We have recovered from our storm of sickness. All of us had the stomach flu for several days last week. Now that we are fully recovered, Nat and I are back into our routine and exploring a little more each day. He develops his climbing skills every day with our ottoman and at Gymboree. He is speaking in gibberish with us at dinner and during play. And, meals are action packed for us because he is eating everything in front of him. No picking and choosing, just eating and quite a bit. But, the most fascinating skill yet is his ability to click his tongue and point at a clock. This was not taught. He heard the ticking of a wall clock and imitated it. Current tooth count is 15. His bottom left cainine (eye tooth) is poking through and the two cainines on top are in place. Only 5 more to go and I think his other bottom cainine is coming in as well.

Kathleen has two more days with the Shriner's Hospitals, then she embarks upon an ambitious move back into the corporate world. She has been working long nights getting up to speed with her future position and researching more into the world of physican groups. This will be a great experience for her and certainly an advancement in her career.

I have been working on getting our yard ready to receive the new trees, palms, shrubs and plants of various types shapes and sizes. This has been a long time to come and will feel really good once it is done. The house will also look completely different on the outside from when we bought it.

Can't forget about the dogs, they are doing as well as can be expected when they are not the center of attention. Maise is still itching half the day away and Gromit feels it necessary to steal food from the counter.

Be well!

It has been quite a while since I had time to sit and write this. We had some great visits from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, as well as a very special visit from Aunt Sue -- all the way from California. It was a treat to do some catching up with Sue. And, as always, Gram knocked 'em dead fishing. She caught 4 red fish and a black drum. We had fish fry that night.





Mom and Dad were in town for their 3rd annual escape the northern cold trip to Clearwater. We had a ton of fun and went to many places. We all went to a Blue Jays game for my birthday, Nat's first baseball game. We were able to play golf and see a Pirates game in Bradenton. We had a great family trip to the Florida Aquarium and then the trolly ride to Ybor City. And, as you always should when visiting Florida, we caught a sunset at Honeymoon Island, then had hot dogs at the Sandbar in Dunedin. Great fun!


Kathleen will be finishing her time at the Shriners Hospitals the start of May and begin her new endeavor as General Counsel at JSA Healthcare. This is a great opportunity for her to take the reins of a leagal department and grow with a continuously expanding company. Congratulations Kath! We knew you had it in you, now show 'em what you're made of.


I have to thank several people for helping me with my most recent project: Gabe, Mike Meza, and Al. I couldn't have done it without your help, Thank you. Here is a picture of our progress. The hedge along the retaining wall is Indian Hawthorn.
Before






After





Nat has 14 teeth, walks everywhere and is very curious. He is also testing his voice through screeeeches and screams, as well as the occasional "th th th" or "ss ss ss". He understands and can point to his hair, eyes, mouth and ears. He is becoming a little boy. He really likes corn on the cob as you can see.

Enjoy!