Simpsons Movie

I can't pass up the chance to blog about the new Simpsons movie. That is what blogs were invented for, so that Joe Schmo could offer his opinions and views about movies and political figures. So now I offer mine. Besides, if you know our family, you know that I am a huge Simpsons fan.

I have been a Simpsons fan since I retreated early to my bedroom one December evening in 1989 to watch this cartoon that I had seen advertised. My grandparents were visiting and I was into Christmas cartoons and this looked good, so I went downstairs to watch. I was hooked. The first episode was a very heartwarming story. I was in 6th grade.

18 years later the movie came out with much anticipation. I was worried a few years ago when rumors circulated, but now that I have seen it, I am very pleased. Very pleased indeed.

I didn't expect them to let loose profanity and what-not as they made their debut on the big screen, and they didn't disappoint. I only counted one scene with brief nudity, one use of the GD words, two "fingers" (both given by Homer on both of his four fingered hands), and one boobie joke. Very tame considering the way the show controversially started out back in the 90s (though I never had a problem with it). I wouldn't expect anything less.

I want to watch it in the theaters one more time, before owning the DVD. I followed the plot the first time, and the next time I want to see if I missed anything. Including the 2 seconds which I needed to turn my head away to explain something to Amy.

By the way, a coworker pointed out http://simpsonizeme.com/ It is a site managed by Burger King and it allows you to upload a photo of yourself and "Simpsonize" it. After a little tweaking I think it works well. Here is a picture of E.

Likes and Dislikes!

I thought I'd take the time to rattle off some of E's likes and dislikes. Now that he's 6+ months old, he definitely makes it known what he does and doesn't like! haha

Likes:
Sweet potatoes
bananas
peaches
pears
applesauce
cereal mixed with fruit
sleeping on his tummy
rolling over from his back to tummy
daddy's silly belly laughs
mommy's funny noises
water bottles (I even let him drink from one a few times. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff.)
toys
putting everything in his mouth
falling asleep in his swing
grandma and grandpa's dog, Kirby
walks in the stroller (as long as the stroller is moving...doesn't like to sit in stroller without movement)
being talked to
his Jumparoo
his exersaucer
bath time (can't wait to take him swimming!)
being outside
smiling
being sung to...especially when there's actions
playing peek-a-boo
familiar faces, voices, and places
getting pictures taken...he's a little model in training
the noise of water running
going for car rides...unless he's hungry
the telephone...he smiles and reaches for the phone if he recognizes the voice
watching tv (we really have to shield him from this. He's already drawn)
being scared by daddy (Chad is determined to teach E not to be a "fradie cat" (spelling?)

Dislikes:
green beans (will eat a few bites but then seals his lips shut. I hear that this is common)
diaper changes without any toys or if he's really hungry
unfamilar faces and voices
going to see the doctor for shots
the loud noises of motorcycles
teething...it hurts! (He now has two teeth...they are both on the bottom. The second one is just poking through the gums but the first is very visible. No more toothless smile!)

As you can see, we are very lucky to have such a happy little boy! Let's hope he stays as content as he is now. His smiles and laughs brighten our days.

First Collection

I have brought it upon myself to get my son started on his first toy collection. I figure if I can introduce him to Thomas the Tank Engine at various stages in his early development, the train bug will bite and he will want to go train spotting and build a model railroad with me. Otherwise, if he doesn't like Thomas, I can enjoy the toys myself.

I decided not to do the more expensive Thomas wooden railway, even before the lead paint recall. I am instead purchasing the die cast models for children aged 3 and up. My idea is to gradually purchase these toys, one at a time, so that he has a suitable collection by time he is of age.

He and I already spent one Saturday afternoon touring 5 Targets to purchase some items they put on clearance. It was probably the longest we spent out away from mommy and home, just the two of us. He was well behaved, enjoyed looking at the displays, and even rode in a cart's child seat for the first time.

If anyone would like to contribute, just let me know and I can let you in on the list of must haves. I myself have been watching many Thomas and Friends as research. I enjoy that they are only 5 minutes long, and they are real train models.

6 months old!

Wow! Can you believe it? Our little guy has now turned 6 months old! Time sure has flown by. I still can't quite believe that I have now officially gone 6 months without a full nights sleep. I've been told by some to kiss those days goodbye. I'm still hoping that one day I'll wake up at 7am for the very first time. :)

It seems like I have so many new things to write about. I don't even know where to start. E is sure changing and is definitely showing us his sweet, happy personality. He is such a content little guy...unless he is tired or hungry. On his sixth month birthday, he definitely surprised a lot of us. Laurie and I brought him to get his sixth month pictures (which are adorable by the way) and the photographer wanted to have some sitting photos. I explained that he wasn't able to quite sit up on his own and voila! He did it! Right in the photo studio! It was amazing! Laurie and I just stood in awe and E sat up and smiled at the camera. It was so adorable! Then, that night we laid him down to bed in his crib and after a brief while, he started whimpering. All of a sudden he then began screaming. Chad went upstairs to see what the deal was and sure enough...little guy rolled over from his back to his tummy and he wasn't liking it. He's been able to roll over from his tummy to back since he was like two weeks old, so he definitely surprised himself and wasn't sure what to do. After three times of having this happen, Chad finally decided to lay him in our bed and lay next to him just until he fell asleep as we were both extremely tired. It took all but two minutes and E was asleep. He still struggles falling asleep, as he likes to sleep on his side now but can't seem to stablize himself without rolling over. We've found that having him sleep toward the outside of his crib helps a little. He has been going to bed around 9 lately and usually wakes up around 3 or so. We need to really start trying to get him to learn how to fall asleep on his own as he is still quite dependent on nursing in the middle of the night. E usually falls right back to sleep after eating and doesn't wake up until about 7:45 or so. He's been doing very well about sleeping in his own crib the entire night which has been so great!

Then, on Wednesday, we felt E's first tooth...which has popped out of his gums! It's the left one on the bottom. He has seemed a little crabbier today, so we decided to give him some infant motrin. It's hard to tell though if it's the tooth that is bugging him or the fact that he had his six month shots on Friday. We sure hate those! He now weighs 17 lbs and is a healthy little boy! The doctor was very impressed with how happy and content he is. Yay!

We've decided to go out and purchase a new carseat that will carry us through until E is 100lbs as it converts to a booster seat! He's almost grown out of his infant carrier. It was an expensive purchase, but one we knew we needed to make. The carseat isn't installed yet but I'm looking forward to not having to carry an infant carseat around everywhere! He's getting too heavy! It is going to stink to have to remove him from the seat if he's sleeping, but what do ya do?

E has also really started into solid foods. He's now had applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, and peaches. He seems to really favor sweet potatoes! He seemed to be getting tired of his rice cereal, so I began mixing in fruit, but I finally decided to start giving him oatmeal today. I made sure to mix pears in it as last time we tried oatmeal, he really had trouble pooping. We'll see how it goes! The last couple of days he hasn't seemed as interested or hungry for baby food. In fact, he closes his mouth and won't open up wide. I'm hoping it's the shot and not his lack of interest because he really has enjoyed it! If it is, that's okay too. He's only 6 months old. I noticed in Chad's last blog that he mentioned that E doesn't want to nurse anymore. This isn't all true. E doesn't have patience sometimes for my milk to let down and therefore, we just give him a bottle. I'm trying really hard to cut out a feeding or two now so that I don't have to when school starts. My plan is to be done nursing when I return to teaching in late August, so it's best I start slowly weaning him and me now. So far he has responded to formula just fine...thank goodness.

I sure love my little boy! Giving him hugs and kisses are my favorite. Or when he wakes up, looks at me, and smiles the biggest smile! He looks more and more like me everyday and sure has my smiley personality! Let's hope he learns to have more patience than me though...haha

I should end this blog entry, as I'm realizing it's a long one and I should be getting to bed. Chad has said that he's going to blog about E's new toys, so look forward to reading all about that soon.

Vacation

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July. We sure did.

We made the annual week trip to Amy's parent's place in the Brainerd Lakes area. We did some shopping, 2 rounds of mini-golf, I did 9 holes of regular golf, we grilled, sat by the camp fire, went out on the boat, and Amy fished.

We got E a new life jacket, one that was thinner. He didn't mind if we were cruising, but if we stopped to fish he didn't like it. He will have to stay back at the cabin with either Amy's mom or I when we fish. I don't fish, I just drive the boat. I used to hook the worms and remove the fish for Amy, but I'm taking a rest from that since she has her dad, cousin Laurie, and brother Rob to do that for her.

We did have some excitement on the boat. Once when we took it out it wouldn't start so it needed to be towed in by a neighbor. When we neared the dock, we didn't have control over the pontoon so I quickly grabbed the dock to push us away so we wouldn't crash. I must have pushed too hard because the next thing I knew my hands were on the dock and my tip toes were on the pontoon. Nothing but water in between. Instead of going in face first I let my feet go and soaked my pants and shoes. The water was past my waist. It was warm at least and I didn't have anything in my pockets (such as a camera or wallet) thank goodness.

The jeans were going to be thrown away when we got home anyway because it had a huge hole, so I ended up burning them in the camp fire. My shoes will never be the same. If I were wearing Chucks I could just stick them in the washing machine, but these sneakers got sand and silt in the lining and I couldn't rinse them. So, after a year of not wearing Chucks because of Plantar Fasciitis, I am back in Chucks. At least until I get a new pair of regular tennis shoes.

Since I haven't had any foot problems perhaps I'll be able to get Chucks back into my shoe rotation. I won't be able to wear them that much though.

E enjoyed his second trip up to the lake. He slept okay, and was introduced to his first baby food. He has now eaten apple sauce and sweet potatoes. He also decided he no longer wants breast milk and will only drink formula from a bottle. Amy was sad at first, but she decided she would need to ween him off in August anyway so if he choose to do it first maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He received the good stuff for almost 6 months.

He also developed a new sound. He likes doing the "THHHH" noise with his tongue. Mommy and Daddy love doing it back to him. He likes it too.