip or two to the zoo. This one was with friends Susanne Mackintosh and Brea Cola. Their boys Jackson and Brooks (left to right) are all within about two months of each other.
Boston turned 2! We drove down to San Diego and spent the weekend with the Cliffords to celebrate the big event.
Nana came to visit in March. Always such a treat to have her come. Jasper loves her and even though I was sick and not much of a hostess, she is just happy to be here and makes us all feel special.
Jake's birthday=Green Pancakes Day!!
It was also the day I hosted a baby shower for my dear friend, Sarah Champion. (I know, Jake is SUCH a sport.) The baby is a welcome surprise they brought home from Ireland last summer, so we thought it would be fun to throw her a St. Patty's themed party. I'm so, so happy with how it turned out. She missed her shower in Utah when the doctor told her she couldn't travel anymore, so we gave this one our all.
Everyone brought such amazing food. Sarah Snow made her famous macaroons.
Anna Crowe made adorable water bottle labels.
I thought the table turned out so cute. Carrie Denke made the Edible arrangement, and Stacy Stevens brought those cute straws and veggie cups.
Christina Anderson (center) lent us those amazing Chinese lanterns and tablecloths.
Is this baby loved or what?
(And aren't the guests lovely, too?)
Stacy Stevens bought the darling little outfits for the clothesline.
Kirsten Heder and friend.
A nanny co-worker of Sarah's brought this delicious cake. So sweet of her.
And Jackie Barr made this cake special for baby Moira. Is that tailor-made and amazing or what?
We played a matching "lucky charms" game, which was way too easy and everyone won, but it was fun none the less! We gave Sarah a lucky charm bracelet to commemorate her becoming a mom, and a onesie for Moira to wear next St. Patty's Day.
We had a really great turn-out.
And she was showered and showered with gifts.
And since this was nearly two months ago, baby Moira has now arrived! She is two weeks old and such a doll. I got to be there for her actual arrival, and I was able to film the birth for the parents. I felt really privileged to be part of such a special time for the Champion family.
Easter came a little early this year, in March, (which I hate. Don't mean to be a snob about this, but Easter should always be in April. Hmph.) My friend Samantha hosted a little Easter egg hunt at her house. This year Jasper was old enough to participate. Crazy to think he wasn't walking this time last year!
He didn't care about opening the eggs, but he was very good at collecting them!
And Jake threw me the most AMAZING 30th birthday party that I will have to make another post about. One of my best birthdays ever!! So very happy about this year so far. It's been wonderful.
And just for fun, here's a pic of Jasper from yesterday. It was 90 degrees, but he wanted to wear a hat. And I'm disinclined to argue with him much these days. Besides, it does look pretty snazzy. Love that lil stinker.
