Updates have been infrequent but life’s been pretty busy the past two months. We’re back on the road again here, within a month, and heading back home to the East Coast for another household move.  Our time in Ohio has come to an end and even though the Midwest wasn’t our cup of tea – we did very much enjoy our home and the area’s many nearby amenities.  Things we’ll miss are the short work commutes, little to no traffic, low cost of living, and safe neighborhoods. So the question then is why are we moving? For work of course (my company’s HQ is in NYC) but truly to be closer to at least one side of our family so that Mateo can get a chance to spend more time with the Granparents, Uncles/Aunties and all his cousins.

When Norma and I were by ourselves, traveling the states – living away from family had not been that painful. We were always a short flight away and tried to spend all the major holidays with loved ones.  But as the years have come along and Mateo is now old enough to really interact – the value of family outweighed all other considerations.  There’s been no regrets and we’ve made some great memories living in the West Coast, the Northwest, and the Midwest – but now we’ll try the NorthEast for a few years and see how that treats us.

Even though we are excited for the next stage, we still miss our California family greatly and realize that we have to make a stronger effort to visit and stay in touch more often. Its tough with families on both coasts but we knew this when we got married. Funny thing, even though we’re moving further east, we’ll actually be closer as the flights are more direct from NY -> LA (don’t get me started on the Columbus airport).  So we’ll be coming out soon this summer and will definitely make more frequent visits. Plus, all sides of the family have to get on the Skype bandwagon – don’t be upset when I come bearing webcams for your computers next time we visit :)

Norma will be snail-mailing our new address to all loved ones. If your addy has changed – please send us an email soon (Norma or Joe) to keep those XMas cards ‘comin!

Today we celebrated Mateo’s friend Ian’s 3rd birthday at the Columbus Zoo.  The kids had a great time playing games, eating pizza, cake and ice cream… yummm.  They also had an opportunity to meet some of the Zoo’s smaller guests, like an armadillo and a hedge hog!  The kids loved to see the amnimals up close and touch them.. its a good thing they didnt bring in a tarantula or a tiger!

After the party, Mateo, daddy and mommy decided to enjoy the zoo.  it was a beautifully clear and sunny day, but it was a little chilly.  We took a train ride and visited some of the big animals at the Zoo while Daddy practiced on his photography.

We all had a great time at Ian’s birthday party and the Columbus Zoo!  This may be the last time we visit with our upcoming move East…

Rest of pictures here in the gallery.

Since we’re only 3hrs from Detroit, we thought it would be great to take a weekend trip and experience North America’s premiere automotive show. We decided to splurge and stay at the new MGM Grand Detroit. That’s right, the first true Las Vegas-styled casino outside of Nevada. Needless to say – this was nothing like the Vegas version. We were pretty disappointed we couldn’t even walk down to the restaurants inside the Casino just to eat as a family since we had Mateo with us and ended having to order mediocre room-service instead.

But we were there for the cars. We stopped to eat near the convention center at one of the many Coney Island Dogs eateries. Food was surprisingly good and  close to authentic NY fare. We got inside from the cold and after seeing auto shows in L.A., N.Y., Seattle and San Diego – Detroit made those others look like a backyard car show due to sheer size alone. Mommy accidently scratched Mateo with the car seatbelt and we had to go inside first to the first aid station. They band-aided him up and we went on to the show floor.

We focused on seeing the new fare from BMW and I worked every angle to try and get Mommy impressed with the new M5. No matter the specs, interior, twin-turbo, handling or anything else I just could not get Mom passed the price lol. So it looks like I have a long way to go before I can convince her otherwise :). The new 3 was amazing as well as were a ton of other makes and models. Definitely worth the trip. So as a quick weekend recap: hotel=bad, food=good, cars= great, Detriot = uggh. :)

Once the little guy was asleep, Santa’s helpers got to wrapping the presents up and then getting cozy watching “Its a Wonderful Life” (that movie never gets old).  We woke up early in the morning and Mateo’s face was priceless once he saw all the presents under the tree. He had been a little skeptical of this “Santa Claus” cat but all reservations went out the window once he got to opening presents.

Mateo got everything from Legos, Nerf guns, Pirate ships, an Army outfit, a huge Trampoline from Auntie-Claus, and some G.I Joe toys.  Daddy got a nice pair of fancy sneakers, a new Laptop and clothes for work while Mommy Claus got a fancy new coffee maker and the Dyson vacuum she’s been oogling for quite some time. Even the doggies got some Xmas toys as well (that barely lasted 3 minutes).

Overall we had a great time celebrating and finished with a wonderful Christmas dinner Mommy Claus cooked up.  We gave grace to God for another beautiful year together as a family, prayers for our son Cristian, and wishes for a healthy and joyful 2012.

Season’s Greetings~ Jay, Norma, Mateo

Rest of XMas Pics here in the Gallery.

Mateo had fun playing with his cousins Diego and Brianna and eating Titi Hilda’s yummy food (hello.. albondigas and arroz con leche). The weather was great, except for the last day when we decided to go to the beach with Titi Carmen and it was overcast.. we still had lots of fun and Mateo loved playing in the sand.

We both missed Daddy very much and were super excited to see him back in Ohio.  Maybe next time we can all travel together… and visit more often.

Thank you Titi Hilda for taking care of us…

Superheroes were on the menu this Halloween and there was something about Spider-Man that Mateo was 100% fixated on this time of year. So a muscled-up Spiderman costume was in order. There was a fun Halloween party at the PreSchool we attended with a Parade (indoors due to rain this year) with all the kids dressed up in great costumes. Everything from girl Pirates, Strawberry Shortcakes, Princesses, Lightning McQueen and everything in between was on deck.  The kids had some yummy cupcakes and then we were off for some fun trick-o-treating.

Here in Columbus, the cities rotate on what days Trick-o-Treating takes place and I think that’s a kids best dream since neighborhoods travel to other neighborhoods to get in 2-3 days of non-stop Candypolooza! Our neighborhood was packed this year and I could’ve sworn I saw a couple of 3 & 4 year old little elbows being thrown grabbin for candy :)  Mateo had a great time and got a bagful of the sweet stuff.  Too much as a matter of fact. But another fun holiday in the books and the preparation starts for the “Operation Santa betta bring me some Toys” 2011.

The rest of the pics are here in our gallery.

Rest of the pics here in the gallery.

The kids played games, jumped on the trampoline, climbed pretty much everywhere, rode the zipline, went bubble-chasing, jumped into the ballpit and a had a puppet show too boot. I think the toddlers had a good time running around and an even better time having their parents chase them from play area to play area. After all that jumping around – we ended the day with all the kids sitting down for some Spider-Man birthday cake which was super-yummy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thank you so much to all the parents who came in on their busy Saturday (especially during the Ohio State game!) and an even bigger thank you for all of Mateo’s friends that came to join him on his birthday. He very much appreciated all the nice gifts and has yet to put them down.  We placed all of the pics from the event here in our family photo gallery.

Never far from our hearts is how special this day is as well for his twin brother Cristian – we miss you tremendously every day and wish you the happiest of 3rd birthdays as you watch over your brother from up above.  – Love Mommy, Daddy & Mateo