A Visit from Annie and the Girls

My girlfriend Annie was here for a visit from Pennsylvania. We got to visit twice, which was really cool. Our kids are the same age, which is awesome and we didn't even plan it that way. LOL! Anyway, we took the kids for some Chick-fil-a and had a blast in the play area afterwards. Here's Annie with Ava.
Maya had such a blast. I never imagined she'd be ready for something like this, but once she got the hang of it, she was a riot to watch.

Here's Jayden and Dani, taking 5!

Maya came down the slide. I was shocked to see her this way, but she was having such a good time, I quickly put my worry aside.

Jayden follows quickly after!

Cheese!

Here's Ava venturing out on her own. Such a cutie!

Trying to get them together for a picture was harder than expected. This was the best we could do. We wanted to do a pile-up, but they were like, whatever partner! We got to go!

Look at crazy Jayden. He's so silly. I love that goof-ball!

A little blurry, but atleast I had Jayden and Maya together in one picture.

Chill time, or as Annie calls it, Purell time! Everyone got their wipes and cleaned hands and feet and had a drink. Then they demanded ice cream, but they were too crazy as it was. No more sugar! Sorry kids. Maybe next time.

Merry Belated Christmas

Because Mari was in New Jersey for Christmas, we decided to wait to do the kid's gift exchange until she was back. Originally, that would have been the day before Three Kings Day, but the restaurant opening was delayed a bit. But that's ok. It turned out great anyways.

I wish that this was a better picture. I had no idea what was in the box that Mari brought back from my sister Leslie. Had I known, I would have been more prepared. Inside the box was a Geo Trax set that Jayden has been wanting so badly. A few months ago, he got a promotional GeoTrax DVD and it's all he talks about. He watches it over and over again. During the holidays, he discovered the track set in a toy magazine and he brought me the magazine every 5 minutes for most of the morning. I wasn't able to swing it for Christmas, but Titi Leslie made it happen. You might be able to see his gasping for air in this shot.
I love this picture. Pure mayhem. Chooch's got his Handy Manny tools and he was out. Sergio and Sebi are playing with the Crayola Beginnings toy, which turned out to be a big hit among all the kids. Maya is doing who knows what and Jayden is opening up his Magnadoodle.

Maya shows Titi her creation.

Chooch breaks in his Aquadoodle.

Sebi and Maya check out the baby doll.

The boys check out the tools.

Jayden shares with Sebi.

Maya found a new use for the Aquadoodle. As soon as I got home, we had to put this thing together so he could play. He was obsessed with it!

A Weekend of Babysitting...

After alot of blood, sweat and tears, Mari and Sergio opened the Rock N Pineapple to the public on Thursday, January 8th. It's a really unique concept. Stone cooking. We really enjoyed it and are very proud of them. We pray that they be blessed in many ways and their business is a huge success!

Anyway, I felt bad because the boys were at daycare all day and then spending evenings with babysitters so I packed up the family and went down to babysit for her for three nights. It was quite an experience to care for a 14 month old, a 21 month old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old. There was alot of biting, hitting, pushing, pow-pow, time-outs and crying going on. And there was alot of diaper changing, spills, and messes to clean up. Thankfully, Esteban went with me and helped on Friday and Saturday nights, but Sunday night I was on my own and I was going crazy! LOL We did have some good moments though. It wasn't all mayhem. Take a look...

My favorite time of night. Just before bedtime, they all settle down so nicely.
How could they not? Wubbzy is on!

A little play outside the house... Here's Sebi looking all cute!

Maya loves to play with cars and trucks just as much as Jayden loves to push the stroller around! LOL Meanwhile, believe it or not, there is evidence in the background that Chooch and Jayden CAN share. Look how they roll the car back and forth to each other.

Don't believe me? Take a closer look!

Awww! They CAN be nice to each other!

I love this picture of Sebastian with the ball. W-I-L-S-O-N!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, Tom & Jerry marathon on Cartoon Network! How could they not have enjoyed this?

Ok, here they are taking a chill pill while they have a quick snack.

Yummy! Breakfast!

I love these two characters. They are very much alike. Very colorful and lots of personality.

These two are filled with love and the need to take whatever the other one has... LOL They are actually funny to watch, when I'm not busy pulling my hair out...

The GPS

On Black Friday, I picked up a GPS. It sat in the package for about 2 weeks before Esteban and I agreed to go ahead and keep it and it was put to use right away. The next day, I used it to get to a friend’s house who had recently moved to the next town over. We used it to find a short cut road from my friend’s house to Hwy 50. And once, Esteban was meeting some friends and he had no idea where he was going so I programmed it for him. Esteban gets lost very easily so I felt relieved that he made it. For New Year’s Eve, we used it to get to a friend’s mom’s house in the deeps of Kissimmee. And then we used it to get us from there to my cousin’s house in St. Augustine. On the way back from my cousin’s, we followed the GPS and it took us on a different route that we’d never taken before and we really liked it. Just last week, we used it to get to my sister’s new restaurant and tomorrow I will program it so that Esteban can get from my sister’s house to his job.

So I’m glad we decided to keep it. It’s made my life so much easier, especially when Esteban is driving. He has a tendency to zone off and miss turns. Thanks to the GPS, I can clip my coupons or fool around on my iPhone without looking up to discover that we never got on I-4, that we’re still on the 408 and almost to the airport!