One of John's Names

When John is being naughty, we like to call him Tinsel. In the world of Oswald, Tinsel is Roderick the Robots mechanical cat. When Roderick went to get his shine from Bingo Bunny the Barber, he couldn't take Tinsel into the shop since there was a sign that said: No Cats Allowed. Obviously, Bingo likes dogs because Weenie Girl can go in his shop.

Anywho, Oswald agreed to watch Tinsel who ran all over Big City and caused all sorts of trouble like overturning trash cans and walking on fresh cement. Having an animal is a big responsibility.

Why do we call John Tinsel? He has a propensity to start digging through the waste paper basket and leaving things all over the place. He's a one man disaster area, but we love him all the same.

The Sleepy John

Last week, Maureen noticed something very interesting when she'd go into John's room to check up on him. Normally, he's sprawled out on his back asleep; however, he now takes a different shape. As you can see, he's sleeping with his butt up in the air. I can't explain it. It doesn't look comfortable, but it works for our John.

The Birthday Weekend

As some of you may know, it was my birthday on Saturday. Since I had been in Houston all week, I was looking forward to some fun with Maureen and the boys. The day started out just fine. We headed to the gym for John to run around and be a crazy boy. We had lunch at Daphne's and then headed home for a nap. Whilst goodtime Johnny was napping, I did some errands, but came back to see that he was wide awake after about 45-minutes.

Oh well, we headed over to the Brady house to attend the Zamarin brothers and sisters reunion. Grammy is a Zamarin. Anyway, our plan was to go to the reunion and head off to dinner on Larchmont. Mother Nature had a different plan. It was raining cats and dogs, so we headed home. Along the way, Maureen said that we could go to Fiddler's Bistro. That worked out well because John was able to have his grilled cheese sandwich and walk around in the agua later. He even got a chance to play rearrange the sugar. That's one of his favorite games whenever we are at a restaurant.

As you can see from the family picture, John could care less, but Nicholas was wide awake. Look at his giant eyes...unlike mine. I have Roy Rogers eyes. I try not to do it, but I just can't help squinting when I smile. For that reason, I try not to smile.

Johnny and Grammy

Last week was Maureen's last week away from work. She took John out every day of the week. One day, Grammy joined them for an adventure at the Century City Mall. As usual, he really enjoyed his pizza and he loved running around the bookstore.

Maureen and I have realized that John doesn't need toys. All he needs are pizza, a place to run around, and a fountain. He'd be happy with just that.

John and His Friend

John has a good friend named Julia. Their mothers are old school friends and meet up from time to time at The Farmer's Market for breakfast. At first, John is always a bit on the shy side, but once he gets comfortable, he just opens up and has a grand old time. He even let Julia borrow some of his crayons. He's beginning to understand that sharing is good.

Guess Who Went To The Happiest Place On Earth Without Daddy?

First of all, I had to work, so I couldn't go. It all started early on Thursday morning. John woke up kind of early at 6:30. Maybe he knew he was in for a special treat later in the day? In any event, Nick and I took of for Grandma and Grandpa Gonzalez's house at 6:45 and John settled into the bed and watched his favorite show, Oswald. That show is the equivalent of giving him a sedative. He just sits back and relaxes. He's started to laugh at the crazy antics of Daisy.

After breakfast, it was time to get ready. John is good about getting ready. Once he's dressed, he'll go sit in his big chair and wait for his shoes. Obviously, he still needs help with his shoes, but he's learned that you need to sit down and wait for your shoes. Then, they went up to meet with the Wiseman's to go to Disneyland.

I'm told he was good for the most part. He waited in lines. He rodes some rides (Casey Jr. Railroad, Dumbo {Heidi and Seal's favorite ride}, The Jungle Cruise, and It's A Small World). He had some different reactions to the different rides. He'd really just get bored and antsy after a while. I don't blame him at all. He got kind of scared on Casey Jr. when it started to go really fast.

It was such a long day that I doubt he'll remember, but it was special day for Maureen.

Who's the Smartest 19, almost 20-Month Old?

It's none other than John Dockweiler Gonzalez. If this isn't proof that he understands directions, then I don't know what is proof.



Plus, you can see how much he enjoys tormenting his little brother.

John Is Obsessed

Maureen took John to the Farmer's Market/The Grove last week. Guess what our boy wanted to do? He just wanted to hang out and watch the "agua" at the fountain. He even made a dramatic run toward the fountain while screaming, "AGUA!" I don't know what it is about water, but our little John loves water. He screams and cries bloody murder whenever we have to leave the fountain.

On a side note, Maureen discovered that he loves grilled cheese sandwiches. They had three last week. So, if you want to get him on your good side, take him to Phil's at the Farmer's Market and buy him a grilled cheese sandwich. Don't forget to buy him some fries as well. You can't have grilled cheese without fries. You and he can converse with all the old people who go there. It's quite entertaining to listen to their conversations.

Mr. Bojangles

We know he likes to sing, but we are quickly finding out that he likes to dance. A couple of weeks ago, he was rocking out to The Pixies at Village Pizzeria. Last week, he gave Maureen and Nicholas a private recital. He even has his own stage. You can clearly see that he's dancing. This boy is so well rounded. The next thing you know is that he'll pick up a basketball and shoot hoops. My boy may not be able to read at 19-months unlike Graham and Aleka, but he's enjoying being a boy.

And no, unlike the subject of the great song, "Mr. Bojangles", John doesn't like to drink a bit. Well, actually, he does love to drink milk, so I suppose he does drink a bit.

I think I have sorted out the video issues. It's just going to take longer for me to upload them. In the meantime, enjoy this nice photo of John as he enjoys the statues of little children at the Grove. The full story will be up tomorrow. It involves his favorite thing, AGUA.