Monkeying Around

Dear Don Ciccio,

Thanks for letting me take over your blog for the day.  I know you were real busy and all, so I'm happy I could help.

(Zara t-shirt, cords n booties)

Today, you needed no reminding to send your Auntie Sandra a Happy Birthday card.  It lightened her day, which was useful, considering she's now almost through her first trimester with the twins.  

Then it was off to the library, where you gave Mom a hard time, per usual.  What does she expect?  There's too much going on there with all the books and kids and classes and read alongs for us to take a nap, amiright?! 

Finally, it was time to hang with the Abuelos while Moms and Dad attended some HBS thing or another.  The point is, we got to give F n J the download on what's been going on in the BPC.

We sure love ourselves some Abuelos!

Gotta run now.  I have a cool date with the gentle cycle.

Bananas,

Yo' Monkey

Dining with Celebrities

Dear Spiderman,

What were you doing at Cook Shop on Oscar day, Bro?  You let that hottie Gwen Stacey go all by herself?  Anyway, it was great seeing you.  Although, given what a good Samaritan you are, you should've clued Mom in on her open blouse instead of smirking at her the whole time.  At first she thought you were checking me out, thinking "What a cute baby!", as people usually do.  But when she got back to our table, we all pointed out that she forgot to button herself up after feeding me.  Doh!

Mom thanking me for saving her modesty, albeit a little too late.

You look great, and your friend should give my Aunt Karina a call.  She thinks he's smoking.  Hope you don't mind, but in true New York style, we were too cool to ask you for a picture, so we just squeezed you into one we pretended to take of ourselves.

Abuela, me and Dad reverse photobombing the back of Andrew Garfield's head.  Subtle, huh?

Keep up the good work,

JYK

PS. Emma, next time, call me.  I'll be your date, Sweetie.

Off to Church

Dear Abuela,

We had fun in Church today, didn't we?

Abuela n moi in my nursery. Outfit by Zara

You sure are sneaky, holding me in your arms like that the whole time.  I'm surprised, but happy, that Moms allowed it.  Plus we could stay seated the whole time.  Ha!  You're a genius!

Love,

JYK

PS You did a great job not spilling anything on me at the Little Cupcake Bakeshop.  Way to go!!!

Age of Aquarius

Dear Abuela and Mom,

Happy belated birthdays!  I had a lot of fun celebrating with you and the rest of our family.  Getting to spend even more time with CJ and Catalina was one of my favorite parts.

Catalina checking keeping up with her email.    CJ modeling the latest in Cookie Monster wear.

But, I have to admit, one of my favoritist parts of the day was napping on Uncle John's belly.  I'm sure gonna miss it if he keeps hitting the gym.

Ahh! Heaven.

Me demonstrating my lung capacity to CJ and Catalina.  They were tres impressed.

CJ and Catalina getting a tour of my nursery.  The couch pulls out so we can have sleepovers, guys!

Me telling Abuelo about how much I love my changing table.  "I love it this much!"

Here's to many more birthday celebrations,

JYK

My First: Trip to the Met

Dear Met,

You sure are HUGE!  Especially to a tiny little guy like me.  Nonetheless, after clocking in at a sweet 8 lbs at Dr. Oliveira's, Abuela, Mom and I celebrated by going for a walk through Central Park and heading to the Met.

On Dad's recommendation, we headed for the Medieval room on this trip, but there were plenty of interesting things to see and people to meet along the way.  Several kind ladies stopped to remark how impressed they were to see me there at such a young age.  It's never too early, ladies!

Abuela n me in front of the Temple of Dendur's crocodile pond.

Mom n me checkin' out the stone gates.

Abuela thought this pic would be hilarious.  She's all, "Ahh!  Don't eat the baby!"  Then we got kicked out... (Tia Sisi sweater/hat set, Zara cords n tights, Garvalin shoes)

And exiled to the very place we were looking for.  I almost got run over.  I was all, "Watch it fellas, baby comin' through!"

I asked this dude for directions to the nearest changing table.

And on the way, I had to save my Moms from these dudes mackin' on her.  "Step aside, she's a married lady!"

What an adventure!  A day filled with danger and intrigue.  

We'll be back! 

JYK

Going Home

Dear Abuela,

Today I left the hospital and entered my home ouside of the womb for the first time ever.  For such a special occasion, Mom dressed me in the faldon you made and the sweater/hat/bootie set Great-Cousin Tinita made for me.  Despite Dad's reservations, I loved it and felt proud to embrace this Spanish tradition.

Julie's faldon; Tinita's sweater; Zara polo onsie

I especially loved that it turned out to be a practical outfit for fitting me in the car seat while keeping me warm against the winter winds.  It also facilitated diaper changing to the max.

Julie's faldon; Tinita's sweater, hat and booties; Zara polo onsie

Dad, vigilantly keeping me safe from crazy cab drivers.

Mom, smiling on the outside; worrying about my body temperature on the inside.

We arrived home safe and sound and kickin' it in style.  

Thanks for the threads!

JYK

How it all began

What Mom calls my moon.

Dear Readers,

So, this is how it all began.  Mom woke up at 5 AM to the party I was getting started in her belly.  She was pretty optimistic about the whole thing, dancing through the pain with the ipod while Dad, Popie and PoPo slept.  Keep in mind she looked like this at the time:

That's a whole lotta belly to be swinging around to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song and Enrique Iglesia's greatest hits, but we made a time of it.

By 10:30 AM Mom had enough of 3-1-1'ing it and the forewarned cab driver dropped Dad and her, kicking and screaming, at NY Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell's door.  Our astute OB, Dr. Jin took one look at Mom and calmly declared, "Oh, you don't look so comfortable," as she loudly writhed in pain on the bed. Dr. Jin also followed Dad's helpful "Pain is just weakness leaving your body" coaching by estimating a 6-7 PM delivery. Mom's natural birth plan freakout began in earnest, and sure enough, by 12:30 PM, just after her water broke (while Dad was off procuring himself what we assume was the yummiest sandwich ever), she called for the epidural...  I can still hear her screams now... The blessed anesthesiologist tapped her spine and chilled her the heck out stat.  It was smooth sailing from then on, as you can tell by Dad's composed demeanor:

By 4:00 PM Dr. Jin showed up to check on us a second time, just as Abuelo, Abuela, Popo and Popie arrived.  With her powers of OB deduction she announced I'd show up in 15 minutes, and so it was.  After two sets of three 10-second pushes, precisely at 4:15 PM, I popped out:

Not my most flattering moment, but you get the point... I was tiny with a big voice.

Mom was a hot mess.  I kept telling her, "Pull it together, woman!"

Me in Popie's arm. "Wuz up, my peeps?"

What we looked like zoomed out.

Abuelo and I getting to know each other.

Abuela and Mom joined in on the fun.

Me being introduced to Popo. She's pretty cool.

There's Popo next to Popie.  She approves!

Last, but not least, Mom and Dad checking out their most successful collaboration. Yup, all the cuteness they can handle in one tiny bundle, thankyouverymuch!

Til next time, faithful readers, as this is just the beginning,

JYK