M&L Go to Jack D.'s 4th Birthday Party

Today the kiddies went to another birthday party. There has been quite a bit of time since the last party, so there was lots of excitement especially since this one took place at BounceU. BounceU is sort of like a Gymboree or Little Gym on steroids. There was lots of bouncing, lots of running and lots of cake. The perfect day.

Papi and Lucia share a happy BounceU moment

They weren't the only ones having a good time. Mateo was also psyched to be there.

"Yippee! I can be an acrobat!"

Of course Papi decided to take Lucia down the bouncy slide for the first time. She held up well.

Nikhil and Mateo also took several turns down the bouncy slide

After all of that bouncing, the kids needed to refuel with some food. As you can see from Nikhil's mom the adults needed to refuel as well.

Here is the birthday boy Jack D. (in purple and gray) who can barely contain himself

Great - right after lots of bouncing and food and cake give them play swords to go home with. Note the sad face on Madeline (behind Mateo). I think she was a little bummed because the girls didn't get swords they got tiaras.

Lucia's Spoon Trick

Lucia has discovered a new trick, some may call this a milestone, but I call it manipulation. She basically sits in her high chair and plays with a spoon (or other object) and once she gets bored she decides to nonchalantly drop it on the ground. It doesn't stop there, she looks at it in a way that says "hey can you pick that up for me?" Of course, I oblige her and say " oops, you dropped that here you go" and I pick it up. This happened 2 or 3 times and then I discovered that she was doing this on purpose. The whole thing was a big game. She was dropping it to get me to pick it up...very sneaky.

Here is the trickster performing her spoon trick. This went on for about 10 minutes.

The Columbus Boys (& Girl)

As we all know, ever since Navita came into Mateo and Lucia's lives they have been going on a lot more play dates and socializing with kids in Mateo's class, neighborhood kids and kids in our building. Today was a bad weather day, so the play dates were kept strictly with the Columbus kids (the Columbus is the name of our building).

Lilliana (far left) brought Matthew (in orange) over for a play date. Wendy also came over with John and Luke. Note all boys except little Lucia, but she holds her own.

Luke joins in the fun

"Hey I was born in NYC so I am allowed to be a Yankees Fan!"

Three 3-year olds (Matthew, John and Mateo) doing arts and crafts

Later on Mateo got dressed in his gear to play out in the snow

Mateo's Formal Winter Collection

I think Mateo has such a great fashion sense (which he must get from me) and sometimes he is even more creative than the average fashionista. This cold, winter morning he really pushed the envelope and was creative, edgy and prepared.

This winter ensemble consists of snow pants, button shirt, tie, and baseball umbrella..."it's hard looking this cool"

Lucia Joins in Play Date Fun

Since Lucia has been sitting up she has been more engaged in all of the play going on around her. She wants to be an active participant instead of just a sideline spectator. Since Mateo has his set already established she has managed to learn to play with the big boys and girls.

Paparazzi catch Mateo playing with his container full of cars

Campbell smiles and poses for the cameras

Lucia gets involved in the game of play

"In order to get the full experience,I need to taste this before I can play with it"

M&L Play date with Maggie & Logan

Now that the big weekend is over things got back to normal pretty quickly. Mommy and Papi went back to work and Mateo and Lucia went back to school and play dates. On today's roster - Maggie and Logan.

Here is Maggie giving the bus toy a spin

Lucia is sittin' pretty and ready to play

Officially the favorite toy of the week, Mateo shows off his remote control car

Logan gives the car a whirl

Lucia is not interested in the car, but she can tickle the ivory or in this case the numbered keys

"I dedicate this next set to all of my fans in Hoboken"

Lucia's Christening Weekend - Finale

So today was the last day of Lucia's Christening weekend. Yesterday Grandma, Freddie, Tia Raqui, Tio Jon and Padrino Yves left and today, Madrina Anissa, Kristian and Papa Fofo are leaving. But before they go, they wanted to take another pass at the Big City, so Mommy took the day off from work to show them some parts of the city they hadn't seen before.

First stop was Rockefeller Center where Madrina and Kristian got to wave behind the Today Show, they also watched some ice skating (the rink is behind them) and visited St. Patrick's Cathedral

Next, the posse went to Central Park, The Plaza, FAO (seen here) and then finished at The Museum of Natural History. It was a lot to squeeze into half a day, but I think they had fun. After our speedy tour it was off to the airport and then they were gone. What a great weekend!

Lucia's Christening Weekend Pt.3

Today was a big day for Miss Lucia. It was the day of her Christening. She had lots of friends and family that had come in to help her celebrate. Our morning started out early because there was lots to do, get Mateo dressed, get Lucia dressed, get Mami and Papi dressed, pick up the cake, pick up Navita and get to the church on time. It was a successful, but very tiring day.

Lucia was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to be Christened

Anissa (aka Madrina) helped Lucia get ready in the morning

Mateo also decided he could stand still and pose with Lucia on her big day

Lucia looking a little nervous in her car seat reminded me of someone else who felt a little uneasy on his big day

Here is Mateo, 3 years earlier, on the day of his Christening

Here is the reverend introducing Lucia to the congregation

Godparents Anissa and Yves are very proud

Here is the yummy cake we had to pick up for the festivities

Mami, Papi and big brother Mateo are all happy to celebrate Lucia's Christening

Lucia decided to make her rounds and thank everyone -"Thank you for coming Padrino"

Mommy and Lucia thank Madrina for coming

Lucia thanks god brother (also Mommy's godson) Kristian for coming

"Thank you Sonia, Freddie and Grandma for coming, I hope you are enjoying the view of the city in the background"

"Hey Papa Fofo - thank you for making the trip up!"

"Tia Kimm, thanks for coming and hopefully we will see you this summer in Ohio"

"Aba and Abu thank you for making it out"

"Tia Raqui Caqui and Tio Jon, thank you for driving up from Maryland"

"Tia Mima, thanks for making the drive and for helping with my poses"

Lucia needed to rest and recharge after all of that socializing

"My dogs are barking!"

"Finally, I can get out of that frilly dress and hat...thanks Grandma"

Looks like Lucia wasn't the only one who was exhausted...Papa Fofo needed a recharge

And so did Abu

Farewell Padrino, thanks for coming

After a long day, Lucia finally knocks out in Madrina's arms