Following the leader

My mom (back in the day) used to babysit her grandchildren. As long as I can remember, there were always assorted nieces and nephews underfoot.

But these three....

Michael, John-Paul and Nicole. The three of them gave her a total run for her money.

And Michael, as I recall, had the advantage of being 2 weeks older than Nikki and so he declared himself the de-facto leader of this trio.

Although, Nikki totally knew how to get under his skin by throwing out random factoids like, "You don't have a dog." Which would cause him to meltdown into inconsolable tears. She didn't have a dog, either, but that fact didn't deter her from tormenting Michael, or as I would say, that's not important right now. My dad always called her Tormentillo. Obviously, she comes by the name honestly. =D

If they ever got in trouble, John and Nikki would always use Michael as the excuse: "Michael told me to do it." Of course, Michael never complained because this cemented his place as The Leader.

So, fast-forward to one month ago in Miami.....

The Tormentillo Trio back together again. (from left to right: John-Paul, Michael, & Nicole)

Of course, we were all in Miami for Michael & Kimberly's wedding, but....

John (Michael's younger brother - the baby in the above photos) had an announcement:

"Jennifer and I are engaged."

Shut. Up.

Meet the lovely Jennifer, John's soon-to-be bride (in April, 2009)....

Congratulations, kids! And Jennifer, welcome to our big, fat, Cuban family!!

We were just coming down from the high of Michael's wedding and now, John is engaged too? Incredible!

But wait.....

Last weekend, Nikki sends me this picture:

"Isaac and I are engaged!"

What?? Didn't we just do this??

SHUT. UP.

Meet the lovely Isaac, Nicole's soon-to-be husband (sometime in 2009 - possibly in Guadalajara, where his family is from.)

Congratulations, kids! And Isaac, welcome to our big, fat, Cuban family!! (whoa....deja vú...)