May We Please Have a Side of Sugar with Our Sugar? 4-11 to 4-12-09

Happy Spring Beginnings Everyone!

Easter Eve morning we received a package from Grandpa and Nat full of candy and cascarones. We took Julian outside and let him have fun with the cascarones.

Cascarones or confetti eggs are festive, hollow egg shells, filled with confetti, meant to be broken over someone's head(usually broken in the hand right before on broken on somebodies head because of the pain it could cause), usually as a surprise from behind scattering confetti all over the person. This tradition is most often carried out among friends and family. Cascarones derived from Mexico and have recently regained popularity in the southwestern United States. They are used for many different occasions but, especially Easter. Having one broken over your head is said to bring good luck. In Italy, men fill the cascarones with perfume and break them on women they admire.

Mommy forgot to break the egg first, pushing Jules forward. Silly Mommy!

Later that evening, the family colored Easter eggs, which Julian just loved. His favorite thing to do was dip his egg into several colors and then stack them 3 deep into the cups. This activity kept him happy and amused for quite some time.

The finished product! Fancy stuff! Easter Morning! What did the Bunny bring...

Looks like a Spiderman egg... And a Chocolate Bunny aka Breakfast of Champions... "Yummy!"

"Mom, I don't like this collar."

Our super handsome child.

His famous "'ing' of the jungle" pose.

The sun was beaming me right in the eyes!

Easter was a very busy day. First, we headed down to the South Bay to see Cousin Cole.

"Hi Cousin!"

Uncle Jer and Cole.

So cute!

After we visited with Cole we left the South Bay and headed up to Tracy to go to Cousin Caneisha and Desmond's house. There we had dinner and did an Easter egg hunt with all of the kids. Dinner was delicious (imagine a spread of fine cheeses, wine, moist turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, fresh green beens... you get the point) and the kids had a blast playing together.

Jules egg hunting.

We clean up nicely.

Cascarone time!

Yeah, that's chocolate hanging out of his mouth...

And yes, we are inside breaking the Cascarones. It actually did make for an easier clean up.

Videos:

Daddy recorded the first one sideways. Sorry.

It's not possible... Or is it?

This is how a conversation with Julian went tonight:

Julian comes walking out of the bedroom, where he is suppose to be watching Shrek, or better yet, sleeping...

Mom: Julian go to bed. It's time to go nigh-night.

Julian: I want milk.

Mom: Julian, milk is sleeping. No more milk.

Dad: Julian, this is why you need to eat all of your dinner. Now, go lay down in the room, watch Shrek, and go to bed.

Julian: Shrek is not on.

Dad: Yes it is, Julian.

Julian: No it's not. Impossible.

Dad: Yes, it is, Julian. I'm not going to argue with you

Mom: (In low voice) You sort of already are.

Julian: Shrek is not on. It's not possible.

At this point Jer and I just look at each other because our 2 year old child just told us "it's not possible," and we're trying not to laugh and break our serious, stern parent face.

Now Julian is crying for Wall E.

~Ape

Going Back to Oklahoma 3-30-09

Monday we left Texas and headed back to Oklahoma. Along the way we stopped off at the Alamo, a huge outlet mall, and Rudy’s Wurst BBQ, which was featured on the Food Channel.

~Ape

Saying our Goodbyes.

Walking to the Alamo HUGE, small dog sized coy fish who liked eating peanuts.

Hello everyone!

So I've booked two days (5/24-25/09) at a hotel in Monterey Bay, CA at the Hilton Garden Inn in Monterey:

http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=MRYMHGI

Hooray, our first family vacation! We're so looking forward to taking Julian to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and the beach, and just generally relaxing and spending time with one another. Hopefully Aunt Jennifer will join us (and if she's feeling really charitable perhaps doing some babysitting so Ape and I can go out for the evening but we'll see about that one). At any rate, I've also decided to take a week off in May after my birthday (on the 24th) and this little vacation will kick off the week. Hopefully I'll have enough time to get April's apartment totally squared away and also some time to spend enjoying with the fam.

Love you all and hope all is well!
-- Jeremy the Daddy

Here's a picture of Julian pulling a funny pose slightly reminiscent of the Heisman Trophy that makes me laugh and currently graces my office computer desktop: