Life is going

O is for Oh

Playing Madden w/ Dad

Rolling w/ the homies

Tilden Little Farm

Marley asks us to turn on music several times a day. This little guy LOVES to dance!

Falling asleep in the car while driving to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Sign language slang with the webcam

Darling buds of May

What a busy month it's been.

My best friend Jeany came for a visit this month. After a two year hiatus in Thailand she decided to move back home to Fresno, but not before spending a week with the Oh Family. It was nice to have her company, recount the fun times from college in Los Angeles, and girl-talk. I've missed her dearly and it's nice to know that's she's going to be close(r) now.

Gene and I are embarking on a new hobby. With Marley's birth, much of the household maintenance stuff went on the back burner. This included the front yard, which over the course of the last year and a half became a jungle of weeds. The weeds are finally at bay, and we're now planning a garden of California native plants. We visited Tilden's Botanical Garden to get some ideas.

Angela and I got together a couple times this month to take the kids swimming at the Berkeley High warm pool. They have a parents and tots "class" which is more like a singalong with water (kinda grody, green, warm, chlorinated water). If I mentally block out the grodiness of the water, it's a really fun way to spend an afternoon. Added plus is that it wipes out Marley making it that much easier for me to get him to bed at night.

We took Marley to Sausalito's Discovery Museum. It was so rad! A must-see for parents and kids. I think Gene and I had as much fun as Marley.

Jason and Amanda got hitched! The wedding was a blast and we had a chance to have breakfast with Thomas, Lina, and baby Kaelyn who flew in from Honolulu to attend the event.

The month came to a close with a visit to Baltimore and Washington DC. It was a pseudo-business trip for Gene. He met with some folks that run the DC bike share program to make some connections and get ideas to bring back to the Bay. But it wasn't all work. We definitely had fun with Jason and Jeni (friends who are currently finishing up their graduate work at the Maryland Institute College of Art).

Ding Dong....

"Hi...can Casey and Jay come out to play?" Nearly every day Marley walks over to our neighbor's home to see if their two sons (3 years and 10 months old) can play. I think he's going to be spending A LOT of time with these boys over the course of his childhood.

April

This month has been one of transitions. I'm back to being a stay-at-home mom and it's been a blessing to witness Marley's development. Just last night I was going through some old pictures and videos of our family from Marley's first months and it blew me away to see how much he's grown. Now I understand why seasoned parents always warned us to appreciate the time because "they grow up quick."

I look at Marley now and realize he's no longer a baby. His toddler phase has begun and with it a new determination to be a big boy. He has recognized that he has the ability to make choices including the right to say "no." Gene and I are learning how to transition our parenting styles to meet his developmental needs. Needless to say it has required patience and some creativity.

Skateboarding lessons with Uncle Charlie while tailgaiting at the A's game

Eating like a big boy

Webcam silly

Videos from Jan to March '09