Friday at Dinosaur Park

Friday afternoon, we had to drive back out to the Gaunt residence. Why? We'd forgotten our camera. On the drive home, Maureen mentioned that it might be a good time to visit "Dinosaur Park" aka Alendale Circle. It's one of the parks on the right side of the tracks at Park La Brea. It was a pretty good time to get there because there weren't many people at the park. There was a Korean group that was wrapping up a picnic with pizza (good choice on their part) and two young teens who seemed to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

When John gets to a park, he likes to survey the area by taking a nice stroll around the perimeter. This trip was no different. At one point, he stretched out his hand to hold mine in addition to Maureen's. I would have allowed my photo to have been taken for that one. We had to move out of the way for a little girl who was riding her bike with her two moms.

John even went up to the "dinosaur bones". He didn't quite go into the bones and play through them; however, he did interact with them as you can see from the video below. As Maureen would say, "Who needs Disneyland when we have Dinosaur Park?"

Sadly, John was considerably upset when we had to leave. He never wants to leave the park, but he did calm down when we started playing Fur Elise. Thank God for Beethoven. Tune in tomorrow for the Thanksgiving update. There are some fun shots of Buckaroo John at the Gaunt Ranch.

The Lord of the Dance

As we were enjoying the grounds at the Gaunt residence, we stumbled across the Jacuzzi. Now, everyone who ever saw "Buscando Amor" the Spanish language version of "Blind Date" knows that every date winds up in a Jacuzzi at the Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City, but let me get back to the story.

John was walking on top of the Jacuzzi whe he decided to do his Lord of the Dance. Now, I don't know if he learned Irish step dancing from that episode of Sesame Street where Murray and Obejita go to Irish dancing school, but he sure does a great job.



Watch out Michael Flatley. The little Cuban dancing shoes (only Maureen and Steve Jones will get the reference to Michael Flatley and his little Cuban dancing shoes, so ask her if you'd like. I don't think you'd have much luck with Jonesy. He has quite the accent. I do miss Jonesy's Juke Box. It was the best show on the radio.) have been thrown down and the challenge is out there.

Speed Racer

Grandpa Dick would be so pleased his little Speed Demon has taken after him in his love of hot rods. JD even has his own firev suit thanks to Grammy Brady.

The Ability to Overcome Great Fear

In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!

Morning's Here

When he was younger, we used to sing the "Morning's Here" song. It's been a while since we have sung it to him, but look at this. He's singing it to us. He doesn't quite have the tune of Chuck Mangione's "Feel's So Good", but it's close enough for government work! Some may think he is singing "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens, but I can assure you that he doesn't know that one. The only Cat Stevens he knows is "Father & Son".

In case you don't remember the "Morning's Here" song. Take a look at the video below. Is there a better way to wake up than hearing this?

Happy Birthday Cuzzy Wuzzy

Today, John had the great fortune to attend his cousin Adriana's birthday. Her actual birthday isn't until Tuesday, but the party was today. John was quite pleased to be running around with all the little kids in attendance. Plus he got to see Grammy Brady on the weekend. His cousin was so nice to him. When one of the kids wouldn't let John into the playhouse, she said, "Let him in. He's my cousin!" She's very protective of John.

We had to leave early because John was tired and ready for a nap. Oh well, he still enjoyed his time at the party. Below, you can see a picture of the birthday girl with her dad aka Uncle Rick Brady. He's the proprietor of the garage bar. His middle name is the same as John's middle name.

Fresh Haircut

Our John had a haircut yesterday. If you were to ask me, it's not cut short enough. Maureen wants to keep some bangs. I want it super short like a little boy's hair should be. He threw quite the fit at The Yellow Balloon. Let me tell you, it was quite embarassing. He thrashed so much that he got a little nick on his ear. He's nowhere near ready where he needs to be in order to visit Jerry the Barber.

One Last Video for Tonight

Last weekend, we took a trip to Target. Whilst going through the book aisles, we stumbled across the Christmas books. Sure enough, he picked the expensive one that lights up and plays Silent Night. Look at the sheer delight on Our John's face as he enjoys his book. I think he just remembers his first starring role last year and his solid debut!

Slam Dancer

Our boy takes after his Grandpa Dick Brady. This boy is born to dance. He just started to go crazy during the opening credits to Wow Wow Wubzy. I'd say that he would certainly win the Degrassi Jr. High Crazy Dance Competition with this one. It's almost as good as The Gorilla or The Sprinkler.

Future Customer of Golden Apple

As some of you know, this writer has a bit of a jonez for comic books. I stop by Golden Apple to pick up my books on a weekly basis. Once in a while, I'll take Our John with me. He's always quite a hit. Mrs. Liebowitz loves to see him because he's so well behaved and doesn't just grab things.

Anywho, I have a shelf where I have my hard cover collections. Little Man Jones had stayed away from it until this week. The interesting fact of the timing of this discovery of my books is that I just picked up a hard bound comic book for him. It's a collection of early Casper the Friendly Ghost books. I was quite happy to give it space with my books. I can't wait to read it to John.

John and His Teeth

In earlier posts, I mentioned that John really didn't like to brush his teeth. Look at our little champ. He even likes to brush mine. I like to think that he understands the importance of good dental hygiene; however, I know for a fact he likes the taste of the Little Bear tooth paste.

The Funniest Thing Ever

Take a look at this photo. This is John's reaction to a story Maureen told us. As our loyal readers know, JD was the Baby Jesus in a Christmas show last year. Her boss, aka Grandma Rose, floated the idea of having Nicholas be the Baby Jesus this year. Immediately, she shot down the idea because there is no way on God's green earth that we are going to expose him to an auditorium full of kids.

Also, John has a favorite new game. We call it, Tickle Me. The basic rules are that you tickle him and he just laughs and laughs. If you stop tickling him, he gets upset and grabs your hand to start tickling him again. He's a boy that knows what he likes. Sorry Uncle Rick Upshaw, he hasn't quite gotten into viewing the Elvis movie, Tickle Me. Give me time. I'll bring him up to speed with movies like Viva Las Vegas, Blue Hawaii, Girl Happy, It Happened at the World's Fair, and my personal favorite, A Change of Habit.

It's Already Started

It seems that John has skipped the terrible two's and gone straight to puberty. As you can see in this clip, John has decided that it's time to be left alone, slams the door, and has a conversation with Maureen through the door. We can take heart that the conversation didn't seem to be too heated, but it is a sign of things to come.

Dr. K's Worst Nightmare Revisited

As you may know, John's pediatrician, Dr. K, is quite a saint and very safety conscious. If he were to see a photo like this, he'd call Uncle Albert and have DCFS take John away from us. Just so you know, that's our grocery cart and it usually carries groceries that weigh quite a bit more than our little skinny minnie.

John's Favorite New Game

Even though he has never read the book Hop on Pop, our John seems to really take it to heart. He gets very upset at times and physically pushes me down. He's a little bit of a pipsqueak, but he is quite a powerhouse. Don't mess with him.

I Swore He'd Never Know Who They Were

Follow this link and you'll see that John has joined The Wiggles.

http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/the-wiggles/sproutlet-wiggles-game.aspx?gid=18457&CMP=wgemail

Happy Birthday Uncle Robert

John sends his Uncle Robert a very big birthday greeting. He celebrated by playing with the rain stick that Uncle Robert, Aunt Lisa, Cousin Samantha, and Cousin Matthew gave him for his birthday.

Daddy's Little Sidekick

Take a look at his jammies. He's getting ready to be a superhero as Daddy's Little Sidekick. One day, I'll take him to Golden Apple and see what the clerks think about him.

Does This Look Like a Cranky Crankster to You?

As I was driving home, Maureen left me a message on my mobile phone. She stated that our John was a bit cranky and that I shouldn't take it personally if he doesn't seem happy to see me. I didn't get his message until I got home for two reasons: 1. It's against the law in California to talk on your mobile phone while driving; and, 2. It's against Shell's Life Saving Rules to use your phone while driving. That's enough of my being a Cautious Claude and safety talk.

So, I get home to find John and Maureen in his room. He's in good spirits and playing with his blocks. Take a look at this video. Does this seem like a cranky boy? I think Maureen's confabulating again.

Our Little Soloist

For some time, our John has been gifting us with the voice of his song. On car trips, he likes to duet on the "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" or "owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" songs. I have been trying to document is great talents since early on; however, I have been unsuccessful until today. He let his guard down as he was coloring with crayons. If you look in the back, you'll see a puppy stuffed animal that Mrs. Schmidt gave to John (thank you Mrs. Schmidt).

Grandpa thinks he's going to be some sort of opera singer. I think he'll be headed to the Great White Way to star in a revival of The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, or Jesus Christ Superstar. Mom and Dad have been playing that music for John since he was a wee little tadpole in Maureen's belly.

An Artist?

At his last check up, Dr. K asked if John was able to scribble with a crayon. We were a bit embarassed to say that we hadn't tried. So, we picked up some crayons and gave them to him. At first, he didn't quite get the idea behind scribbling. Maureen had to do it over and over before he'd even touch the crayon.

These days, he's doing better with the crayons. I don't think he has the patience for drawing and art. He's a bit kinetic and can't be contained. Plus, with the way he likes to build and stack things, I fear he may have a bit of OCD going on.

Birthday Party

-This afternoon, we had the good fortune to go to birthday party. John was in fine spirits as he went to his first miniature golf course and arcade. He didn't exactly get the hang of Skee Ball, but he gave it a good try as you can see. He got to see his Filipino "Lolas and Lolos" that he gets to see a few times per year, so it was an extra special occasion.

When we got to the party, John immediately wanted to take a look around the property. He proceeded to walk up a couple of the greens with his buddy, Sebastian. They found a couple of ducks in the pond. John, as you may know, likes to say either duck or quack (we can't tell). In any event, he just wanted to walk around and follow Sebastian.

The birthday girl, Alexis, looked very cute in her Belle dress. Her daddy told us that she wanted a Tiana doll. That's the doll from the Princess and the Frog. I don't know if she got her wish. We had to leave early because Little Mr. Jones was getting tired and his clock was a little off due to Daylight Savings.

I'd have to say it was a great day. It was a super way to spend some time together. We had a great day, the very best day, and nothing could be better!

Happy Halloween

We had the great pleasure of going trick or treating with the Wiseman's. John had a great time with his friends, Jake and Alyssa. They just swarmed all over him and loved to help him as much as they could. They even helped change his diaper. John's lucky to have friends like that. As you can see from the photo, they even wanted to hold his hands as they walked down the street. We had to pass on that offer because our John would have been running around like a wild child. He got to take it easy in the stroller. On a side note, we somehow wound up trick or treating with the guy who plays Naomi's father on 90210 for about 5 houses. That was completely random.


Trick or treating in The Chester was quite interesting. Things really haven't changed since I last trick or treated in 1986. My one complaint is that some of the girls out there have very skimpy outfits. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I miss seeing the Holly Hobbies and Raggedy Anns out there.


The best part of last night was watching Jake and Alyssa go up to the doors and get their candy. Alyssa was a little quicker and she'd ring the doorbell first. When Jake would get up to the door, he'd also ring the doorbell. He'd even start looking in the mail slot if people wouldn't answer the door. That boy's got chutzpah!


We give our special thanks to the Yang, Klein, and Wiseman families for their great hospitality. Thank you all.

Trapped in the Closet

John enjoys playing this great new game. We discovered this one when daddy and he stayed home last Tuesday due to his stomach problems. We can do this for hours on end. Who knew opening the closet and screaming was so much fun? As mommy would say, "Who needs Disneyland when we have the closet?"

Two minutes after this was shot, John learned an important lesson: Always make sure your fingers are clear before you close the door. We'll see if that sticks.

Happy Birthday Greetings

John would like to wish cousin Alexis a very happy birthday. No, he won't sing November Spawned a Monster to you when he's older. He's not mean spirited, unlike his father.

John would like to wish Candace and Robby very happy birthdays. He would have done it yesterday, on the actual birthdays, but dunderhead daddy ran out of time.