Last Sunday – a mere 3 hours before I had planned to write my next post – my wife surprised me with a visit from my best friend Leslie. I thought I was going to pick up her friend Carol at the airport (she was in on the ruse) and ended up picking up Les instead. I hadn’t seen him since before Jacob was born, and it was the first time since I moved here that he was coming in to stay and visit. I was blown away. We’ve been friends since pre-school. He was in town from Sunday night until Saturday morning, which is why I never wrote last week. 

I was excited on so many levels. Jacob was going to get to meet his uncle Les, I was going to get to hang out with my bro and show him LA. It was a great week! Jacob called him “Un Wes”. It was adorable. It was really cool to watch Les interact with Jacob. He was patient and genuinely loved being with him. It took no time at all for me to see that he’ll be an amazing dad one day (not that there was ever a question – it was just cool to see him in action).

On Sunday night, we just hung out and caught up. Monday, we went to the gym together and then went out to lunch. Cherise orchestrated the week and made sure to allow us the time to do whatever we wanted. She’s really the best. Monday evening, while I took Jacob to Gymboree, Les went and took Cherise’s yoga class – he loved it. After we put cub to bed, we had dinner and then hung out some more. On Tuesday, we went to the beach in Malibu. It was overcast, but we still had a great time. Especially Jacob! He was running around and playing in the water. We made sand castles, and collected rocks. It was adorable. Jacob was attached to me at the hip. As you can see, he also had a lot fun with his ‘Un Wes’.

After the beach, we went for lunch. We took Jacob to a park, and then he passed out on the way home. Cherise had an appointment in the evening, so Les and I hung out again after Jacob went to sleep. While I put Jacob to bed, Les went to the mall. He wanted to look around, but he also wanted to get a little something for Jacob. I’m gonna stop right here and fill you in on something. Jacob is OBSESSED with Sesame Street. He loves Elmo, and Grover – who he calls ‘Guvah’ (sounds like a british kid: oy, guvnah! No idea where it comes from…) – and Ernie, Bert and Snuffalufagus (we call him snuffy, and cub calls him ’nuffy’) 

Ok, so Les went to the mall and got Jacob an Ernie and a Grover toy. We thought he’d be over the moon! When he gave them to Jacob the next morning, the first words out of his mouth were: “Want Nuffy”

We couldn’t help it. We burst out laughing. He LOVED his present though – he wouldn’t let go of them all day (he even napped holding Elmo and Grover). From that point on, he kept saying: “Un Wes gabem (gave me) Ernie and Guvah”. Les etched himself permanently into my son’s heart, but you know, I think the gift was just the icing on the cake. They spent quality time together playing with play-doh, drawing, and playing with Jacob’s toys. It was a really great week. It went by so fast that as I sit here writing this, all I can think is: “didn’t he just get here?”

On Friday, Cherise and Jacob left to go to her parents’ house – I had to work over the weekend, so I stayed here. Les and I took them to the airport, and then we went to Universal CityWalk. We had lunch and chatted and walked around. It was the perfect end to the perfect week. We all joked about how Les and I were spending Valentine’s Day together. Cherise and I don’t celebrate – we try to make every day Valentine’s day… (I know, some of you are gagging now. Done? Ok good…)

I took Les back to the airport early on Saturday, and then worked. I’ve been on my own since yesterday morning and honestly, I can’t wait until they come home! Don’t get me wrong, a little break with a sleep-in is absolutely divine, but after that all I want to do is kiss my wife and play with my kid!

Less than 24 hours to go…

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Jacob’s Daddy