My 5 Year Old

My oldest boy is all set to turn 5 tomorrow. And with only a minimal amount of trepidation because, "I don't want my teeth to get loose and fall out". Seems like only last week we brought him home from the hospital. Sooo tiny and sooo wrinkled.

A lot has changed for him since last year. He goes to school now. Last year the sentence "I love my little brother Lucas and his lion" would have been said like this: "I yove my yittle brother Yucas and his wion". This year he is allowed to answer the phone, and does so like this:
"Hello, this is Ethan speaking."

He also asks questions like these:
"Where was God when Jesus was a baby?"
"But why can't I see Grandpa Joe?"
"How come Lucas is done eating?"
"Why did God make it so spiders are born, they live, and they die?" (asked right after he saw "Charlotte's Web")

So he's 5 tomorrow and we love him more now than when we brought him home from the hospital. Even though he's sometimes loud, goofy, and disrespectful. Because he's also incredibly bright, kind, sensitive, with an incredible capacity to love. And he has a great singing voice!

Here's some pics Cindy took of him before his birthday party. We hope to get the little wallflower out of his shell soon.

Cool Things in 2006

One of the cool things we did last year was pack up the family and head down to the Magic Kingdom. The Los Garcias were joined by our godsons Isaiah & Joshua and also Grandma Susie. It was very, very hot and very, very humid. And we had to put in a new air condtioner on the way down. Tempers were lost, and a few tantrums were thrown, but thankfully the kids did great!

Once we were there we had a really great time. Ethan loved Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. Isaiah (11 yrs) loved California Screamin'. Joshua (10 yrs) liked riding the Matterhorn. And Lucas literally spent 45 minutes splashing around the creek in Redwood Creek Trail Challange. Both Garcia boys went "Ice Cream Man" crazy whenever a train or monorail went by. We all had heaps of fun at Buzz's Astro Blasters, which is like one huge submersive video game. As you can see by the top photo, even Grandma got into shooting the snot out of Zurg.

Disneyland is cool.

Los Garcias Christmas Letter

Hello Family and Friends! Just a quick update from Los Garcias:

We had a fun year traveling. From Disneyland to Folsom, and many other places in between, we had a great time visiting with our friends and family. We camped in cabins, RV’s and even a swanky San Francisco hotel. Joe also visited Minneapolis, MN for the first time.

Ethan is turning 5 next week! He started Jr K this year, where he met his pals George, Noah, and Dillon. His best buddy is little bro Lucas, but he loves playing with Uncle Jake too. His favorite saying these days is “Watch how high I can jump!!”

Lucas turned 2 in Sept. and enjoys playing with Thomas trains and talking. He started a gymnastics class in the summer and loves tumbling and tackling his older brother. Did we mention he loves to talk? He tells the best stories. We are looking forward to the day when we can understand him!

Joe and Cindy celebrated 8 years of marriage this year. Cindy continues to tutor jr high students when she is not creatively and masterfully caring for Ethan and Lucas. Joe is still working at AT&T( formerly SBC). January will mark his 10th year there. Along with Ethan and Lucas, the Los Garcias continue to attend the newly named Mercy Hill Church (brand new name, same great people).

Merry Christmas,
Los Garcias