Almost a new month already

Well, here it is the end of April. Wow time flies doesn't it? Life for the Yates fam just keeps on tickin. Allison is doing really, really well and is really starting to enjoy her little sister. Over the last couple weeks she has become more involved with playtime and Keala is starting to initiate interaction with her. Which is a great sign for whats destined to come in the future. Allison has been joining in the peek a boo sessions by pushing the blanket away from her own face and grinning at Mom and sister, and Keala has also been handing toys to her so she can have a turn! It's just amazing to see the growth potential in both of them. Allison also really enjoys the times during the day and at bedtime when Keala is asleep and Allison gets alone time with Mom or Dad without little sister butting in. We have a couple of upcoming Dr's appointments for Allison but they are strictly follow ups and not anything pressing. We are getting glasses for her though (as soon as we can get down to the optometrist and pick out the frames that will work best for her.) The doc thinks that by giving her eyes some correction, it will allow them to relax a little and be able to focus both eyes at the same time rather that one at a time.
Keala decided last Sunday that she wanted to walk. All the time. Everywhere. Not just a few steps here and there. She looks like an adorable little drunken mime in a box. It's sooooo cute! She's still falling quite a bit, but doesn't seem fazed by it a bit. Boy are we in trouble now! : }
See is also really close to actually talking. She has had a few words for awhile, but is at that point now where she is actually putting together phrases (that dont sound like anything that makes sense to us, but are definitely phrases and sentences.)
Jeff is slowly (but surely) getting back into shape. After spending the last 7 years sitting at a desk all day (or night), he's back in the gym working out 5-6 days a week and has lost 15 lbs already since the first week of April. He has a really good motivation at the moment, he is in the hiring process to become a McMinnville Police Officer. He has made it thru the first 2 phases, his application qualified and he passed the written test (with flying colors). There are 4 phases left, oral board interview, ORPAT (Officer and Reserve Physical Agility Test or something similar to that), background investigation and a psych evalutaion. The first 2 are up to him to make sure he passes, the final 2 leave up to other people to decide if he's the right candidate for the position. The tentative hire date is July 1st. So we'll keep you posted.
Amy is doing well, still getting used to Jeff being on Swingshift and not getting home and into bed until 1 am or so. She's feeling better and is also starting to do some more exercising. She is going to be getting some much needed respite a couple days a week thru the end if June. The county found us some grant money to pay for a respite care provider 10 hours a week to give Amy a chance to get some time for herself. What an amazing blessing.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. Please feel free to call and check in with us
whenever you may get a chance to. We would love to hear how things are going with you too.

Happy April

Well here it is April already, can you believe it? We're excited to see it finally arrive! Allison continues to feel great and gets really excited every day when it's time to go to school. She brought home a paper clown face yesterday that was sooo cute. She helped glue the eyes and nose and mouth on it. Really adorable. She is still growing and is already approaching the 4 foot tall mark !!! Can you believe it? She's not even 5 yet and she's already 3'9! Theres some cute pictures of her and Keala on Jeff's MySpace page. (thats right... Jeff's got a MySpace page). The link is http://www.myspace.com/bigjeff911
Amy is doing much better recently after a couple visits to the Dr. Their recommendation.... more sleep, an adjustment to her pacemaker and try to take some more time for herself. She will get more of that as soon as Jeff goes to swing shift (Next Tuesday!!!). Hopefully we will both be able to start working out at the gym or at the pool a little more often. We always feel a whole lot better after a workout. Now that the weather is FINALLY changing for the better, Jeff will also be able to start riding his bike back and forth to work, that will help him get into a little better shape too.

Thanks for continuing to check up on us. Hopefully we'll continue to post good news !!!