Mommy's First Mother's Day

Last year I spent Mother's Day in labor from the morning through the night. Needless to say, this year couldn't help but be light years better and so much less painful! ;) Pete actually promised me that night that I would never have to spend another Mother's Day enduring that kind of discomfort again and he certainly has made good on that promise so far.
This year I got a whole weekend of pampering and fun! Peter joined forces with Scott Drain and Jonas Moe to secretly plan a fantastic day of pampering and fun for Sarah, Katie, and myself. On Saturday afternoon we had lunch on the patio of Il Fornaio with Mike and Barbara. On our way home while chatting about our plans for the evening Peter told me that I needed to hurry up to make it to my surprise appointment on time! He sent me over to the Drain's home with a cooler of champagne, chocolate, and wine (for options). When I arrived there Sarah had no idea that I was coming or that the Moes were one their way too! As they pulled up Sarah and I swept Katie off to the spa for our deluxe mani/pedis! The guys took care of the kids and started the BBQ they had planned for dinner. All three of us were so surprised and had such a fabulous time chatting and enjoying our kid-free 'us' time. It was great to come back to a delicious dinner and fun times with the kids. I really could not have asked for a better day!
On Sunday we spent the day together as a family. We kept it low key and spent a lot of time remembering all of the experiences from this last year. We had an lovely lunch on the patio at Pyramid, a nice stroll through downtown Walnut Creek (and their farmer's market), and ended the day with an ice cream cone dinner and a relaxing walk through Todos Santos Plaza. Hands down, best weekend I've had in a very long time! Well done Peter and Jack!!!

The Zoo Take Two

With the beautiful Spring weather we Hovs decided to take a trek to the Oakland Zoo. Of course, just like the first time we went, we chose a day that was a little too warm. No matter, we enjoyed the weather and tried our best to stay cool. We enjoyed strolling around looking at the animals and had a lovely picnic in the shade.

Petting goats makes for fun times!

All a little on the hot side, but doing our best to keep cool and enjoy the day. Hot or cold, little Jack is still a ham! :) We had such a nice time that we decided to make Jack a member of the Zoo (for his birthday) so we can come back and enjoy the animals whenever he likes!

A's Game Part Deux

Our friends the Drains invited us to our first A's game of the season (and Jack's 2nd game of his life). This go round was SO much less work compared to last year. We actually got to watch the game this time! We had a really great time catching up with our friends and Jack was very happy to see his beloved Catherine! ;) Oh, and our A's won the game too! It was an awesome day.

He turned on the charm by 'finding' his nose for most of the day. Wee Catherine didn't seem very impressed by this new trick though.

Cutie Catherine!

Miss Sarah wrangling babies (with the nice but quasi-obnoxious folks in the background).

Daddy being silly with his boy!

Almost One, But Not Quite

We really can not believe that our baby has become such a little boy lately! He is so big and become so much fun! I've become so nostalgic lately that I find myself looking at his baby pictures and wondering where our baby went. So excuse me while I wax on about it, but I can't help but reflect a bit.

I really remember this time last year. I was as big as a house and his nursery was PERFECT and full of every type of baby accessory that we may ever need. It was organized and waiting for him and I would rock in the glider as I anxiously daydreamed about what he might look like. I can't believe how crazy and absolutely amazing this year has been. His nursery is not nearly as organized as it was then and there are often blocks and toys strewn about with a full laundry basket of his big boy clothes waiting for mommy to fold. Such is life, I suppose! :) We are so proud of surviving this year and love watching our Jack grow.

Jack is 11 months old now (and really, since I'm behind in posting he's just a hair under 1 year old). He's so full of energy and loving cruising and crawling. He stands on his own and takes every opportunity to practice. He's doing well and can hold it for up to a few minutes. Jack loves walking around while holding onto someone and lately has become so daring as to hold on with just one hand. Mobility is certainly his goal and he has taken a few steps but only one at a time and usually followed by a fall! :)

He has become very vocal and loves babbling like a mini orator (arms out stretched and chin up high as he pontificates the finer points of life). We've had a lot of fun going to playgroups at the library where Jack has made friends with a few other boys and enjoys smiling and 'chatting' with the teacher. He waves (although not on command by any means), reaches up to be picked up, and says "na na" for food or milk. He babbles non stop and I'm sure that there are some real words coming, although the kindergarten teacher in me hasn't really counted any of them as a first word. I'm waiting for the real, "da da" or "ma ma" or "dog" or something for one thing consistently. But I can tell that he's learning what language is all about and taking it all in whether he's talking or not.

It's been a great month at the Hov Home and I'm sure a few more nostalgic posts are on their way. Who is this big boy and where did my baby go???

Daddy dressed Jack for this round of pics. He decided that he had to show off his baby AC DC shirt for those about to rock. (Thanks Boo!)

Thank goodness this year of monthly pictures is almost over! This has become SOOO hard to get him to sit semi-still, not eat the paper, look somewhere near mommy, AND smile. Ugh! :)

A little WWF action with Brian Bear. (Oh yes, it's Brian, as in Urlacher. What, he is Pete's son after all!)


Jack's facial expressions have really blossomed and he is always coming up with new (and usually funny) faces for us!

Just chillaxin in the tub. :)

Oh, and check out those teeth! Poor thing is cutting two more on either side of his top two. That will bring us to 6 teeth! Good thing we are just about done with nursing...it's been great, but I'm SO done!

Doesn't he look huge in the chair??? Oh, and yes we're working on the spoon thing, but mostly he just likes to bite on it and then drop it on the floor.

A Jack wave (which he has only recently started to move like a wave) is really more of a salute. :)

Here's a video of what our days are like around the Hov Home. :)

Jack's 1st Easter

Our Easter weekend was pretty low-key and relaxing for us. Saturday we joined our neighbors, the Monroes, at an Easter carnival. It was fun and Jack seemed to enjoy hunting for eggs much more than meeting the Easter bunny. There were some fun carnival games and a petting zoo.(although we did not pet, we just took a look...the goat in there seemed a little shifty if you ask me!) The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves!

Our friends and neighbors, the Monroes!

"Hunting" for eggs (although he just wanted to eat the styrofoam and tanbark)!

Poor guy was NOT interested in meeting the Easter bunny. :(

Have to admit...it was a pretty scary bunny! :(




Jack seemed pretty interested in grabbing the chickens, so we sort of stuck closer to the bunnies.

Sunday we had brunch with the some family and had a nice time catching up with everyone. We returned home to find that the Easter bunny had been to our house and left a basket/bucket full of baby friendly goodies and new sandbox toys. Jack seemed to have fun taking all of the contents out (over and over again) and was thoroughly interested with the plastic grass.

Jack's 1st Easter Basket!

The plastic grass got mixed reviews, but the tissue paper was certainly a hit!

Silly times with daddy!