Lovely Day

Today was such a lovely day. The sun was up. The sky was blue. Maureen mentioned that she wanted to take John for a walk in the park. I decided to join them. For me, that was quite a feat since I loathe the fresh air. Anywho, we decided to stop into Ralph's to pick up some sandwiches and have a picnic. We were quite pleasantly surprised with the deals at the Ralph's deli. The sandwich combo is $6.99 (big sandwich, chips, and a drink).

So, we walked across the street to the main Park La Brea complex. We call it the right side of the tracks. They have all sorts of things that you won't find on our side of Hauser. We planted ourselves in a patch of grass next to the fountain on Burnside Circle. John wasn't too sure of his surroundings and was a little less than enthusiastic at first. I think he takes after me in that respect. As time moved on, he grew more comfortable with nature and started to enjoy himself.

He had his lunch al fresco. I don't think he quite understood that he was supposed to eat at this time, so he may need to eat outside a few more times before he gets the gist of it. We'll have to do more of it as time goes on and he's able to run around. There's even a bocce ball court. it won't be long before John and I play father/son tournaments against old men since only old men play bocce ball.

John's First First Communion

Actually, it was his third. He attended two last year (1 at St. Patrick's in Carlsbad and 1 at St. Anastasia in Los Angeles), but he was still in Maureen's tummy at the time. Anywho, we had the great privilage to attend the First Communion at St. Brendan's yesterday. I liked the fact that it started on time and ended on time. Too many times, these ceremonies start and end late. I laud the efforts of the staff at St. Brendan's for keeping it on time. And, they didn't make sure that every child was involved in some way. Nothing annoys me more than a religious ceremony where all the kids have to participate. Back in my day, two kids did the readings, two kids did the petitions, and two kids took up the gifts.

We'll see if I have the same thing to say about St. Anastasia's ceremony next week. I already have one thing against the St. A's ceremony. They refer to it as a "First Eucharist". Maureen and I had a bit of an arguement about that yesterday. She doesn't know why, but she posited that it may be more liturgically correct to call it a "First Eucharist." I don't know about you, but I like to call it First Communion since that is what it is.

By the way, he didn't attend the ceremony in his jammies and try to eat his feet. Bonehead that I am, I didn't get any shots of him in his outfit. It was a navy blue Ralph Lauren polo shirt, a nice set of white pants, and matching white shoes. He looked like he belonged at the yacht club.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Everyone's favorite 9-month old baby boy, John Dockweiler Gonzalez, has just had his first chicken dinner. It was a nice puree of sweet potatoes and chicken. Maureen slaved with the Magic Bullet to create this delightful feast (just kidding...Earth's Best makes a lovely line of meals). As you can see, he actually likes this slurry that we feed him. All I can say is thank God for that.

If you pay attention at about 35-seconds, you get a glimpse of his million dollar smile! I hope it doesn't cost too much 14-years from now to maintain those pearly whites.

The Clapper

John has just started clapping this past week. He just sits there and starts to applaud. He still doesn't quite have the proper form, but he can learn that over time.

Bath Troubles

As previously noted, John isn't crazy about getting his hair washed. He doesn't like the rinsing portion of the washing. Our good friends at Sassy have come up with a great solution: Bath visors. I must say John looks quite smashing in his visor. He doesn't seem to happy, but then again, he is my son and does have my scowl.

On A Really Serious Note

My friend, Alexis, went back in for some more surgery. It looks like things are going ok, but please remember to keep her in your prayers.

Happy Easter Vol. 2

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny stopped by today and dropped off a nice basket for our John. That was so nice and thoughtful. John loved all the gifts, but he especially like the light up Easter egg. It can keeps him entranced for hours upon end. He also appreciated the books. John is a scholar and just loves to read (Actually, he likes to listen. He's all that and a bag of chips, but he's still just a baby and can't read.).

Happy Birthday Grammy

It's Grammy's birthday.

Big Day Today

John had two firsts today:




1. He used his big boy stroller for the first time today

2. He sat in the big boy high chair at Maggiano's

Our Little Man is growing up!! As you know, he's quite good at driving his big red car. I hope he's better at taking driving lessons than I was. Papi tried to teach me, but we were yelling at each other two blocks away from the house, so it was up to Mami to teach me. I won't be able to teach John how to drive in the back parking lot of the Granada Hills JC Penney since it no longer exists.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car

Our John enjoys driving around in his car. While I may have used the title of one of their songs, John will never get to watch The Wiggles. Honestly, they aren't the real Wiggles ever since the Yellow one changed. Yes, Greg did have health problems, but it's just not the same. It's like the time Charlie replaced Joe on Blues Clues. It just didn't work. Besides, watching The Wiggles now would be like watching Van Halen with the guy from Extreme as the lead singer or watching Kajagoogoo without Limahl.

On This Solemn Day

John wishes everyone a very happy Good Friday...if one can wish that. As you can see by the book for which he is reaching, he's asking for a Call to Faith. One day, this boy will be a Knight of St. Gregory much like his Great, Great Grandfather, Isidore.

Our Little Mathematician

Maureen says that I'm a nerd because I liked playing with an abacus as a child. It seems my boy shares my enthusiasm for the abacus. This is what Jake called, "My Favorite Toy."

Under the Sea

John was invited to a birthday party at Under the Sea this weekend. For those of you who don't know what it is, you are quite lucky. Bascially, it's an indoor playground with all sorts of toys and structures where little children can romp around and have fun. Sure, it's great for children. They love running around and frolicking; however, it's a different matter for parents.

The worst part is the music. They blare all the Kidz Bop/Disney/Nickelodeon children's music cds. There was a great sequence when Dora the Explorer, Boots the Monkey, and Backpack were singing Gloria Estefan music. As one who loathes the music of Gloria Estefan, I can say it was as close to torture as I'll ever get. I think I'd rather watch the The Majestic on an endless loop...few probably understand why, but those who sat through it with me with know.

As always, John was too cool for school. He just wanted to hang out and chill out. He wasn't into all the skylarking and frolicking that was going on around him. He just wanted to go home to play with his red sportscar (we'll post video and images later). He did get to hang out with his friend's Alyssa and Jake, the birthday boy. Jake was even kind enough to share his favorite toy with John when we stopped by his house to watch him open gifts.

Bath Time Update

From the look on this photo, you can see that our John doesn't like taking a bath anymore. I think he's having trouble adjusting to his new tub. In the old tub, he used to just lounge around and have a grand old time. In the new tub, he has to sit up and I don't think he likes putting forth the effort. He's used to his nice spa experience; however, he needs to get used to the harsh reality of the tub. It's a lesson to be learned, but I'm sure he'll adjust.

If he doesn't, I suppose he could be like a hesher. They always try to cover up their body odor and cigarette smell by placing copious amounts of cologne on their body. It never really works for them since they really, really really smell. It might for our John since he doesn't smoke and he doesn't exactly roll around it dirt and filth.

The Two Faces of JD

These two photos were literally taken within 30-seconds of each other. I like to think it shows John's versatility at fashion shoots. He knows how to give good face. He really took to heart the lessons that Mr. J and Beth Stern gave to the wannabe models on ANTM! Either that, or in the upper photo, he is emulating his mothers normal look and on the bottom photo he's trying to scowl like his father.

Look at those eyelashes. I'm told that comes from the Camara side of the family.