Nicholas Is Resplendent

 Nicholas loves to sleep.

The Time Has Come to End This Blog

AND START A NEW ONE!!!  

I figure that it'll be easier to update just one blog, so please click on the following link  to go to the new blog:  John and Nicholas Rule the World

http://johnandnicholasrule.blogspot.com/

Joey's Gym Is Awesome

It has been over two years since we visited our friends Ron and Dana at Joey's Gym.  Maureen thought it would be a good time to get the boys started in the siblings class.  Nicholas took to it like a champ.  He was in heaven.  As you know, he's quite a handful, but he was respectful and waited his turn on the different apparatuses.

Fun at the Beach

A couple of weeks ago, Maureen took the boys to the Wiseman house in Newport Beach for a few days of fun in the sun.  Maureen struck gold when she was able to take this picture of both boys smiling at the same time.  Actually, this was a pretty good trip for the boys.  They didn't have any trouble sleeping.  They adjusted immediately to the new surroundings.  Nicholas and Baby Jack did have an argument or two; however, they tended to be little buddies more than little frenemies.

Nicholas was his normal fun self.  He even decided that he was going to run around in his swimming diaper instead of wearing his trunks over them.  I guess he's European in that way and likes the Speedo look.  He can pull it off.  Besides, look at the little guy as he stops to smell the roses.  He's got charm in spades, don't you think?

Fun at LACMA

We were bored yesterday and decided to head over to LACMA to see what kind of fun we could stir up for the boys.  John kept on asking us why the museum looked different than in the "This Is the City" opening of a couple of episodes of Dragnet, but Nicholas just liked being able to roam free.

After learning about Kinetic Art, we headed toward the Boone Children's Gallery.  There was a very interesting activity going on at the Boone Children's Gallery, Korean Brush Painting.  John didn't take to it, but Nicholas LOVED it.  This was the first time that he got to paint and he was in heaven.  He only wanted to use his favorite color, orange, but he definitely had a way with the brush.  And, he didn't get any on himself.  I think that was the first time in his young life that he didn't stain his clothing with something.

Easter 2012

John ran into our room to tell us about the "beautiful sunrise" that he saw from the living room window bright and early Sunday morning.  Nicholas joined us about 10 minutes later and we just watched Scooby Doo until about 7 AM.  At that point, we headed out to the living room to see the surprises left behind by the Easter Bunny.

Next, Maureen made a lovely pancake breakfast.  The boys didn't like the chocolate chip pancakes since they'd never had them before, but John really liked the regular pancakes made from Uncle Err's recipe.  As usual, Nicholas was his finicky self and really didn't get to enjoy the pancakes.  He wanted to go back to his candy that the Easter Bunny left him.  Actually, he wanted to eat the candy that he left for both boys.  John isn't really big on chocolate, so I think he's ok with our little chocolate thief.

After Maureen and I had some breakfast, it was time to head to the courtyard for a nice Easter egg hunt.  The boys were very excited to pick up their eggs in their baskets.  At first, they gravitated toward their favorite colors (John-Blue  Nicholas-Orange), but after some prodding on my part, they figured out that they could get eggs of any color.  They had so much fun looking for eggs that we decided to have a second hunt by hiding the eggs again.  Once again, the boys grabbed their favorite colors first and then went after the rest.  We headed back upstairs for a nice rest and some lunch before we headed out to Malibu and the San Fernando Valley to visit family.

So, after a little lunch, we headed out to Malibu to see Maureen's side of the family.  There was a bit of traffic on PCH and John kept on saying that we should just turn around and go home.  I told him that we were past the point of no return and that we just had to sit through traffic.  Sure enough, when he saw his cousins, Thomas and Nicholas, his tune changed.  Now, we had to stay at the Easter Gala as Cousin Adriana called it.  The boys were fascinated by the koi pond.  Thomas, being the oldest, was the leader.  He kept on trying to touch them.  John, being a bit of a dandy, just looked on.  Nicholas Edward followed Thomas and kept on trying to touch them.  Little Nick just wandered around and looked adorable.  A little later, Cousin Adriana showed up and joined in on the bubble blowing fun.  All in all, the boys had a good time and had loads of fun with their cousins.  They can't wait to see them again at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  If you remember last Thanksgiving, a rugby match broke out among Thomas, John and Nicholas.  This year, Nick is going to get in on the fun.

After that, we headed over to the Gonzalez residence for some more fun with the Gonzalez cousins.  Good Lord, it was overwhelming for the boys.  They were so tired, but they had so much fun at Mami and Papi's.  There was a special Easter Egg hunt and John and Nicholas scored made out like bandits.  Actually, Nicholas started to take John's candy yet again.  We need to watch that one.  He's very quick with the hands.  If we are not careful, he may be like his Uncle Robert who once took a candy from the Hi Lo store on Sepulveda at Nordhoff.  Anywho, the evening ended shortly thereafter when John got a bit of an injury on his foot.  He always gets injured around Easter.  The boys had a good day and got to see their family.  I'd say it was an excellent day, wouldn't you?

Had to Get This Shot

A couple of years ago, Maureen and I got a photo of John sitting in this same chair at Uncle Ron and Aunt Sally's house in Malibu.  I just had to get a shot of Little Nicky Sunshine in the chair as well.  In case you don't remember, Grammy and Maureen thought John's hair was far too short.  As I recall, some even said he looked like an orphan.  Well, if that's the case, then he was the cutest little orphan since Little Orphan Annie.