New Sleeping Position

One would think that lying on your back is the most comfortable sleeping position. I don't think John subscribes to that point of view. This is what he looks like in the mornings.

Drinking Like A Big Boy

For the last month or so, John has been experimenting with drinking water from a regular glass. We'll give him a clear plastic glass and he calls them his "special" glass. He's really good about drinking it with two hands. He does tend to freak out if he spills a bit. It's the OCD part of him. Maureen and I have to tell him that it's alright because we all spill. What a little perfectionist!!

Little Plants Growing

John is very excited to share this photo. A couple of weeks ago, we planted two little planters that we picked up at the Target Dollar Spot. Not expecting much for a dollar, we were pleasantly surprised. We're not sure if these are the tiny roses or the forget me nots, but they are growing!

A Future in Banking

Our John enjoys putting coins in his piggy banks. Yes, he has two. Anyway, the other night, we spent some quality time together putting quarters in his piggies. The lady at the bank couldn't remember the last time someone asked for several rolls of quarters.

BTW, if anyone knows of any cool piggy banks, we are looking for one for Nicholas. The poor little guy doesn't have a piggy bank just yet.

Last Monday, Maureen took the boys over to The Grove to meet up with the Lopez Ohana on MLK day. Don't get me started on MLK and plagiarism. Unfortunately, Matt and Mateo could not attend since the latter was ill, but the Gonzalez Family was able to have some fun, ride the up and downs, and have a yummy lunch at Woodranch Grill with Dana and Dylan.

I was quite jealous when I heard where they went. I just love the burger at Woodranch. It's so tasty and filling. If I have it for lunch, I don't need to eat dinner. Nicholas had the ever yummy Mac and Cheese while John had the chicken strips. Of the two, I think I'd have to go with the Mac and Cheese because it is DANG good. There's some sort of crack like quality to it.

Pizza Man, He Delivers

Tonight, we decided to make some homemade pizza for dinner with ingredients that I picked up at Trader Joe's. Not knowing how it would turn out, I was hoping that it would be edible. Fortunately, it worked out quite nicely.

As usual, my sous chef was ready to guide me with orders. While eating a cookie, he told me how much sauce and cheese to add to the dough. After we put the pizza in the oven, he decided to run around, drink some water, and exclaim "MMMM, Water!" over and over.

After about 20-minutes, I pulled the pizza from the oven and cut it up for the boss. Thankfully, it was quite tasty. The garlic and herb crust added a nice zest to the pizza. The sauce was rather bland and I learned that we should use shredded cheese if we try it again. Overall, I'd say it wasn't up to Village Pizzeria quality, but I would put it above other delivery pizzas. John ate about 3/4 of his pizza, so that made me happy. Nicholas tried a little piece, but he didn't really give any indication if he liked it or not. He just eats anything you give him.

For the record, I used provolone and mozzarella on the pizza.

Too Much Information, But Funny

First of all, I found this great picture of John. It was taken before he got his hair buzzed, but I thought I'd post it because Maureen and Grammy do so love him with longer hair.

Anywho, John has taken to letting us know when he is having a bowel movement lately. He'll come up to us and say, "I'm having poopings. I have brown balls in my poopings." Thanks for being so entertaining little man.

Fun with Flowers

John and I purchased some little flower pots at the Dollar Spot at Target. We got some roses and some forget me nots. If they are anything like the Santa and Frosty planters, we'll get some good flowers pretty quickly. Some of you may be the ricpients of said flowers if you are nice to Johnny.

This Morning

We usually go to Mass at 10 AM. Around 8, I asked John, "Do you want to go to Church?" He said, "I want to go to Mama's Work Church for donuts." They serve donuts after mass in the Diamond Courtyard, so we headed out to The Chester for Mass. We ran into a few of Maureen's students and had a pleasant chat with Monsignor Vadikan. Of course, John had his donuts. It's a pretty good deal for him if he can sit through a one hour Mass.

After that, he decided we were going to go to lunch and look at the boats. At first, we said no because we thought Nicholas needed a nap; however, we soon learned that Nicholas had just received his second wind. Normally, we'd go to Tony P's, but we decided to look for an alternate option. John was very concerned when we didn't turn into the parking lot like always. He kept on saying that we needed to go back.

Eventually, we wound up at Fisherman's Village at El Torito. It's right on the water. We had a great view of the Marina. John could see the big boats going to and fro. Plus, they had his favorite meal on the children's menu: Pizza and French Fries. He did quite well and got to enjoy some chips and green dip dip aka guacamole. As a side note, my fajitas weren't that bad. Maureen wasn't a fan of her tacos, but Nicholas LOVED his mac and cheese!!! I have some good shots of him and his meal on his blog.

As if that weren't enough, we took a walk along the bay to look at the boats. All that excitement didn't wear him down. He took a 20-minute nap in the car and was ready to go once we got home. Oh well, maybe he'll sleep through the night tonight.

Dinner at Fiddler's

Last night, we went to the one restaurant where we know that John can run around if he is so inclined. They love him there. Our server, Joey, has the patience of a saint. Every time that he walked by, John would say, "Hi Joey!". If Joey went to another table, Little Lord Flauntleroy would ask, "Where's Joey?" Still, John does love the food there and all the staff likes him. He's quite charming in that way.

Park Fun

Our John loves the park. He had the chance to go to the park this afternoon with Nicholas and Maureen. Daddy had to stay home to do jurisdictions. Anywho, Maureen was kind enough to get some good video of John playing. For a while, it looks like he's quite the soccer player and that he might be our meal ticket with his skills; however, I just don't think that'll be the case. Oh well, I suppose it's ok for him to goof off. He's just 2.5 as Maureen keeps on reminding me.

Blue Car

Our John loves blue cars. He turns into Rain Man whenever he sees a car that's blue. He just keeps on saying, "There's a blue car. There's a blue car. There's a blue car." If he doesn't see a blue car, he says, "Where's the blue car?" When he's feeling up to it, he'll use an adjective such as light or big to describe the blue car. He's smart like that.

Johnny's Graduation

For the last six months or so, John has been going to Occupational Therapy. Maureen thought he had some sensory processing disorder. I thought he was just a two year old boy who didn't like to wash his hair. Thankfully, neither was really true; however, he really did benefit from his sessions of OT. I was very skeptical at first because I didn't think he had any problems; however, I did see a marked change in his behavior and approach to things once he started going. Thanks to his therapist, Jessica, for putting up with Johnny Diva. As a treat for his graduation, I purchased a pop-up play tent for John. Look at the video to see if he likes it.

Cranky at the Docks

For Christmas, Mami and Papi gave John a Cranky at the Docks set. It came with Cranky the Crane and Salty the train. He has already misplaced Salty, but he loves to play with Thomas, Percy, and Mighty Mac. He likes to connect his play sets together. As a matter of fact, he gets very upset if they aren't attached. He's a bit of a diva in that way.

Brotherly Love

Even though he doesn't like to share with Nicholas, John really does love his little brother. He loves to rough house with him. He loves it whenever Nicholas plays "steamroller" over him. At times, Nicholas will have John pinned down to the carpet and I'll count to three. These are just some of the joys of having two rambunctious boys.

Someone Just Got His Big Boy Bed

We were ever so pleased that he took "little bit nap" in his bed. I don't think he quite understands that the bed gives him more freedom than the crib. Let's hope he doesn't figure that one out anytime soon.

Fun with a Pop Up Hamper

When I bought this hamper for $0.50 at Rite Aid, I thought that I was getting a deal; however, it was too small and had no side pockets. Instead, we've turned it into a fun tunnel for Johnny. He can spend hours in the hamper. My personal favorite part of this video is at 14 or 15 seconds when he says, "I'm ok.", after falling down.

Religious Johnny

John "enjoys" going to Church. He always tells us he wants to go to church to see Fr. Truc, so we take him. Most days, he just wants to walk to the gas station at the corner to buy a bottle of water or chocolate milk and walk up the stairs to the choir loft. He's not much for the actual mass, but he does want to go. That should make both of his grandmothers very happy.

JDG, The Naturalist

For quite some time, our John has enjoyed running around in his birthday suit. He just loves to take off running when we are changing his diaper or getting him ready for a bath. If he becomes a naturalist, I hope he remembers to bathe. It's one thing to run around naked, but it's another to smell whilst running around naked.