The 4th

Our 4th of July weekend was quite eventful.

On that Thursday, I really wanted to go watch a movie. We haven't been to a theater in over a year since the boys were born and I missed a ton of movies that I really wanted to check out. So I decided to ask my mom to come over and watch the boys and I told Lisa the plan and she went along with it reluctantly. She was worried the boys would freak out since my mom hasn't watched them since they were little. But I assured her they would be fine. Meera came up to help mom out and we were off to the movie theater! We saw World War Z, definitely a different take on zombies [from being avid Walking Dead watchers]. Lisa really enjoyed the film and it made me very happy to see that she was really into the movie. It was so good to be back in an actual theater with no interruptions and no need for a pause button because a baby was crying or banging their toys too loudly. When we went back home, Mom said that Graybear cried for a while after he noticed that we were gone and then eventually fell asleep. Coco was fine though. Meera was able to keep him busy. At night, Meera Justin and Jordan came up the block. Justin and I went up to my roof to try and catch some fireworks. We were able to see about 4 different sets of firework shows. The ones in the city were really far though. And then we went out on the porch and lit some sparklers that I had in the basement. The boys were already asleep and Lisa stayed inside with them.

We both took off on that Friday and took the boys to FAO and Central Park. I couldn't believe we actually went because A) the weather was ridiculously hot and B) whenever we think of something cool to do, we very rarely follow through with it. But this time, we did it! At around noon, the boys went down for their nap. Lisa managed to clean them up and change their clothes beforehand. We both got ready in an hour and were out the door and through the Lincoln Tunnel in no time. We encountered some traffic which Jericho was pretty pissed off with so of course, he starts whining and crying for like 15mins straight so I had to hold him on my lap while Lisa was driving through the traffic. As soon as we got thru the tunnel, back in his car seat he went and he was fine again. This kid gets moody sometimes. Gray of course was fast asleep. We hit up FAO first. Lisa always wanted to take them there ever since watching the BIG with Tom Hanks. So we stroll in with our monster double stroller and the attention we got in the store was unbelievable. From smiles to little compliments from strangers, these 2 boys were a hit already. I even saw a business man on the street crack a smile when we passed him. The attention is really amazing and humbling. In the store, I let Gray walk around a bit on the baby toy floor. He passes the toys and decides to of course try to pick up a sugar packet he sees on the floor. This kid is so curious! He played with some of the stuffed animals there as did Jericho. We came across the stuffed animal section and saw a stuffed dog that looked like Nikki and Ryan's dog Kyan. And we ended up buying 2 stuffed toys for them. Jericho picked out this Monkey that he loved. He kept squealing and hugging it. We immediately named the Monkey, Chubbs. And Gray picked out a bear and we named him Chuckles. I saw this cool red toy car that is shaped like a handle so it's easier for the boys to grip, so I bought that for them. I coulda done some real damage in there but I exercised restraint. After our FAO extravanganza, we walked to a local cafe/deli and bought some lunch and headed to the park to eat and relax. By this time, it was crazy humid and hot. So we stayed in the park for like 15 minutes after we ate and decided it was time to go.

Parenting is full of lessons to be learned. Our lesson here: don't take babies to the park when it's too humid out. Especially when one of them hasn't learned to walk yet hahaha

Check the pics below. 

The Boys Turn One!

Yikes I haven't written in 2 months! Things have been quite busy for us since my last post. So many changes...

Gray is walking all over the place. He loves walking back and forth talking in his baby language as if he's the boss barking orders to his minions. Little Jericho is just starting to take steps. I think in a few weeks, he and his brother will be running amuck in the house.

First up, the boys' first birthday! Their birthday was June 30 and we held their party on the 29th. For their party, we had a nice sorta small party at the same spot in Bayonne where we had their Christening called Knights of Columbus. We wanted to keep it smaller though because we didn't want to bombard the boys with 200+ people. And also we wanted it to be a kid party, not an adult party. Also a lot of family we invited couldn't make it, kind of a bummer but we had the right size crowd and were able to mingle with everyone and made sure they were all comfy and well fed.

We chose the Peanuts theme because we both love Charlie Brown and the boys have no interest in anything on TV yet so they didn't really have an opinion hahaha. Lisa ordered some cool decorations online from a teacher's supply website and we bought those awesome Snoopy Snow-cone makers from Toys R Us as prizes. The party was a hit. All the kids had a great time. We played some classic party games like Musical Chairs and Hot Potato. We had a cool pinata and also loot bags for the kids. Of course Coco and Gray didn't have a clue as to what was going on but they had a great time. They finally started to play during the last hour of the party once they got a hold of the balloons. The only misstep during the party was the cake. We had a friend of a friend make 2 cakes with Peanuts decorations on them with maybe 50-60 cupcakes. And we left them out on display near the entrance and for some reason, people thought they were dessert and started eating them after getting food. Obviously they didnt cut the cakes...Pretty annoying but hey, people are idiots hahahahaha Anyway, so we didn't get to sing happy birthday to my boys but its ok. We got to sing at the house with all of our close friends that night and we enjoyed the cake and the boys had some too. So yes after the party, our close pals came over, we ordered some chicken wings for dinner from this caterer we know in JC, Ace Catering. Fucking awesome wings and creme brulee! And we also got Torico's ice cream as per the wives request. It was such a great night and we were relieved that everything went smoothly. It might've been the last hall party we throw...Ever. 

The next day, Sunday was their actual birthday. We started it off by taking them to the mall to get their first haircuts! We buzzed off their hair because it was getting too long and we wanted it to grow back in nice and thick. Also since its summer, they would always get really sweaty and itchy from their hair and would constantly be scratching their ears and eyes. Coco was chill, very easy for the barber. Gray on the other hand was a different story. He cried and kept moving and the barber didn't really get to clean up the buzzcut. When we put them back in the stroller, I looked at both of them and saw 2 toddlers and not 2 babies. It really got me sad but also happy that we survived a full year with these 2. 

That evening, my Mom and Meera, Justin and Jordan came by and also Lisa's parents. I bought an ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins and sang Happy Birthday to them. They really enjoyed this cake! These little guys love ice cream just like their daddy!