Not The Best Use of a Bottle of Smartwater

Last week, we went to a cafe. There was a huge lawn and fountain next to it. Guess who was in heaven? Normally, I'd be upset at wasting bottled water that I had to pay for; however, he had fun.

Baby Jail

Some of you may know that a pack and play is also known as Baby Jail in the Gonzalez household. Jimmy Savatgy and Dillon Lowther dubbed it as such and we've carried it on. Anywho, Nicholas sleeps in Baby Jail and he's fine with it. John hadn't expressed an interest in it until the other day when I put him in it. Once in there, he didn't want to get out. I had to put him in 3 times before I put Nicholas in there to wail. John doesn't like loud sounds, so that scared him off.

Fridge Talk

Methinks he may have a bit of OCD going. He needs to play with the yogurt every time the refrigerator is opened.

Fun With Forks

For a while, we've been trying to get John to use his fork to eat. It's great that he can eat with his hands, but we also want him to know that one needs to use utensils to eat. So, I go away for a business trip and guess who decides to use his fork to eat. It never fails. He'll probably say his first curse word when I'm not around. That might not be such a bad thing afterall.

Life Lessons with Johnny

John loves to spend time with his grandparents, Mami and Papi, and his cousin Anamargarita, aka Ana. The other day, John just started saying, "No, no Ana. No Ana!" We asked him why and he said that Mami and Papi say it to her. We asked if they said it to him and he said, "Yes."

July 7, 2010

This is the last post regarding what seems to be John's NEVERENDING 2nd Birthday Celebration. Anywho, I have encapsulated John's very special 2nd Birthday in a 3-minute video that shows off his prized possession, his train table, his visit to the book store, a visit to 31 Flavors, and finally his homemade birthday cake that Maureen made from scratch.

I was only there for dinner, ice cream and cake. I had the fine pleasure of driving around Compton and checking out convenience stores for Minute Maid Juices To Go. It's a tough job, but someboy's got to do it!

John's Summer Fun Birthday Party

Last Sunday, we had John's family and friends over to Grammy Brady's house for a Fun in the Sun Party. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the theme at first, but it turned out really well. Mother Nature even cooperated by giving us the right weather. We'd been having some dreadful weather lately with overcast days and very little sun. For a while, it looked like we were going to have a Fun Under the Clouds Party, but that didn't come to pass.

As always, Maureen was very well prepared. The cake was from Hansen's, of course. We've already discussed how we loathe Porto's Bakery. We served sandwiches and pizza from John's favorite, Village Pizzeria. He even had apricots, but he wasn't a fan of the watermelon. Why? I don't know. Watermelon is just like biting into really tasty water.

At first, John was a little overwhelmed when he saw everyone at the party. As he got used to the crowds, he calmed down and was able to party like a rock star. He splashed in the wading pool. He ran around screaming. He ate pizza and cake. What more did he need? Well, his pants did fall down for no reason at all, but that's ok. It was his day. He was so excited that he didn't even open his gifts until the next day. He was so loopy and tired that we went home. He really loved all his gifts (trains, clothes, and books). Nicholas even gave him a "Birthday Thomas" set and some Thomas Board Books.

Birthday Party

It's a little late, so I'll post more photos and video tomorrow. Here's a shot of the birthday boy to provide you a little tease.

Pants on the Ground

Pants on the Ground
Pants on the Ground
You're looking like a Fool
With your pants on the Ground

I don't know how he accomplished it, but he sure dropped his trousers without the use of his hands. Mind you, this was at the end of his birthday party and he was a little loopy because he was way past his bedtime. I can't wait to show this video to his future wife in 30 years.

The Train Table

Guess who really loved his birthday gift? Yes, JD loves his train table. All he wanted to do was play trains. His first thought after waking up from his nap is usually, "Fountain." Today, it was "Trains!"

Johnny's Birthday

We gave John his train table this morning. He was ever so excited to see it. All he wanted to do was play with it. I'm surprised he wanted to go out and ride on the up and down at The Grove. After his nap this afternoon, his first thought was his train table. I think we hit a home run on the gift.

When I got home, we went to dinner at John's favorite pizzeria, Village Pizzeria. No, that isn't a fine Coca-Cola product he's drinking. It's milk. I suggested we go home for cake afterward; however, John had different ideas. He wanted to go get some ice cream. Since it is his birthday, we acquiesced and he had some vanilla ice cream. It was a little different than last year. He really liked it and got into it.

When we finally made it home, we had his cake that Maureen made from scratch. John really enjoyed it and said, "Yum! Yum!"

Guess Who's Going to Wake Up To These Surprises

Yes, tomorrow is John's 2nd birthday. As a special treat, Maureen baked him a great chocolate cake. He just loves chocolate cake. Really, he loves any type of cake or ice cream. He just likes to say "chocklick" the most.

To top it off, he'll wake up to his new train table. I hope he gives an enthusiastic "WOW!!" or "It's Cool!" when he sees it.

Johnny Year 2

I think only his mother, grandparents, and me are going to make it through the clips, but if you think you have the great intestinal fortitude of a mid-eighties WWF wrestler, have a look. Each clip is about 10-minutes long.

Part One:




Part Two:



I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

Brotherly Fun

As you know, our John loves his little brother. Watch as he lovingly pushes him along.

John Knows Who Pays Daddy's Paycheck

Earlier this year, John was rather partial to Fiji drinking water. I think he just liked the little bottles. Anyway, he'd always reach for the Fiji when we'd go grocery shopping. Now that daddy works for Coca-Cola North America, that's not really a great option. I have taught John the great joys of Dasani. He loves it so much that he needs to drink it with multiple straws.

The Music of Raffi

At first, both Maureen and I were a little freaked out that John liked the music of Raffi, but as we listened, we realized that many of Raffi's songs are old children's classics. Sure, he sings annoying songs like Baby Beluga, but he also sings traditional childrens songs like, Baa Baa Black Sheep. That is one of John's favorites. He always says, "Again." when it is over, but he says it with such joy in his heart that we can't resist.

Hipster Dinner

Since John is quite the hipster, we decided to take him to Umami Burger for dinner on Friday evening. At first, we didn't know if it would be kid friendly, but we decided to take a chance. We visited the location on La Brea. It's small, but they carved out a nice space for us.

The best part of the experience, aside from the food, was that they had a paper table cover. We knew that'd be great for John's artistic expressions. Maureen, being the good mother, is always prepared with crayons for such event. He particularly likes the blue crayons. He actually walks around our apartment with 3 or 4 blue crayons and leaves them in random places.

Our server was a pleasant young man with a few tattoos and an interesting hairstyle. John seemed to like him and the server was kind enough to play "boop" with him. What's "Boop", you say? It's a game where wour server would touch the tip of John's nose with his finger and say, "BOOP!". John loved it and our server was kind enough to keep John entertained in that manner.

As for the food, I'd say it was ok. I had the Umami Burger plain. It was slightly undercooked, but it was good. I'd order it again. Maureen had the California burger well done. Maureen and John both liked it. John really liked his fries though. I think that's his favorite food. The funny thing is that John doesn't call them fries. He calls them pizza.

If you go to Umami Burger early enough, it's ok for kids. If you go after 5 PM, I'd say keep the kids at home. John and Nicholas were both on their best behavior and John had a grand old time writing on the paper. He knows that he's only allowed to write on paper although a few yellow crayon marks on his bedroom wall may tell you otherwise. Look at his grip on the crayon. Maureen says that some of her kindergarteners cannot grip crayons as well as our wunderkind!!

The Boy Is Back in Town

Goodtime Johnny has returned. It's so pleasing to see that he's feeling much better. He's eating and drinking regularly again. His BM schedule is back to normal. He's singing and dancing again. All in all, it was a rough couple of days to see him lying around and whimpering, but our boy is back and delightful as ever. We decided to go to Bob's for donuts yesterday to have a fun breakfast. Plus, we got to visit the fountain, so it was "win-win" for everyone involved.