Merry Christmas!!!

What a wonderful day Christmas was! Jesus Marcos got lots of fun gifts and we really enjoyed watching him get so excited opening them. He was so excited about his gifts that he didn't eat all day. We couldn't tear him away from his tractors (he got 2 remote control tractors, one noisy tractor and one BIG tractor - THANKS AUNT SHAN - that he can ride on). One of my favorite parts of Christmas day was when Robert gave me my gift. It was wrapped in newspaper and glued shut!!! He couldn't find tape. It was the best wrapping job ever. :)

Our babies dressed up for Christmas Eve service.

Christmas morning, JM wakes up and walks past the Christmas tree. The big tractor catches his eye and the look on his face said "Wait a minute, this stuff wasn't here when I went to bed last night!?!?!" He puts that hard hat on everytime he gets on his tractor. He also totes all of his tractors into his room when he takes a nap or goes to bed and then he brings them all back out when he wakes up. He is his Daddy's dream boy.

The only reason that JM let Loie stay on the tractor was because she was pushing on the levers and it was making all sorts of cool noises.

Daddy helping put a tractor together.

Loie is loving the little bear blanket that Aunt Dottye sent her. Aunt Dottye's "Crafty Ladies" group at church made her this little precious bear.

He gets it now. The gift is not the paper but what it is wrapped around. To all of you first time moms - don't buy any Christmas presents the first 2 Christmases. All you have to do is put tissue paper in a bag and they will play with that for as long as you let them. ;)

If you want to read 2 books consecutively you can put one on your head so it's ready and within reach when you want it. Brilliant my little genius!!!

Our trip to So Cal...

A special and big thanks to Auntie Janine and Zander for giving up their room and letting us completely take over their house! WE LOVE YOU!!!

We got a lot done in the very short time that we were in So Cal. First, we went to lunch with Gammi - had a blast!!!

Don't they look beautiful!!!

Awww, how sweet!

Papi loves his little Loie! We had a great time with Papi and lots of friends at dinner.

My new little nephew, Beau, is so precious that he almost made me cry! Its crazy that Loie was this small only 6 months ago! **Go check out some great pics of Archer and Jesus Marcos at the C'deBaca blog!

Next we went to the Aquarium in Long Beach. Jesus Marcos totally flipped out when he saw Dori in the first tank. He has been obsessed with Finding Nemo and now he can really say that he found him!

This pic is classic. Jesus Marcos is holding Nemo, Loie is holding a starfish and Zander is holding a piece of pizza left over from the day before! Zander also has a turtle on his tray!

Jesus Marcos FLIPPPPPED when we got to this tank. He found lots of Nemos.

This was one of my favorite tanks. My brother, Coop, got stung by a baby jellyfish in Baja and said it hurt like crazy. Its a great story - ask him about it if you know him. :) I can't even imagine being in this tank.

Zander and Jesus Marcos looking out for Dori and her friends.

Now we are back at Auntie Janine's and getting ready to go to bed. Our trip in So Cal has come to an end.

I give this pic Two snaps up a twist and a kiss!!!

These last 2 pics are taken somewhere on the coast. We decided to take a trip up the coast and had no idea that it would take over 10 hours!!! It was worth it!

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving!

What a great day Thanksgiving was. All of our parents are out of town so the Moncada cousins got together to celebrate Thanksgiving. There were 17 of us - 9 adults - 4 tweens - 2 preschoolers and 2 two year olds!!! We had so much fun, way too much great food, and we made great memories. Thanks to Robert and Isabel especially for doing all of the chores on the list and helping things to run smooth. Yeah!!!
ps. I took pictures of the food but they didn't do it any justice. Oh well. :)
(*yes, the blog is back - thanks to Kelly and Kim for the inspiration to get it going again)

Cheeese!!!

They had way to much fun!

Jasmine and Jesse are trying to put a dent in the ridiculous amount of mashed potatoes that I made.

A relatively calm feeding frenzy. Luckily for us Isabel made 3 great appetizers to keep everyone from tearing up the kitchen.

Robert & Cousin Loli ~ our turkey carvers!

We got creative with our seating arrangements.

Loie is loving her Uncle Sal!!

Robert took Jesse down and some others along the way!

Buffet style dinner is great when you have so many pretty resources to dress the table with. Pretty apples from Tita & Tito's apple trees, leaves from the tree on the side of our house (no it is not marijuana) and terra cotta pots that are the perfect size for votive candles!!!

Videos for you all to see!

Good News!!!

I've got some good news to tell you about!

As you can see, things are pretty crazy around here! To make it even more crazy I am going to have a little sister!!! She should be here in the beginning of July around the same time I got here!

Don't you think that I will be a good big brother?
Just look at me!!!!

I feel yucky!

Mommy, I don't feel so good.
(Don't you just want to hug him and squeeze the yucky out?!?! My poor baby - he feels much better now though!)

It snowed today!!!

This is the greatest day of my life!!! It snowed at my house today! It was raining hard all night long and then all of the sudden this morning the rain sound stopped so we opened the curtains and looked out the window and saw that it was snowing! Mom made a yummy breakfast and then she put 4 layers of clothes on me and I went out to play! Check it out!!!

I can't believe it!!!

DAD! That is SNOW!!!

I am playing in the snow!

It seemed like there was a lot more snow out here when we were inside.

DAD, look! You can't even see any of Muffin's poop!

We are one happy-snow-lovin family!

Where Have We Been?!?!?!

Actually, its more like Where Haven't We Been?!?!?! Well, lets start with the Moncada Christmas and we can work all the way through our trips all around the country.

For Me?!?!?!?!? THANK YOU!!!

Oooops, this was for Tito, not for me. I still got a good chunk all to myself!

When someone pats you on the back don't assume that they are congratulating you.

We are on our way to Southern Cali. Muffin isn't as excited as we are.

We had a wonderful time with my cousin Archer and Aunt Kelly and Uncle Coop.

My cousin and I have a lot in common...We LOVE carbs!!!

This is my new cousin Alexander!!! He is a lot of fun but he still has a lot to learn...No worries, I will teach him all I know. (How is it that Mom can show all her teeth but not her eyes???)

This is Mommies best friend Janine. She is Alexander's Mom. Notice the outfits...You know your friend is the best if she wears the same outfit as you but in a different color!

We are now on our way to Mexico with my favorite toy in hand!!!

I sleep a lot better when Tia Isabel is by my side.

Tia Isabel and her friend walk with me around the plaza in Teran, Mexico!

We ate baby goat (cabrito) and carne asada in Monterrey, Mexico with some friends!

These are some of Tita's cousins on their ranch.

They have fighting chickens!!!

Mommy & Daddy & I got all dressed up to go to a big birthday party.

Check out my new dance move! The ladies LOVED it!

I have lots of new girlfriends now thanks to Tia Isabel!!! She is the best and they are beautiful!!!

We are getting ready to leave Mexico now. Tita & Tito bought me this hat to remind me of all the fun we had! I wanted it so I can look just like Tito!!!

Here we are at the biggest and first Bass Pro Fishing store in Springfield, Missouri! There are fishies and turtles in this pond!!!

I was exhausted after all of our adventures at Bass Pro Fishing store and I fell asleep in the car. I was still asleep when we got to the Western store so I took a nap on the stuffed animals.

They wanted to take a nap with me.

Here we are at the Chrome Shop Maffia's headquarters in Joplin, Missouri. They used to do the Trick My Truck show.

These are the greatest ladies you will ever meet!!! I miss you Aunt Shan & Aunt Lavonne!!! They live all the way over in Omaha, Nebraska!

They took us up to see Council Bluffs which overlooks Omaha. This is where Lewis and Clark had a famous meeting with Indians about important White Man/Indian stuff.

Jesus walks on water!

Frozen water that is! Mommy and Daddy are dancing they are having so much fun!

The greatest Aunties took us to Cabela's Outdoor Gear store. Unfortunately they don't let you drive the quads around the store.

Aunt Shan tried to feed me to a Polar Bear!

Then she and Aunt Lavonne tried to hijack a hunters golf cart!!! All this outdoors stuff turns them into two CRAZY ladies!

This is their house on a snowy wintery night! Isn't it beautiful?!?!

After the winter storm there was lots of fun snow to play in!!!

After Nebraska we went to see Uncle Robert and Aunt Sue in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Aunt Sue showed me how to play the piano and then she let me try it all by myself.

I am better at Peek-A-Boo than piano but I have had a lot more practice with the first.

Now we are with Papa Elmo in New Mexico! I am exhausted after all of this traveling and he is exhausted after hearing about all of our adventures!

Our last trip before heading back to California is with Aunt Dottye and Uncle Ken. They sure are a lot of fun!

Aunt Dottye is soooooo sweet!

I was much more interested in Sheba than she was in me.

Uncle Ken has a horse too!!!

Do you like my new boots? Maybe Uncle Ken will let me ride the horse if I wear these?!?

Ahhhh, its good to be home, especially if Papi comes up to visit when you get there!