Thankfully

It wasn't an appendicitis.  He just had an ear infection.  Still, it was quite disconcerting to hear the possibility of the appendicitis.  He's almost back to his usual self.  We had a lovely breakfast at Fiddler's Bistro this morning, so we are pretty much back to normal.

Sadly, Nicholas decided that today was the time to take a bite out of John's arm.  He didn't draw any blood, but his sharp little teeth left a great mark.

Rough Couple of Nights

John isn't feeling to well right now.  He has a stomach flu virus.  At least, we hope that's what it is.  Dr. K said that was the most likely cause for his feverish behavior, but he did say there was an outside chance it was an appendicitis.  Let's hope it's only the flu.

Visit to the CoinStar Machine

Back in November, we paid our first visit to the CoinStar Machine at Ralph's.   John loved it and wanted to play with it some more.  We found some coins in bags a couple of weeks ago and decided to take it to the CoinStar machine.  John decided that he'd handle the transaction and placed the coins on the tray and fed the machine.  Since it was his show, we decided that he could use that money to buy ice cream and a Scooby Doo magazine on Larchmont.  John netted $22.22, but we still haven't picked up the ice cream or magazine.  That'll have to wait until the weekend.

Dancing King

On Nicholas' blog, I mentioned that he loves eating bread like his grandfather and me.  John's also a chip off the old block because he loves to dance like his other grandfather and his mother.  I'm told Grandpa Dick was quite the dancer at Uncle Rick's or Maureen's parties back in the day.  Maureen just LOVES to dance.  So naturally, one of the boys would be a dancing fiend.  It's our John.  I'll post a video of all his latest dance moves in a couple of days.  I need to go through a bunch of videos to find his best moves.

Yummy Shake Milks

John has taken a liking to strawberry smoothies.  He loves to make them at home.  Recently, I introduced him to real ice cream milk shake aka shake milks, in John-speak.  Sunday, we did some shopping at the Beverly connection and John asked to go to Johnny's Rockets aka Johnny Rockets for shake milks and hamburgers.  Since he asked so nicely and had been quite good at Old Navy, we acquiesced.  Honestly, the boys have me wrapped around their finger, so they get most of the things they want. Fortunately, it's things like donuts at Bob's or a trip to the fountains.

Anyway, we had a lovely meal and John and I enjoyed our shake milks.  When the bill arrived, I was surprised by the bill for two adults and two toddlers.  It was $51 without tip.  What the deuce?  When did bad hamburgers and decent milk shakes turn into a $50 meal?

The Birthday Party, Sort of

Birthday at The Grove

Someone enjoyed his day at The Grove and The Original Farmer's Market last week. I wonder who?

A Trip to Petco to Pick Up My Fish

This was John's birthday present from Maureen and me.  He seems to like Blue.  We'll see how long that lasts or if Nicholas accidentally kills him.

Shelby's A Saint

She watched Scooby Doo with John on his birthday.  I'm sure she would much rather have been doing anything else, but she was a real trouper and hung out with the birthday boy.

Guess Who Was A Grumpy Gus at His Birthday Party?

After weeks of planning and days of preparing, the birthday party was finally upon us.  For weeks, John kept on asking, "Is it time for my birthday party?"  What happens on the date of the party?  John decides to be anti-social and scream while his guests are arriving.  He basically spent most of the party inside before he finally decided to join the party and have fun in the "bouncing" aka the jumper.

On a side note, Daddy flipped out a bit when John screamed and cried during the cake.  He just couldn't take it anymore and took a walk to the front yard.  It was quiet there and he could bet a rest from the noise.  It's good to take a walk sometimes.

I know I said he wouldn't have another birthday party, but that's not going to be the case.  He's just a little boy who gets overwhelmed when he sees too many different faces.  Once he had time to adjust, he was ok.

Happy Birthday John

Starbucks or Coffee Bean

John enjoys going to coffee shops.  He even knows that Starbucks has green straws and Coffee Bean has purple straws.  For the record,he likes the purple straw store.  It seems that Maureen is trying to teach him how to be a barrista.  I think he's off to a fine start.

Saturday on Larchmont

Before this gets any further, no we didn't eat at Village Pizzeria.  We headed to Larchmont to drop off some old baby clothes for donation and to pick up some smoothies at Jamba Juice.  John is quite the connoisseur of good fruit smoothies.  He's a berry man and loves the Strawberry Blast at Jamba Juice.  We stopped and sat for a while and took some good shots of an introspective boy and his beverage.

Grocery Shopping

Saturday afternoon, we stopped in at Ralph's to get some groceries. John likes to go to this particular shop because we get to ride an elevator. Another bonus to our trip is that they have fun kids shopping carts. In this case, cars at the front of the carts.  John would not let Nicholas ride with him even though Nicholas was begging and pleading (we eventually found another cart of the little one). 

Anywho, John would just wave to the other shoppers and honk his little horn.  If he saw something that we need to buy (e.g. cheese or milk), he'd tell me to stop because he "had to get out of his car."  He'd get out pick up whatever it was that he needed and then climbed back in before he'd say, "Let's get moving."

We killed two birds with one stone.  We were able to do our grocery shopping and take John on a fun ride.  It's far cheaper than Disneyland.