John's First Hair Cut

We took John to The Yellow Balloon in Studio City to get his hair cut. Of late, he's been looking a little too much like a hippie with his shaggy hair and we all know that Maureen and I dislike hippies.

His stylist, Adriana, was a delight. She greeted him with a smile and he shot back a giant smile. From that point on, there was no turning back. Clearly, our boy knows how to turn the charm on like a light switch. Combined with his future musical skills, he's sure to be quite a ladies man.

Anywho, Adriana did an excellent job. She worked quickly and left our little boy who used to have the old man comb over (photo at the top left) hair style that I favor and left him looking like a little boy (photo on the right). Oh well, I suppose he should have little boy hair since he's not out of diapers.

Take a look at the video below and see how good our little man behaved.

John Loves Great, Great Grandfather Isidore

Last week, we had a lovely time on Larchmont Blvd. We wen't to Chevalier Books to get some books for John. The reading lady just fell in love with our little man. She read him a couple of books and he was just having a grand old time. As we were paying for the books, we noticed there were a couple of books about old Los Angeles. Of note, there was one about the West Adams district near downtown. Back in the day, that's where the society types of Los Angeles lived. Maureen was flipping through it and found a photo of her great grandfather, Isidore Dockweiler. When we showed it to John, he had a giant smile and reached out for it. Here's a shot of our John trying to touch the book and Great, Great Grandfather Isidore.

Yes, John does get his middle name from his great, great grandfather's last name.

He's Going to Play The Harmonica Someday

Personally, I think it would be better if he played the piano because chicks really dig piano players. As long as he doesn't take up jazz flute or smooth jazz saxophone, we should be ok. One of us just can't take the smooth jazz. It's an abomination that must be stamped out!!

How many famous harmonica players can you name? I can name four:

1. Toots Thielmans

2. Larry Adler

3. John Popper

4. Huey Lewis

It Won't Be Long Before He Wants a Car

He's turning into such a little man. He loves the remote control. Fortunately, he hasn't figured out how to use it. When he does, God help Maureen. She hates it when I control the remote because I can't stay on a single channel. When he's older, we'll teach him the special word we made up for the remote: Controlitron.

Here's a plea to DSI: Brent, if you can give us some dummy remote controls, we'd be ever so thankful.

Does Johnny Remind You of Laura Ingalls in this One?

I think he saw the episode of Little House on the Prairie where Mr. Edwards taught Laura to spit. That's ok since that's one of a few television programs that he'll be allowed to watch.

Johnny D's Gift From Santa

In case you were wondering what Santa brought to John in that really large box, wonder no more. It'll provide John months of entertainment and delight.

Roy Rogers Eyes

Thank God that John's eyes are like Maureen's. Grandmere Brady told me that I have "Roy Rogers eyes." And, I tend to agree with her. When I smile, my eyes turn into tiny slits like one of the last great American cowboys.

I suppose it could be worse. I could have Charles Manson crazy eyes, but thankfully, I do not.

The Z-Boys

Watch out world, 16-years from now, there will be a new pop sensation. They'll be known as the Z-Boys. Who are the Z-Boys? They are John Gonzalez and Thomas Lowe. Why are they the Z-Boys? The answer to that is quite simple. Their maternal grandmothers' (Kathy and Patty) maiden name is Zamarin.

Every generation needs a new teen idol. Honestly, do you think the Jonas Brothers are going to age well. The oldest one with the curly hair already looks really odd and could use a new stylist (Honestly, boys should not wear ascots. That's something old men in smoking jackets should wear. It's clear that they are trying to hard to be cool. That's just not RUFUS at all.)

Back to the future, if you think Joe Simpson's bad, just wait until you see my plans. I'm a bit of a Svengali (pronounce sven-jahlly) that way. Special thanks to Jesse and Whitney Lowe for allowing me to make these plans for their son. Also, I would be out of my head if I didn't thank Maureen for even putting up with my shenanigans when it comes to John's future.

John Likes Maggie

John had his first exposure to dogs yesterday. He was fortunate enough to meet Tango Lowe(she gave him a big sloppy kiss when he walked into the door. He was a little taken aback since he was sleeping, but he got over it.), Sadie Gaunt, and Maggie Gaunt.

At any party at the Gaunt residence, Maggie always brings a certain sense of unpredictability. She tends to hump people's legs. I always say it's not a party at the Gaunt's unless Maggie is humping someone's leg (yesterday, it was Rick Brady and I who were the recipients of Maggie's love.)

Anywho, after dinner, Maggie jumped up into an empty chair next to Johnny and me. Little Mister was quite gentle for most of the time. There was a point where he started to pull Maggie's fur, but he did let go when I asked him to do so. Thank God he took to dogs...unlike me. I was scared to death of dogs until the neighbors moved in with a Rotweiler.

Johnny and Grandma

After Mass, we went over to Grandma's to open a few gifts. Here's a nice shot of Grammy and Johnny.

Two Tired Babies

After all the excitement of this morning, Maureen and John had to settle down for a bit of a nap. As for me, I need to get ready for Church at 11:15 AM.

Christmas Morning

Johnny and the Grandparents

Last night, we headed over to my sister's house to see the Gonzalez side of the family. Here's a couple of shots of the grandparents with their FAVORITE grandchild, John Dockweiler Gonzalez. Why? Because he's the most RUFUS and RESPLENDENT child in the world. That's why!!

Christmas Eve

Last night, we were going to take a few photos of John in front of the tree wearing this outfit that was given to him by Uncle Rick, Aunt Lis, and Cousin Adrianita (thanks uncle, aunt, and cousin); however, John had other plans in mind. He'd just been fed when Maureen felt that he was having a BM. Well, he most certainly was, but it was quite explosive. When she got up, she felt a warm wetness on her pants. Sure enough, our boy had blown through his diaper and onto her pants. One thing is for sure: He has a good digestive system.

Johnny Digs the Jazz

John and I were having a lesson on jazz when he broke out into spontaneous jazz dancing. No, he didn't do a jazz square or jazz hands, but he was feeling the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Our John's Growing Even More

He can hold his own bottle. I remember when he'd flail at the bottle like a little lion cub at the zoo. I feel like Tevya and I'm sure that Maureen feels like Golde. Nothing like a Fiddler on the Roof reference at the start of Chanukah/Hannukah or however it's spelled.

If you look closely, you'll se my Simon Cowell-esque chest hair.

Hmmmmmmmmmm, Grandpa's Teaching Him Some Bad Lessons

When John starts banging on the table and demanding his food, we'll know who taught him. Well, we can't be too mad...he'll know how to do it in English and Spanish.

Putting His Foot in His Mouth

Look at the look of sheer delight in his face. I think it must really taste great because I can't imagine that it's less filling.

A Star Is Born

Last night, John made his stage debut as little baby Jesus in the St. Anastasia Christmas Program. The show was quite spectacular full of technical glitches and even the world famous peepee dance (it's exactly what you think), but our John was clearly the star.

Earlier in the day, he and I had a mental talk where we decided what kind of baby Jesus he'd play. We thought about doing the nice, sweet baby Jesus that looks perfect in his golden fleece diapers, but we decided that we'd keep it real. John's a method actor, so he really went for it. His crying came from within. He called upon his memories of his first moments of life. I also coached him on what it's like to be in a cold and stinky manger in Bethlehem. His crying gave us the true picture of the manger. Plus, there was no little drummer playing for him. What baby wouldn't cry if the little drummer boy weren't playing.

On a side note, the lovely girl, Michaela, who played Mary did an excellent job. She tried to comfort John the best that she could. Kudos to her for handling the golden child. Also, John's 2nd or 3rd cousin (not quite sure which), Brady Hasenberg played one of the Three Wisemen. He was the wisest of the lot since he gave a pacifier to calm the boy down.

On a final note, I do have an additional comment about the show. After the opening number, an odd rendition of Go Tell It On the Mountain...they took the soul out of the spiritual. Paul Robeson would be spinning in his grave. Leonard Cohen has more soul than the version from the show. Mrs. Krank and Mrs. Drollinger led the audience in a rendition of The First Noel. Both ladies have lovely voices; however, all I could think of was Clay Aiken's rendition of the song. He tends to oversing the "Born is the King" line at the end. Then again, I'm not a fan of his, so maybe you'll like his rendition. I sure don't.

Crazy Baby

To quote my idol, Hank Hill, "That boy is not quite right."

The Story of Noah's Ark

Inspired by the recent rains, I thought I'd post this clip:

You Are Never Too Old To Learn Something New

Today, John taught my sister, Maria Eugenia de las Mercedes aka China aka Mrs. Lowther an important lesson. It's a lesson that every parent needs to know. Since she already has two children in their teens, Dillon and Alexis, I would have thought she'd have known not to leave John without a diaper for too long whilst changing him. Sure enough, up shot the gyser of urine and our little guy and his aunt were covered in urine. Needless to say, John was all smiles after that.

Johnny's Party Tip

Like any good host, John knows the importance of red disposable cups. No party is complete without them.

Santa and His Favorite Boy

Yes, John paid a visit to Santa today and was quite good. We were a bit worried since he'd fallen asleep as we were in line; however, he woke up and was his normal charming self. No, he didn't smile. He is my son after all, but he didn't cry like the little English kids that were behind us in line. They both flipped out and didn't sit with Santa. For a good twenty minutes, the little boy kept on whining about seeing Santa and then he freaks out.

On a side note, parents, please don't dress your little boys in L.A.M.B clothing. It's just wrong. The two little boys in front of us had it and it was just wrong. On little girls, it's ok, but little boys stay as far away from it as possible.

Newsies

If ever they make a remake of Newsies without the music, John's ready for it. I tried to watch the original Newsies, but it was just a bit too much. I have a friend that loves Newsies. Why? I cannot say, but then again, he also loves the movie Xanadu, the film that pretty much ended Gene Kelly and Michael Beck's acting careers.

Boy's Day Out

John was great at Pink's. He even reached for the food. Don't worry, Grandmother Brady, he didn't get any. I was tempted to give him a sip of my Bubble Up, but I resisted the temptation.

He slept through our trip to Golden Apple and Crumbs Bakery on Larchmont. He was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good and didn't wake up until we left Ralph's at 1:30. The Salvation Army man knew that the little guy was the boss and rang his bell even though he was on his lunch break.

More Video Fun

Christmas Tree Shopping

Last Saturday, we went Christmas tree shopping. Here's a photo of Johnny Mittens and his cousin, Adriana. She's a great help in watching him. She once told Maureen and I a very funny story as Maureen was changing John's dirty diaper. Maureen made the comment that John's poop was yellow. Adrianita said, "My poop is black." Only from the mouth of a child, or a teen boy, will you get an honest/innocent comment like that.

Anywho, we hope to have it decorated by this weekend. And, I learned that you put the lights on the tree before you put the ornaments on the tree. And that's one to grow on.

Boy's Day

Today is Boy's Day. Johnny D and I are headed off to Golden Apple and then to Pink's. At Pink's were meeting with Mr. Chicken Fried where I'll pay off a debt based on the God Awful new Knight Rider show. Finally, we'll head over to Grandma's to pick up our Christmas cards. Those of you who will be fortunate enough to be on the mailing list will be blown away by its Resplendency!

This Week

Johnny has been sick with a cold, so there haven't been too many interesting things going on, but the little guy is gettting back into most rufus baby mode. He still has that hoarse cry and cough that makes him sound like a whimpering little puppy

Little Squiggy

I swear to God that I didn't do this to his hair. When I was getting ready to put him into some warm jammies, our John's hair had the curl hanging down. I would have called him Supermanesque, but it's far too long. it's more like Andrew J. Squigmann aka Squiggy. I really dated myself with that reference much like my references to Anacin and Beavis and Butthead.

Not a Fan of Grease 2

For some reason, Maureen and I launched into songs from Grease 2 this evening. This is a clip of John's reaction to our rendition of "Who's that Guy?" and "Love Will Turn Back the Hands of Time".

The Truth

On Thanksgiving, I was holding our John and prepping him to leave the Brady residence in order to visit pay a visit to the Lowthers. John's just chatting away making nonsensicle sounds like "bah" "gah" "mah" and "ha". Well, one time he strung together two "mah" sounds to say "MAMA". I wish Maureen had heard it. I tell you he's the wonder child who's already speaking at age 21-weeks. Sure, we can't understand most of what he is saying because he's speaking in tongues. Either that, or he's speaking Esperanto. Anyway, I heard him say "MAMA" and you can't take that away from us.

So You Think John Can Dance?

Is it just me or does our John look like he's launching into The Cabbage Patch?

Really Cool

This has nothing to do with John aside from the fact that the thingees on the float are singing the theme song from The Courtship of Eddie's Father...even that's a stretch since it was a show I watched long ago and I have been known to respond to Eddie; however, Rick Astley popping up out of nowhere really makes this the greatest thing to hit the Macy's parade since Mr. Pitt got the chance to hold one of the ropes on the Underdog balloon on Seinfeld.

Poopie Pooperson

Our dear sweet boy with his freshly washed hair wound up with poop in his hair this afternoon. We were over at the Hasenberg residence for their annual after Thanksgiving open house. The chili was excellent. Anywho, as I'm holding John, I feel several bursts from his rear as he's starting to grunt. I knew full well that he was in the midst of a bowel movement; however, something felt a little different. I was quite hopeful that it was a normal movement, but it was far from it.

As I went to change him, I noticed that his feculence (it is a word. look it up.) had passed over the edge of his diaper and he'd soiled his onesie. I immediately asked Maureen to come help me since I'm useless when it comes to such odd occurrences. I can deal with normal movements, but not this one.

Maureen immediately took charge and removed the onesie. Unfortunately, a bit of his ordure (look it up) got onto his hair. I didn't notice until we took him out to the kitchen and I saw what I thought was dandruff. No, it sure wasn't dandruff. It was dried poop. I had to use soap, water, and a paper towel for a good five minutes before I was satisfied that it was clean.

The moral of the story is to always follow your instinct. I knew that something was wrong and I was tempted to ask Maureen to change him, but no!!!!!!! I decided to be a decent fellow and change the diaper by myself. Next time I get that feeling, I'll be sure to pass him along to Maureen.

At least, John made a good impression on the Brady side of the family. They all seemed to like him. How could they not? He's a precious angel...and, he's going to play the baby Jesus in the school pageant. His cousin, Brady, is going to be one of the shepards. It'll be an all Brady Christmas pageant.

BTW, the photo is post hair cleaning. Do you think I'd show a photo of the golden child with dung in his hair?

Johnny Sings the Classics

After chomping on his finger for a while, John decides to provide lyrics to accompany a few classical compositions.

Target Jammies

Johnny Johnnersson is wearing some PJs we purchased at Target. Guess what size he's wearing? He's wearing 12-month pajamas. What the deuce? Unless he's figured out a way to bend the space time continuum, he's not even 5-months.

Our Boy

His hair is getting quite long. We don't know what to do with it. It's good that he's happy with it right now. I wonder how he's going to deal with his first hair cut. He's still too young to go to Jerry's on Larchmont, but he'll get there soon enough.

The Boy In The Bubble

I laughed when I saw that Maureen had purchased a stroller cover, but I was quite thankful that she did since it actually rained heavily yesterday. According to Maureen, strangers gave many compliments about the cover. I'm just glad he was OK with it. He can be a bit ornery when he's in a new situation.

Johnny Rotten?

Is this a sign of things to come? Sharon says that he has a devilish look in his eyes. I thought that Fr. Nguyen had done an exorcism on the boy before he baptized him last week. Actually, he only gets that way when he gets really hungry. What's the lesson learned? FEED THE BOY ON TIME!!!

Little Man's Growing Up

Look, he can hold his bottle. Soon, he'll be able to make his own bottle.

Johnny On The Road

Last weekend, we had the distinct honor and pleasure to be invited to Little Ann and Thomas' wedding. Since the wedding was at the Ventura Mission, we decided to take a weekend trip out in the area. We stayed at the Embassy Suites at Mandalay Beach. The decor at the hotel could use a bit of an upgrade, but it was nice enough, breakfast was included, and the Manager's Reception in the evening included an open bar from 5:30 to 7:30 (Sorry Marty, you could only get two drinks at a time). If you are looking for a family friendly place on the beach, try the Embassy Suites in Oxnard. Plus, you can stop in and buy some strawberries on your way home from the fruit stands.

Anywho, John was a bit of a terror. He had trouble sleeping in his pack and play, but that's to be expected. The mattress is a bit hard on it Friday night, he woke up every couple of hours. Saturday night was a different matter. He woke up every hour and just wanted to wail and wail as if someone were pinching him. Still, he's our special little guy and we knew what we were getting ourselves into.

So, Saturday started nicely. We went to the Surf Room for some breakfast. It was a nice FULL breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, potatoes, fruit, cereal, and breads. I chawed on my bacon. John enjoyed a nice bottle of fomula. Maureen decided to go get some photos on the beach. All went well when we took photos on the Presidential Lawn as you can see from the photo on the left. As we went to take a walk am Strand, as the Germans would say, our Maureen aka Tumbelina slipped and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, John was in her arms. Fortunately, Maureen's protective instict kicked in and she pulled him into her body and made sure that he wasn't hurt at all. I saw his head come within 3 inches of the pavement, but his mother did a great job. Sadly, Maureen sustained some horrible abrasions on her knee and foot. Consequently, we made the decision to go to the wedding, but the reception would have been too much for her leg to take (sorry Mr. & Mrs. Diaz and the new Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Heaphy for not attending, but the poor woman was limping around like an old man with arthritis (says the 35-year old with arthritis)).

So, it was a bittersweet time, but John did get to wear his Florence Eiseman outfit that Maureen originally purchased for the after party of his baptism, but it was too hot on the 15th. Take a look and enjoy the golden child in his fancy lad clothes. Sunday afternoon, he went to Cousin Adriana's birthday. She says that his special name is Juanito. I always tell her that his name is John, but she says she likes to call him Juanito. How do I tell a 4-year old that she can't call her baby cousin a special name? I can't. I'm a sucker for small kids.

Happy Birthday Cousin Adrianita

John's very happy to wish his cousin a very happy birthday. She had a great birthday party yesterday. John had so much fun.

The End of a Long Weekend

It's been a long weekend and now it'll be the start of a new week. Let's hope things go as well as they did for the baptism. Here are a couple of shots of John unwinding. We're still trying to get his hair clean after the baptism, but it'll take a couple more days before we can stop calling him a Greaser.

By the way, guess who's baptism was the first announcement at the end of mass today? That's right, Fr. Truc congratulated us on John's big day.

The Wit & Wisdom of Matthew David Gonzalez

MD Gonzalez is also known as my Godson. This is a photo from his time of service as a ring bearer at our wedding. He's a little older than this photo, but he looks quite sharp in this photo.

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of being entertained with his charm and style. On the drive over to the luncheon, we had this following exchange:

Ed: Matthew, are you going to have some aye aye aye sauce (his term for hot sauce)?

Matthew: No, I've tried that once and I'm never going to try aye aye aye sauce ever again.

Maureen: But, Matthew, aye aye aye sauce will put hair on your chest.

Matthew: Well, I'm not going to eat any.

Ed: Don't you want hair on your chest.

Matthew: Well, yes, I do want hair on my chest, but I don't want to get it that way.

As if that wasn't enough to entertain, later he gave us these good words after he'd given a piece of cake to someone:

Matthew: I just gave a piece of cake to an elderly person. May I have some?

That boy is going places.

Limbo No More

Yesterday, John was finally baptized. I was very concerned that he'd wind up in Limbo if he were to die unbaptized (catechism will do that to you).
It was a lovely day. John woke up at 6 AM and was ready to go. No amount of hugging or patting his back would get the young lad to go back to sleep. It was as if he knew something big was going to happen. He was just soooooooooooooooooooo excited and happy.



Whilst Maureen and I finalized preparations, he did settle down enough to allow me to step out and buy way too much ice for the reception. If you ever need to buy 20-lbs bags of ice, go to Smart and Final. They open at 7 AM every day of the week. Maureen took care of giving him a bath and washing his hair. We wanted him to look extra special on this big day.

At the Church, we had to dress John in his baptismal gown. DON'T CALL IT A DRESS!! It was a special gown that Grammy Brady picked up in Ireland at the behest of Maureen. It'll be passed on through the generations in the family. One day, his children will be baptized in the gown. Doesn't he look like a little choir boy who sings at Midnight Mass at the Vatican?


For the most part, John was silent during the ceremony. Fr. Truc did a very good job and spoke about love and responsibility. He did something that I don't recall happening at other baptisms (then again, I really haven't been paying attention at other baptisms). He gave John a quick exorcism...Original Sin and all, you know. Then, he went into the Rite of Baptism and did the traditional pouring water on the head. John did not like that. He started to fuss. The only times he gets his hair wet is during tubby time and he likes to get his head massage. After that, he anointed John's head with oil. Now, I thought Fr. Truc would trace the sign of the cross on John's head with the oil...OH NO, HE DUMPED A LITTLE TIN OF OIL ON HIS HEAD (See picture at the end)!!! Our John was actually ok with that. He really didn't cry much aside from getting the water on his head.



The reception at the Brady manse was lovely. It was a hot day, but it wasn't unbearable. Everyone lunched on sandwiches from Larchmont Village Wine, Cheese, and Spirits and pizza from Village Pizzeria (honestly, the pizza was for the kids). We had a lovely cake from Hansen's Bakery. Maureen told them NOT to put the fake Bible or Rosary on the cake, but they didn't listen. Oh well, Life goes on. As for presents, John made out like a bandit. He received several frames, some money for his college fund, and some great books. All in all, I'd have to say it was good day (thanks to Ice Cube for that line).






Now for greasy little John. We call him Ponyboy in this shot. (his hair has been washed since this photo was taken):