Mother's Day!

11 Weeks, 3 Days

Happy Mother's Day all you wonderful mommies! It's Sonja's first (kind of), but we still haven't told everyone, so its our little secret. I have loved my mother my entire life and I'll love Sonja for the rest of my life, but I'm now starting to see the unique emotional bond a mother has for her baby. Different than every other form of love. I won't digress too long as I can't begin to understand it, but I can see it starting and its a beautiful thing. Obviously men are important to the process, but its so so different. Something only you mothers can comprehend. The children don't get it and never will, men try to have it, but never will, its a special one way love that you uniquely have. Thanks to my Mom, Sonja, and all mother's who've sacrificed health, sleep, emotional well being, time, money, and their figures to grow and sculpt beautiful people and in turn a beautiful world.

Its a gorgeous day. We have a little secret celebration at the house with Heather, call all our special Mommas and head out with Corby, Sallie, and Johnny to the Pasadena Flea market. For those who don't know, this is no ordinary Flea Market. Its huge with antique everything from clothes to furniture to anything you might want but don't need. It takes place once a month at the Rose Bowl. Sonja's dying to get her hands on a nice coffee table and dining room set. I'm dying to not spend a grand. We browse, run into a surprising amount of friends, see a classic live performance by George Herbert, watch Corby buy half the lot, and strategize how Heather's gonna take the field. Unfortunately they lock it up before we can convince Heather to go. Sunburned, we head out for a nice lunch in downtown Pasadena. After lunch everyone's about to pass, so we take it to the house.

A great dress rehearsal mother's day. We're ready for the real deal next year with The Buddies!

Great Grand MaMaw

11 Weeks, 2 Days

The Buddies only great grandparent, Mamaw (Soriano), was visiting Sonja's Aunt Sandra and Uncle Rod in Orange County for her 89th birthday! We headed south to Rancho Santa Margarita after a quick stop at the Santa Monica Barb-B-Que cook off. The vibe of a BBQ cook off overlooking the pacific ocean doesn't quite have the same feel as the Georgia Rib Cook off I attended a few years back. As you might suspect, GA had more food, more beer, more fat people, and the band Survivor! And yes, they played "Eye of the Tiger" to the thrill of us all. After pounding down a few plates of Q and peach cobbler we headed south to the OC.

SoCal traffic was in full bloom, but we finally made it. We rolled into an excited reception from Mamaw and all the family and friends. As usual we were fed a delicious feast of Filipino favorites, Pansit Bihon for Sonja and my favorite Lumpia. Dinner was only the beginning. After dinner was karaoke time. A classic display as one by one we were prodded on stage by Heather trying her best to delay requests to perform "Wind beneath my wings." Trying to impress the buddies, I delivered a stirring rendition of "Suspicious Minds" then forced into an awkwardly inappropriate "To All the Girls I've Loved Before." Not surprisingly the entire clan could sing. I was way out of my league, but I hope I made the buddies proud.

We headed back to LA with a huge bag of leftovers, always a plus. It was a great start to Mother's Day weekend, and it was great too see everyone. We still hadn't gone public with the news, but I know Sonja was thrilled to share the day with her grandmother and family.

The Young Family Compound

10 Weeks, 6 Days

Its official, we're moving! We just signed the lease on an amazing house. As much as we love our cute little apartment and as little as we know about raising kids, we knew enough to know that Sonja, Inman, the buddies, Lilah, and family visitors were too much for the old place. We reached out to a familiar place, Beachwood Canyon. Yes the same Beachwood that was my home for the first 9 years of life in LA. The house is literally overlooking the driveway of my old apartment. I loved Beachwood and am happy to be returning, plus we'll have Walker, Jay, Robie, Gower, La Poubelle, and all the old friends back in the hood. Most importantly, there's a one bedroom apartment in the back for special guests. An incredible addition to a amazing new place. Plus I made a promise to Lilah a few years back that I'd give her a yard one day.

We loved our time in Los Feliz, and is certainly on our list of places we'd live as we move around LA. Kingswell was great! A beautiful apartment, host of many great gatherings. But its time for something bigger and more fit to be a home for two little babies. Plus there's plenty of space for guests, so all family and friends have no reason not to come visit. Reserve your room starting this June on The Terrace.

Here's a link to more pics.
Young Family Compound
Its a gorgeous mediteranian style home complete with parking, private yard, and guest house.

Can't wait to bring The Buddies home!