Our Baby Size Life!

Archive for April, 2008

One of the biggest questions we had as parents awaiting Sam’s birth, besides the whole “is it a boy or a girl” thing, is what Sam would look like. Because on the ultrasound, you get squat. The pic on the left is Sam’s first official picture! That’s his ultrasound at 12.6 weeks, and let me tell you that Melissa and I stared at this picture an obscene amount of times before he was born. We’d just lay in bed wondering who’s nose, eyes, ears, hair, etc, he’d have. Would he resemble his Mom or his Dad? Maybe, and most likely, a mixing of both?

These questions filled our heads and conversations with family and friends until the day Sam popped into our lives…

And when he came out…

This weekend was a special one. I was sick. Food poisoning, had some bad cheese stuffed pasta. That was a first for me! And I’m actually glad it was only that, because having the flu could have been a big deal if Sam would have caught it! So Friday started off with a bang, literally, as I rarely left the bathroom . Once I had blown chunks, I started feeling a lot better… yeah sorry for the details, but it’s my blog so there!!!

Melissa and I have an agreement that she gets up during the week (Sunday to Thursday nights) to feed Sam and I get Friday and Saturday nights. I know, it doesn’t seem fair to me either, but it’s been 5 weeks now and things are going good. The one thing I love the most about this arrangement so far, is Sam and I get some quality time Saturday and Sunday mornings. We go downstairs in the basement, to let Mom sleep, and we pop in a movie.

It’s a great arrangement! Sam gets his bottle and some cuddle time with Dad… and Dad gets a little movie time in during a busy week schedule. This week, we watched The Shawshank Redemption which is quite possibly my favorite movie ever. If you haven’t seen it, please close this browser window, turn off your computer, get in your car and go rent it. I started giving Sam his bottle during the opening credits and Sam was asleep soon after. One great movie later (about 2h20 minutes), Sam wakes up during the end credits. Perfect timing.

As an added bonus, Sunday was a beautiful day to work on the property. Getting some fresh air was just what I needed after being inside a not-so-good smelling bathroom . Plus, yes another super bonus, Mario Kart Wii came out on Sunday! Yes it’s fun, yes it’s worth it! So while you’re out buying the Shawshank Redemption on DVD for a paltry 5$ at your local tech store, you might want to check out Mario Kart Wii as well!

I know what you’re thinking…and NO, I don’t get any commission on those sales

Sam, however, was not impressed by the sunny day or Mario Kart Wii. He has recently discovered his fingers! He loves his fingers and can be heard sucking away furiously on his fingers throughout the house… as seen in the pics below.

P.S. I case you were wondering, that first pic is actually me when I was a kid and sick with the flu. Our dog Sandy, would come and sleep beside me on the bathroom floor. I really miss that dog but I don’t miss that bathrooms color scheme! Yikes!

Last time I posted on subliminal ads, it turned out to be a very popular post (check in out here!).  So here’s an encore. This time however, I’ve included some Walt Disney classic subliminal scenes, which are, even to this day, controversial. One thing we should be noticing, however, is that all these subliminal images point to the same, repetitive theme: SEX. Why? Because sex sells baby! To prove it, artists like Spears, Madonna, etc have made millions with their constant sexual imaging… Plus the worlds oldest profession is prostitution and the porn industry is one of the biggest money makers in the world… except in Amish country… no T.V.s!

While some advertising is not sex related, take the hidden arrow (colored white in the image) found in the FedEx logo, they a much more rare. Although it’s only a simple arrow, the sharp crispness of its edges and right facing point, are effective ways to convey the message that FedEx gets things done fast, efficiently and the right way. I’ve seen that logo hundreds of times and I never saw the hidden arrow, but now that it’s been exposed to my conscience, I see it all the time! Subliminal advertising done clean and effectively… without boobs!

But people like the filthy stuff, so check out these other little pieces of copulation advertising…

Continue reading…

On the 20th of April, Sam turned 2 months old and yesterday it was time for his second visit to his pediatrician, Dr. B. In case you haven’t read my first posting on Sam’s pediatrician, you can check it out here. I recommend you check it out, just for the picture alone! In short, this dude has some serious, professional quality, ear hair. But all kidding aside, he’s very patient and attentive… which must be tough with all that ear hair

So he checks Sam out and barks a bunch of numbers and words out to his assistant who’s busy scribbling away on her clipboard. Everything is going well and he then pulls down Sam’s diaper to check out his twig and berries. But in doing so, he bends down and sticks his nose about 3 inches from Sam’s 3rd leg…and I’m thinking: “Buddy, if Sam lets it rip, there is no way you make it out dry…“. Sam’s little soldier, stirred by the influx of cool air, suddenly stands at attention I’m already thinking of ways to apologize to Dr. B. for Sam’s quick trigger, but all is well as the diaper is put back into place before any damage is done.

After that close call, the rest of the appointment went well, here are Sam’s 2 month old stats:

• 11.8 lbs (up from 10.1 lbs one month ago)
• 23 1/4 inches long (up from 21 1/4 from a month ago)
• 41 cm head diameter (up from 38.5 one month ago) – which means he will be super intelligent and rule the world

To finish up, Sam got his first 2 vaccination shots He did cry a bit as he took a needle in each thigh. But he soon stopped crying as Melissa held him close and whispered sweet nothings to him to calm him down. Way to go Mommy! I told you she was good right?!? Soon after, Sam was sleeping easy in his car seat, heading home with Mom…while Dad went to work thinking about how lucky they are to spend so much time together Can summer vacation get here fast enough?!?!

It’s that time of year again, you crank open the windows letting that fresh spring breeze fill the house, and that’s when you notice dust bunnies bigger than Russell Crowe’s ego sliding across the floor. Yep, it’s time for a little spring cleaning! That meant my lazy Sunday was shot! When you ‘Spring Clean’ a house, you inherently sacrifice 2 days to do the job, in this case the weekend, thus rendering my chances of updating the blog as good as Ron Paul becoming president.

Quick note: This is a dust bunny… not this

Saturday was a very busy day as the cleaning began in earnest with Melissa’s twin sister, Myriam, helping us out. Later in the day, Myriam’s boyfriend Norm showed up… just in time for lunch! What a coincidence! Actually, I had invited him over and he helped pull out the patio furniture, which was appreciated. Inside the house, I got stuck on bathroom duty. Not to say our bathroom was rancid, we aren’t animals that dump on the floor after all, but it took me a good hour of scrubbin’ and wipin’ and sprayin’ and rinsin’ to get the job done.

Sunday was a little quieter, as we went through our closets to sift through our clothes. We take out what we haven’t worn the previous season, and if they are in good condition, we donate them to a local charity. Sam was eager to help us out here. Especially after Saturday’s failed attempt at his assigned task of washing the ceiling…  because he was sleeping on the job (see inset)!

Sammy-boy started off nice and happy on a clean bed, but he soon noticed he was being surrounded! The piles were getting higher and we thought we might lose him in there! But thankfully, Mom and Dad finished going through the piles and freed Sam from his textile prison and the whole family relaxed together knowing it was a job well done!

What a weekend! Whew! Sam was so beat, he put on his joggers and ate chips all afternoon! OK, maybe that was Mom and Dad

Well Ottawa is the first team out this year! Can’t say I’m surprised… but what does surprise me is the rumor that the franchise will be changing names next year: The Ottawa Titanics. I think that’s a fitting name as its plays well on their promising start to the regular season (16-2), up to their utter demise and destruction in the playoffs! They only got 706 fans out of the building before it sank, after hitting an iceberg full of penguins.

It looks like Chuck Norris has a lot of work to do, he’s gonna have to head back to the Vietcong to find Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley as they’ve been M.I.A. since the series began! Gerber isn’t M.I.A. however, they found him at a toll booth next to Sonny Corleone… and I’ll let you guess who had more holes in them.

If there’s any goods news to come of this, its that the “battle of Ontario” will now take place on the golf course! Will Alfredsson out-drive Sundin? Who will block the most putts…Gerber or Toskala? Who knows…and who cares!

The web is full of crap. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. But from time to time, a true gem of a website, like this one! , emerges from the endless pile of pixilated poop. I seem to look for websites that can offer me something other than a cheap laugh, or sports scores and celebrity news because they are space fillers and time killers. Sometimes I just stare at an empty browser and think, where is the good stuff? Where are the really cool, innovative, community growing, person helping, life changing sites? Like this one!

Well, I found one.

I found a site called 43 Things and it allows you to join a community and list 43 things you want to do. You can also comment on other people’s lists and say whether or not you’ve already done what they want to do. It’s a fun read that in some way gives you the courage and motivation to do the things you list, because the net can now see it. Putting these ideas to paper(or on the web) gives them weight, and they can’t be forgotten as easily, so you pay them a little more attention and eventually get them done. Snooping through the site, I found one user, a 29 year old female, who for her upcoming 30th birthday, decided to do something fun and unique. She will do something new every day until her 30th birthday! That’s 365 new experiences!

And I think that’s a great Idea.

So I am going to try the same thing! However, I am severely short on time as my 30th birthday is under 30 days away , so I’ll improvise! I’m going to try 30 new things in my 30th year! Now while some of the list items are as easy as tasting new food, some are rather involving and some are things that have hung around my head for years. If you couldn’t tell, today’s post ties into yesterdays very well. Now I do have lifelong goals that won’t be listed here, because as stated, these are goals I want to accomplish in my 30th year! Plus, these goals have been chosen to fit seamlessly, OK with a gentle nudge here and there, into my new life as a Dad, so we’ll see how it all turns out!

You can see my list so far by clicking below. If you have any suggestions, by all means let me have ‘em!

It’s a fun exercise to do, you might be surprised at what pops up, plus it kind of puts things into perspective. Do you have anything you’ve always wanted to do?

Click here to see my 30 in 30!

Its Sunday! What is supposed to be a lazy day, will actually be pretty busy for me! We’ve just gotten back from two days at the parents house because we had a family party celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of my aunt and uncle… Sam was a big hit at the party, but more on that later in the week!

Even though, you can’t feel it by today’s weather, Spring is here! This week in Montreal, they are announcing 4 or 5 straight days of plus 15 degrees weather! But I’ll be working Anyhoot, Spring is the time for renewal and every time this year, I feel like re-inventing a little bit of myself, to better myself for the coming year. It could be a writing binge, taking up a new sport or just bettering myself as a person. And that’s what today’s post is about! Here are some helpful thoughts to put life into perspective and maybe encourage you to kill that procrastination bug that’s bitten you, and take advantage of the beautiful weather, to do something new and exiting!

Click here to read some of my favorite quotes and (hopefully) be inspired!

Since I’ve started back at work, when I get home, for me, it’s all Sammy all the time. Melissa deservedly gets the evening off and I take care of the little munchkin. A nice little tradition we’ve started is having bath time be a Father & Son moment. It’s our bonding time that I look forward to every night and, well to be honest, I feel useful! I believe that is the biggest problem I’ve been having since Sam took his first breath: feeling useful!  But Melissa says I’m doing great, so as long as she’s happy, I’m happy

So now that Dad has an official baby job to do, I give it my all…and Sam does too! He gives his ‘all’ on my hand, my arm and sometimes my leg. Wherever his little pea shooter is aiming, I am foolish enough to have some kind of body part in the way for him to soak!

Check out our bath time fun here!