Boys,
Tonight was Cole's Birthday Party! When Daddy got home from work we all got ready to head out to Auntie Amanda and Uncle Brian's house to celebrate Cole's third birthday! Benjamin in the days leading up to today we asked you how old Cole was going to be and you'd say "Three!", then we'd ask you how old you were and the majority of the responses were that you of course were three as well, but eventually you'd say your right age. You silly boy! So, once we were all ready and in the car we headed over to Cole's for his party! When we arrived Cole was originally going to have a Thomas the Tank Engine party, but he changed his mind and switched to a Pirates party! Daddy didn't mind the change one bit! On top of Cole's birthday cake? None other than Captain Jack Sparrow! There were balloons with the number "3" on them and a large skeleton balloon as well! Uncle Brian and Auntie Amanda were already there with Cole's uncle Chris! Cole wasn't there yet, he showed up a little while after and we all yelled "Surprise" when he walked in... but Daddy said "Happy Birthday" instead.
Jonathan, you at first were very shy and wanted to stick with Mommy and Daddy, but after you got over this you joined Cole and Benjamin inside of Cole's play room to play with toys. Cole's Auntie Julie was playing with you boys as well, or as Cole calls her Auntie Judy! Cole has such awesome Cars toys that the two of you enjoyed playing with, and Jonathan you played with Cole's drum set even using the drum sticks to hit it with. No one showed you how to do this, so maybe there's some musical talent in you somewhere! The next Justin Bieber? I'm sure Mommy would prefer you to be a Doctor someday, but hey being the next Justin Bieber isn't that bad either. We waited for Cole's Pépé to join us before we all had Domino's Pizza! There were many different pizzas, but every one came together to give Chris their crusts because he didn't want to eat pizza... but between Daddy and you boys Daddy saw Chris eat a couple of slices!
After we all had some pizza the three of you with Julie played some more before Cole started bringing his presents into the living room so he could open them. Benjamin you helped Cole with his presents and Jonathan you were too antsy to sit in one place for long so Daddy held you on his lap for a little while before you joined the boys on the floor around the presents. Cole got so many cool things! He got some awesome train tracks for his Thomas toys, he got a cool Cars Finn McMissle toy, and a few other awesome things! Auntie Amanda and Uncle Brian are going to be moving soon and Cole has so many train tracks that Uncle Brian wants to set it up to go from one room to the other. How awesome is that going to be to play with!
When it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and have Cole blow out the candles on his cake we were getting ready to do so and Benjamin you went over to the cake and stuck your fingers in it! We had to pull you away from the cake and of course this upset you because all you wanted to do was eat it! We were singing "Happy Birthday" and you were crying with your head down because you couldn't stick your fingers in the cake. You were very naughty! Cole blew out his candles and the moment you were waiting for finally came Benjamin... you received your piece of cake and ice cream! The three of you sat at the table and had your cake and ice cream!
Afterwards some of the grown ups that came to see Cole on his special day started to leave and once they did Uncle Brian took the Pirate Skeleton pinata and brought it into the living room. This was a pinata which you pulled ribbons out of the bottom to make the candy fall out, not like the ones were you hit it with a stick or a bat. So Cole pulled a ribbon first, then Benjamin after trying to convince you to pull a string you did, then Julie pulled a string. This cycle went one more time before Jonathan you crawled into the room and Uncle Brian brought the pinata over to you and let you pull a ribbon. Once you pulled the ribbon all the candy started to fall out. Daddy pulled his sweater out to catch all the falling candy, but Daddy ended up dropping it to the floor. Uncle Brian sorted the candy into goody bags for you guys after it had all dropped from inside the pinata.
The three of you played together with the new Thomas train tracks and other toys Cole had received for his birthday party. Daddy wanted to get a picture of the three of you together on Cole's very special day, but no one thought it could be done. They all had good reason to believe this as well because to get three kids to take a picture all looking at the camera at the same time would be rather difficult, but Daddy had faith! We sat the three of you down on the chair first because we hoped it would keep the three of you together long enough to take a picture. Cole and Jonathan did a great job looking at the camera, but you Benjamin wanted nothing to do with it! You were squirming and trying to wiggle your way out and finally the three of you were let out of the chair. Daddy wasn't going to give up though and he sat the three of you down on the couch. After a few pictures were taken and none of them coming out good Daddy decided it'd be best to bribe you guys with the hopes of M&M's. Finally a picture was taken with the three of you looking!
Love Always,
Daddy
Boys,
Today we watched as the New England Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens to become the AFC Champions, and secure their place at the Super Bowl! Benjamin, for the past few days Daddy has been asking you what we would be watching on Sunday and at times you'd say "Mickey!", but for the most part you would say "Football! Football!", so nice you'd say it twice! Daddy would even say "Benjamin, are you ready for some..." and you would say "Football!". Grandpa Edwin came over earlier in the day and as usual Benjamin you were so excited to see him because you knew inside one of his pockets he was holding some M&M's for you. He gave you some M&M's and stayed for a little while. Nana had to stay at home because she wasn't feeling well, and because of the snow on the ground she just wanted to stay behind today. We did call her on the telephone though and the two of you got to speak to her for a little while.
Grandpa stayed until the beginning of the game, but then he had to be on his way. The two of you watched the game with Daddy for a little while. Jonathan you wore Benjamin's old jersey and Mommy actually stopped at the store to buy you a new shirt Ben on her way home so you wouldn't be left out. We have to find you a jersey before the big game though! Grandma and Auntie Sara came over to visit for a little while too. After they left the two of you had to go down for your naps because if you didn't you would have just been completely crazy for the rest of the night. So you both took a quick nap while Daddy continued to watch the game.
When it was time to get up from your naps, Mommy's beef stew was all done and we all had some nice supper. The game was still on and it was very stressful because it was a real close game! Daddy was on the edge of his seat the entire time! We got to see Tom Brady dive over a bunch of other players to score a touchdown. He looked like a fish jumping into the water it was so silly! By the time the game was over there were a lot of close calls that almost made the Patriots lose, but due to some stroke of good luck (and the Ravens kicker missing a close field goal) they were able to win the game and will be heading to the Super Bowl to face the Giants.
When the game was over Grandpa Kevin had come over to see you boys too. We had a lot of visitors today. At the end of the game Daddy picked you up Benjamin and ran around the living room as we celebrated the big win. After Daddy put you down Benjamin you clapped your hands and ran around the living room saying "Football! Football!" once more. Football season is going to be ending soon and hopefully it will end with the Patriots being the Super Bowl Champions. Daddy was able to see them win three Super Bowl's already, but not one of them would mean more then watching them win another one with the two of you by my side!
Love Always,
Daddy
Boys,
Today we had some fun in the snow! It had snowed a few days ago, but not as much as it did today. The morning started with a bit of some panic because Jonathan, you hit your head off of the box shelves that hold your toys. The sad part about it was that you slipped and hit your head when you were chasing Daddy into the kitchen. Your cut did bleed quite a bit, before settling down. Daddy took a picture of it and asked some friends on Facebook whether or not we should take you to the Hospital for stitches.
Grandma also came over to check out your cut to give her opinion about it. Across the board people said that we shouldn't take you because it wasn't that bad and that we should just tend to it on the home front. Daddy was glad that it wasn't as bad as he thought because that meant we didn't have to go out in the snow storm and take a chance driving on the roads, but if we did have to then that's what we would have done because nothing is going to stop your Mommy and Daddy from making sure you're okay. At the end of the day you're a little boy and this is what happens to little boys. Daddy is just going to have to find a better way of dealing with things, but he still remembers when your brother Benjamin hurt his eyebrow on the entertainment center and we spent the night in the ER. Not something we want to do again any time soon! Too stressful!
So, once we knew you were going to be okay we decided to get bundled up so we could venture outside and into the snow! You both got to wear your new CARS snow boots that Mommy got for you! Last year it snowed quite a bit, but Jonathan you were still too small to play and Benjamin you didn't really play outside in the snow either so today was a first for the two of you. Jonathan you didn't really know how to balance yourself in the snow, and with these new boots weighing you down you didn't have a chance to run through it all and kick your feet around. Instead you spent the majority of the time sitting down in the snow licking the snow off of your gloves.
Benjamin you slapped the snow around, kicked the snow around and even at one point took the shovel and tried to shovel some snow yourself. It was almost like the broom inside of the house when you take the broom and want to help sweep and clean, instead this wasn't dust and dirt it was nice fluffy snow! As we were playing outside the snow continued to come down and within seconds the porch was covered in a sheet of snow again. The walkway Daddy had shoveled up was covered up as well. The snow kept coming down and coming down as we continued playing.
Daddy laid down in the snow and made a snow angel! Benjamin you thought this was very funny, but when Mommy laid you down in the snow to make one of your own you quickly jumped up and didn't want anything to do with the snow angel! Mommy and Daddy wanted to get a picture of the two of you together in the snow so Daddy put you Jonathan down near the tree. We knew that you wouldn't get up not only because you couldn't, but because you were just having a blast sitting down eating snow from your gloves anyway. Benjamin, you on the other hand when Mommy sat you down you wanted to jump right up, but the problem was the snow wasn't as light in the area we placed you so instead of getting up you got stuck! You sat down and kept trying to get to your feet, but all you kept saying was "I'm stuck! I'm stuck!", we did manage to get a few photos, but one after the other the two of you took turns looking at the camera while the other looked away.
When it was time to go inside Benjamin you didn't want anything to do with this. You started to cry because you wanted to stay outside in the snow and continue playing, but we had to come in for some nice warm soup for lunch! There should be at least a few more snow days left in the year before Spring time so it wasn't that bad to come in! Daddy is sure the snow will be out there tomorrow anyway so we can always go back out and play tomorrow. We all had a very good day today playing in the snow and spending time with one another in the house. The two of you are sleeping now, Jonathan you refused to nap earlier so right now you're out like a light! Benjamin, I believe you're actually still awake talking up a storm in there. Earlier tonight you said "I Love Daddy" for the first time! Daddy is very proud of the both of you!
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow,
Daddy
Boys,
Last night we went over to Daddy's cousin Wendy's house to celebrate your Great Grandmother's 83rd Birthday! It was a surprise birthday party and we all got there before your Bisabuela. Now it might be risky to have a surprise birthday party for someone turning 83, but your Bisabuela still acts like she's in her twenties so this wouldn't be all that bad, and besides when she walked through the door no one really yelled "surprise" anyway and she just was happy to see all of her family in one place. Auntie Maria, and Cousin Jodi came up from Florida for the New Year and to visit everyone so you guys got to see them again. We hadn't seen them since last year!
Jonathan you were very friendly with everyone, spending a lot of time with cousin Jaylene. She just had so many nice necklaces on and bracelets! You also had two pieces of cake! Daddy doesn't know what it is with you but you won't eat certain things, but when it comes to cake and junk food you just want the plates to keep coming! It was a toss up between which one of you looked like Daddy and which one looked like Mommy. Daddy doesn't hear it often, but some members of the family were saying that you Jonathan looked like Daddy. He doesn't see it because you look alot like your Mommy, but maybe there's still hope after all!
Benjamin later on a few more people showed up and you were the Welcome Committee greeting them and screaming. There was plenty of Spanish food and Spanish music to go around and it was nice to have everyone together for once. Benjamin at first you were shy to be around so many people you haven't seen in a while, and some you haven't even met yet, but after a little while you broke out of your shell and was going up to everyone and mingling. There was a point when Bisabuela was dancing with cousin Wendy, Auntie Maria, and Auntie Dolly you joined in and started dancing too! Grandpa danced for a little while, and they tried to get Daddy to dance, but Daddy doesn't just shake his moneymaker for just anyone. So for the most part you were the only guy tearing up the dance floor.
We stayed for a few hours before the two of you started to get crazy from getting tired. It was a good night, and there were a few members of the family missing, but it was nice to have a family reunion. We don't see this side of the family as much as Daddy would like to, but for one night it was great to catch up on old times and to have the two of you there as well. Bisabuela was very happy that we could make it and her turning the big 8-3! Daddy wonders what her secret is and how she still has a kick in her step after all these years. We could all be so lucky to live as long as she has! Maybe it's the Spanish food... or the music... or both, but Daddy is just happy she is still around to see the two of you, even if it is only once in awhile.
Love Always,
Daddy
Boys,
Today we took a family trip to see Disney On Ice! It was Mickey and Minnie's Magical Adventure. Daddy had told Mommy earlier in the week that during this weekend we should take the two of you out somewhere and Mommy came up with a great idea to go see this show. We all loaded into the car and headed out to see the show, but along the way Daddy had typed the wrong address into his GPS and we ended up somewhere else in the city, but after talking to Uncle Brian, and finding the correct address we were back on track to get to the venue. Uncle Brian, Auntie Amanda, and Cole had all seen the show today as well at an earlier time, and they said we were going to love it!
We got to the show with time to spare and headed on inside. As soon as we got through the doors there was a large table filled with many different items that were being sold related to the show. They had Lion King, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, and Lilo and Stitch stuffed animals, they had mugs and cups of all the shows too, but it wasn't any of these items that grabbed your attention Benjamin. They also were selling a toy that when you pressed the button and held the button in the toy would spin very fast with many different lights on it. The man working at this table knew what he was doing when he handed it to Daddy and asked if we wanted to try it out. Of course once we tried it out you would never want to hand it back Benjamin, and if you did you would scream and cry because at that moment in time that was the coolest toy you ever laid your eyes on, and the very thought of parting ways with it was devastating. So, they got Daddy hook, line, and sinker and you ended up with a new spinning flashing lights toy with Mickey Mouse on top, and Daddy ended up with a lighter wallet.
Before we got in the car this morning Mommy had told Daddy that they sold flavored ice at the show, but for fifteen dollars! Daddy made a joke and said that no one was getting flavored ice today, but as soon as we gave our tickets to the people working at the front and headed further inside the building we saw another table selling all the same things the previous table had, but this table had the flavored ice. One of the mugs that the ice came in was in the form of Stitch's head from Lilo and Stitch, but it was only ten dollars! For some reason Daddy couldn't say no to this and he bought one for us to enjoy, but at the same time they had Cotton Candy that came with a Flounder hat from Little Mermaid, and since Mommy loves Cotton Candy we got that as well. The show hadn't even started yet and already this was one expensive trip!
We finally made it to our seats right before the show was about to begin. The lights went out and out from behind a curtain came Mickey Mouse! Mickey was joined by Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy. Pluto had to stay home because he did not go on this Magical Adventure with the rest of the group. Mommy was very sad that Pluto couldn't make it this time around. Benjamin, the second Mickey came skating through that curtain your eyes light up and you started yelling out "Mickey, Mickey!". Daddy was so happy to see how excited you were that it almost brought tears of joy to his eyes. Jonathan, you sat down on Daddy's lap for the a little while before being transferred over to Mommy.
Mickey and Minnie were taking trips to each one of the Disney Classics that we were about to see, and their first stop? Pride Rock! We saw the Lion King take place first and this is where the excitement levels went through the roof, because the two of you love this movie very much! Benjamin you were happy to see "Kitty King" on Ice! Rafiki the Monkey came out on stage first and skated for a little while before being joined by young Simba and young Nala. They sang "I Just Can't Wait To Be King", before Timon and Pumbaa came skating out for "Hakuna Matata". During this performance young Simba became an adult! It was such an awesome part of the show to see The Lion King performed, be it briefly, but we all enjoyed it!
After The Lion King was over Mickey and Minnie and their friends came back out and their next stop was going to be under the sea in the Ocean! It was time for us to see the Little Mermaid! Yesterday Mommy had put on the Little Mermaid so the two of you could watch it before we came here so you would at least have an idea what this was all about. Mommy said that while the two of you were in the living room watching the movie she tried to do some dishes, but she had to stop doing the dishes because one of you was up to no good! She came into the living room and caught you Benjamin dancing on top of the coffee table to "Under the Sea"! We reminded you Benjamin of this moment today when they sang "Under the Sea" live in person! They sang all the great songs from this movie and then a giant Ursula came out from behind the curtain before Prince Eric beat her! Seeing the large Ursula and all the smoke in the building was cool!
We went back to one of those expensive tables and got some lemonade. Mommy had asked for some nachos, so we headed back inside the arena and gave Mommy the lemonade before heading back out. We waited in a very long line for the food and while we were waiting in line Benjamin you kept saying "Ice! Ice! Ice!", and because Daddy was holding you of course you kept saying "I'm Stuck!, I'm Stuck!", the people waiting in line with us thought you were very funny. They were treated to your comedy show during intermission. We finally made it to the counter and there were no nachos so we bought some french fries! When we made it back inside the show was about to pick up again.
Mickey and Minnie were now landing in London which could only mean one thing. The last stop of their adventure was going to be with Peter Pan! Mommy had also put this movie on for the two of you to watch, but this didn't catch your attention or interest. It was during this last portion of the show where the two of you didn't want to sit around and watch anymore, especially because they weren't showing Mickey Mouse, or Lion King anymore. Benjamin, you kept throwing your toys onto the floor, and Jonathan you not only lost a shoe, but one of your socks as well! There was a little girl sitting behind us that was standing most of the time and when she was standing Benjamin you kept turning around trying to touch her! Peter Pan was good though, we saw them all fly in the air with the help of Tinker Bell and her fairy dust! It seemed very dangerous! There was a part during this performance where Tinker Bell got very sick and we all had to clap our hands together to bring her back to life, which you did Benjamin!
After Peter Pan was over all of the characters we just saw came back out again and joined Mickey and Minnie on the ice one last time. We got to see the Lion King one more time before the show was over! It was such a great experience, and for the majority of the time the two of you were extremely well behaved. We started to head out and back to the car. It was the last day of 2011 and we spent it with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on their Magical Adventure. Daddy spent alot of money on these extra items we just had to have, but it all endedu p pretty good because later on in the night Mommy told Daddy to get a scratch ticket because she was feeling lucky and Daddy made all of his money back and then some!
Can't Wait To See What 2012 Brings Us,
Daddy
Boys,
Jonathan, you at first were very shy and wanted to stick with Mommy and Daddy, but after you got over this you joined Cole and Benjamin inside of Cole's play room to play with toys. Cole's Auntie Julie was playing with you boys as well, or as Cole calls her Auntie Judy! Cole has such awesome Cars toys that the two of you enjoyed playing with, and Jonathan you played with Cole's drum set even using the drum sticks to hit it with. No one showed you how to do this, so maybe there's some musical talent in you somewhere! The next Justin Bieber? I'm sure Mommy would prefer you to be a Doctor someday, but hey being the next Justin Bieber isn't that bad either. We waited for Cole's Pépé to join us before we all had Domino's Pizza! There were many different pizzas, but every one came together to give Chris their crusts because he didn't want to eat pizza... but between Daddy and you boys Daddy saw Chris eat a couple of slices! 
After we all had some pizza the three of you with Julie played some more before Cole started bringing his presents into the living room so he could open them. Benjamin you helped Cole with his presents and Jonathan you were too antsy to sit in one place for long so Daddy held you on his lap for a little while before you joined the boys on the floor around the presents. Cole got so many cool things! He got some awesome train tracks for his Thomas toys, he got a cool Cars Finn McMissle toy, and a few other awesome things! Auntie Amanda and Uncle Brian are going to be moving soon and Cole has so many train tracks that Uncle Brian wants to set it up to go from one room to the other. How awesome is that going to be to play with! 
When it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and have Cole blow out the candles on his cake we were getting ready to do so and Benjamin you went over to the cake and stuck your fingers in it! We had to pull you away from the cake and of course this upset you because all you wanted to do was eat it! We were singing "Happy Birthday" and you were crying with your head down because you couldn't stick your fingers in the cake. You were very naughty! Cole blew out his candles and the moment you were waiting for finally came Benjamin... you received your piece of cake and ice cream! The three of you sat at the table and had your cake and ice cream! 
Afterwards some of the grown ups that came to see Cole on his special day started to leave and once they did Uncle Brian took the Pirate Skeleton pinata and brought it into the living room. This was a pinata which you pulled ribbons out of the bottom to make the candy fall out, not like the ones were you hit it with a stick or a bat. So Cole pulled a ribbon first, then Benjamin after trying to convince you to pull a string you did, then Julie pulled a string. This cycle went one more time before Jonathan you crawled into the room and Uncle Brian brought the pinata over to you and let you pull a ribbon. Once you pulled the ribbon all the candy started to fall out. Daddy pulled his sweater out to catch all the falling candy, but Daddy ended up dropping it to the floor. Uncle Brian sorted the candy into goody bags for you guys after it had all dropped from inside the pinata.
The three of you played together with the new Thomas train tracks and other toys Cole had received for his birthday party. Daddy wanted to get a picture of the three of you together on Cole's very special day, but no one thought it could be done. They all had good reason to believe this as well because to get three kids to take a picture all looking at the camera at the same time would be rather difficult, but Daddy had faith! We sat the three of you down on the chair first because we hoped it would keep the three of you together long enough to take a picture. Cole and Jonathan did a great job looking at the camera, but you Benjamin wanted nothing to do with it! You were squirming and trying to wiggle your way out and finally the three of you were let out of the chair. Daddy wasn't going to give up though and he sat the three of you down on the couch. After a few pictures were taken and none of them coming out good Daddy decided it'd be best to bribe you guys with the hopes of M&M's. Finally a picture was taken with the three of you looking! 
