Kane Day Trip

Colleen and I have been in deliberation for the last few days regarding us taking some sort of "out-of-town" trip...nothing crazy, but a simple day trip with no expectations or responsibilities. We were trying to decide whether we wanted to take an overnight trip and leave our children with Colleen's parents for a night, or just take a day trip and take the kids with us at our own peril. We opted just to take the boys out for a day trip to Lahaska's Peddlers Village...sort of an old-town type touristy shopping area. I like it because there is a great coffee place and a place that sells a vast assortment of nuts (cashews, pecans, peanuts, et. al.). Colleen likes it because it has some stores that has things she's interested in...scrapbooking...home decor...et. al. Christopher likes it because there's a "window" [windmill] and "fisees" [fish]. (As an aside, I'd like to add that Christopher took two rides on the huge 90-year-old carousel there without screaming his fool head off! Truly a momentous occasion.) Matthew doesn't have an opinion about the place one way or another. I can say that both children and both adults were cooperative (pretty amazing if you ask me)...and all went better than expected. Of course I forgot my camera, so I used my cell phone...which was going swimmingly until the battery died. As if it isn't bad enough you're stuck taking pictures with a cell phone, which are typically shoddy at best, then it has to go and die on me. Although I did get some pictures of Matthew, Colleen, and even myself, the only usable, or even identifiable, pictures are of Christopher. So, aside from Matthew's apparent neglect, all went well.

Having a Cell-Phone with a Camera When You've Forgotten Your Regular Camera? Priceless...k

Yeah....

So...

For those who know me...and not even know me well...just know me,

I'm constantly losing stuff

or

forgetting stuff

or

leaving stuff at home...

Thankfully, I almost ALWAYS keep my cell phone in my right front hip pocket (and good luck trying to pick-pocket me for those who have the gall to try!). I've discovered that my cell phone actually has a decent camera. It is only 5 mp's, but it does the job...and without a flash. Anyways, I've been taking random photos with my cell phone and I thought I'd show them to those who follow the blog.

(Below: left to right - Oxford Valley Mall play area - riding in the airplane, playing with some tic-tac-toe game, and doing his "Training Day" impersonation, "KING KONG AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' ON ME!!!)

The day after Matthew was born, Colleen and I decided to give my mother-in-law a break from having to take care of Christopher. So I took him. Christopher is a very typical 2-year-old boy who runs and jumps (sometimes both simultaneously) constantly except when he's sleeping. Because of this, we really try to get him outside playing and frolicking as much as possible. Its good for him (most importantly) and good for us (less important, but not by much!). Because the weather has been so crummy all over the country...blistering heat and humidity, I decided to take him to the play area of the local mall before the stores opened for business.....which means no crowds. We played there for about an hour or so, then we went to visit Mommy and Matthew at the Hospital.

(Below: At St. Mary's Hospital: Colleen's face is priceless in this one....and, believe it or not, she's made that face anywhere from 5 - 50 times per day since Matthew and Christopher have been sharing a roof, then Matthew....day one)

Christopher at the Park: We try to go to a park at least 3 times per week. This park is one of Christopher's favorites...and it is pretty cool. It has a huge wooden play-apparatus thing that resembles a wooden fort....it has swings, 5 slides, a zip-line, parallel bars, bouncing bridge, and a sand pit just to name a few of the playground amenities. I did discover that my son has a lot of strength (as evidenced by the center picture here). He repeatedly grabs bars, drops, and holds himself off the ground for long periods of time. The picture below he went for over a minute before he dropped and did it again 4 times. I also discovered that although he is pretty strong, he is not very agile or fleet of foot (see below: left of center). Christopher tried repeatedly to climb up the "tire-ramp" (a set of 4 tires set up in a ramp that kids climb to get atop this Lincoln-Log-esque labyrinth of wonderfulness and fell into the bottom tire. I was there helping him...sort of (I'm big on independence)...holding my hands within inches of his hips as he trudged up the ramp...and promptly slipped down through the hole on his second step. He didn't fall again and I was much more attentive to his safety....but he didn't repeat the mistake again. Don't worry, he was fine...no tears. He fell and yelled out "I otay, Daddy! Help, peas."

Finally, I got him reading before bed. We give him time before lights out to "read" a book of his choice. His favorite book of late is the book he got from our good friends, Karen, Nick, and Zooey..."Charlie Parker played be bop". I think the book is pretty fun and he enjoys it. He also loves Shel Silverstein's poem "Boa Constrictor", but we don't do that one all the time as its more interactive and sometimes it becomes counter-productive to Christopher sleeping.

....and with Christopher now in bed, we bid you goodnight.

Sleeping Babies and Sick Big Brother

Seriously....what's cuter than a sleeping baby? NOTHING! We got some good shots of the new bug-a-boo taking some well-deserved nap-time. Its been a crazy two-weeks for the boy doing what newborns do....eating....pooping...trying to keep his head upright (somewhat successfully)...opening his eyes and checking out the scene from time to time...you know....all that stuff. Regardless, we got some pretty nice shots...didn't have to crop them out, center them, or anything....enjoy.

...and while Matthew was chilling out, scoping out, and pooping out....Christopher ended up getting sick. He got so sick, in fact, that he fell asleep by our sliding glass door. Not to worry, he has since recovered and is as good as new. What I thought was funny was that he fell asleep while playing with a puzzle piece and with his juice cup and using the curtain as a blanket. It almost looks like a scene from CSI (only the original, of course...not one of those off-brands). I told Colleen that she should have framed his body with carpet tape or masking tape...but she said that she wouldn't do it and that I have a sick sense of humor...while chuckling at the same time...we're sick and wrong.

Tonight

The Kanes were feeling kind of giddy and weird tonight...so we just took some random pictures of the boys purely for the sake of enjoyment. No stories....no whimsical rhetoric, just pictures.

(clockwise from upper left, or top to bottom (depending on the size and format of your computer screen): Christopher in his "Lance Armstrong" pj's (I call them that because they're tight like a bicycler's outfit) holding Matthew, Christopher taking a break from the Phillies' game (Phillies v. Mets...Phillies won), Matthew raising the roof, Christopher showing Matthew some love, and Matthew)

That's What I'm Talkin' About

When I was a kid, I was all about Hot Wheels cars and Matchbox cars. In fact, I'm sure there are photos of me at some point of my life playing with my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars in much the same way as Christopher does. Christopher absolutely loves cars (or "cart-ehs), airplanes, helicopters (or "he-kop-tas"), and all that stuff. Its weird because I haven't pushed him at all, but he just loves little cars...as I did as a wee-lad. I thought these pictures were cute so I decided to post them. I love how he just submerges into his little world of imagination when he's playing with them. He rarely has them driving around...most of the time he entrances himself with organizing them in some crazy way for what seems like hours, although Christopher can't focus on anything for more than a few minutes, so I'm sure it just seems like hours!

Matthew's First Bath

Matthew's umbilical chord finally dropped from his abdomen, which means that he is officially able to take a real bath with real water in a real baby bathtub. Truly a momentous occasion in the Kane household. Colleen took the opportunity to do just that, give Matthew his first real bath. He handled it about as well as we expected...about as well as Christopher did his first bath. (Christopher's first bath given by his Daddy who woke him up and put him in an arctic abyss of a bath....Karen got to witness that one. It was definitely one of my "learning" experiences.) Colleen unfortunately had to tackle this situation herself as I was otherwise incapacitated with Matthew's older brother who was refusing to take a nap. Not only did she give the kid a bath, but she was also able to knock out some pretty good photos of the whole situation. Bravo, Colleen....bravo. (If you could see me now, you'd be witnessing me imitating Charles Dutton's infamous clapping session at the end of the movie "Rudy").

...all the while, I was in Christopher's room pulling out some Nanny 911 tactics from his bag-o'-tricks. If you're wondering what trickery was afoot before stoning me to death or setting me aflame on a wooden steak, I will briefly explain. Christopher has been having "difficulty" napping in the afternoon, and he needs an afternoon nap for the sanity of everyone in the house. He's taking advantage of having the freedom from the seclusion a crib offers and keeps getting up to play...he's being a 2-year old and also pushing some limits. So, after 2-hours of playing "Christopher's-Out-of-His-Bed-but-Ran-to-His-Bed-When-Daddy Opened-His-Bedroom-Door-Peek-a-Boo", I decided to give this Nanny 911 trick a shot. Basically, I put him in bed and told him quietly, "It is nap-time, Christopher. It is time to sleep." I then sat in the room against an opposite wall and read a book. I ignored all of his whining and crying (aside from one instance when he knocked his dome pretty hard on one of the guardrails), pleading and "no"ing. When he got out of bed, I simply rose from my seated position, picked him up, and put him back into bed without saying anything to him at all. Well, I must admit that Nanny 911 might be on to something here. He was asleep within 20 minutes after playing the aforementioned "Peek-a-Boo" game for almost 3-hours (I'm not typing all that mess again and using cut-and-paste annoys me...sorry). So, we'll see how things go tomorrow.

The much bigger story, however, Matthew got his first bath today and there was much rejoicing.

Some Picture Updates

We were, quite honestly, unsure of how well Christopher would adapt to having a new baby brother in the house. He is an extremely affectionate young boy, but he loves his parents. Colleen would contend that he is especially close to his daddy, but I'm not exactly sure I agree with that. Regardless, we actually thought that he would overt issues with Matthew getting a bunch of attention from his parents and feeling somewhat neglected. I have to be honest, I actually believed that he would be jealous and become a whiny puddle of hot mess...but I was wrong, and I'll be the first to admit it. On the contrary, Christopher has shown nothing but affection towards Matthew. He's constantly wanting to hold him, hug him, and kiss him....even "helps" daddy carry Matthew in his carrier into the car. Now, we didn't think that he would be the type of kid who would lash out towards Matthew, and we were right about that one. He has, however, accidentally hurt Matthew while trying to be affectionate...Matthews gotten a headbutt on more than one occasion, but all loving headbutts...so I guess its okay, right? I took some pictures to prove to the naysayers that our eldest son is a caring, compassionate, and loving big brother...



See? He even gave up his crib for his little brother...now that is truly a sacrifice.

Matthew Thomas Kane Update

Just wanted to give you all an update on the Matthew Thomas. He's doing very well. He has a very healthy set of lungs and seems to be incredibly feisty. He fought tooth and nail to prevent the nurses from getting accurate weight and height measurements....but to no avail. Colleen is also doing well. She had to have a C-section because Matthew had the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck twice, thus his heart rate was too low to carry out a "natural with Rx" birth. Colleen is in some pain, but doing well. Christopher is adjusting as well as any 2 year old would expect. He's given Matthew hugs and kisses, but hasn't paid him much mind thus far. We'll see how things continue to develop with that relationship after they meet at home. It should prove to be interesting.

That's the news thus far. Below are some pictures of some of the family Matthew has met thus far. We can't wait for Matthew to get to meet all of you.

h

Welcome to the World, Matthew Thomas Kane

Thomas, Colleen, and Christopher Kane would like to introduce the newest addition to our family. Everyone, please meet:

Matthew Thomas Kane
born 08/04/2010
weight: 8 lbs. 0 oz.
height: 20 1/4 in.

Christopher's Christening of His "Big-Boy" Bed

It is a momentous day in the Kane household...Christopher Michael has officially christened his "big-boy" toddler bed. Daddy was prepping his "old" room for the soon-to-be addition (hopefully) to our household. The cleaning and straightening and other touch-up things that were going on were taking longer than he had originally though...long past Christopher's usual nap-time hours. So Daddy decided that now would be as good a time as any to get him going in his new bed. It wasn't a completely clean run without any hitches, but it went much better than I had thought it would. He had mistakenly, but appropriately, shut himself in the room playing when Colleen asked me to put him to bed for a nap.

"Christopher, it's time for your nap okay?" I said, opening the door after he'd shut himself in.
"O-tay"
"You're going to sleep in your new big-boy room so go ahead and lie down in your big-boy bed."
"O-tay." he replied pouting.
"Okay, give Daddy a kiss and I'll see you in a bit. I love you."
"I yuvoo"

I then felt it necessary to check on him three times. The first time because the wind had shut his door and he had apparently rose from the bed to try to open the door again. The second was just to check on him. This time he was rustling around and starting to wrap himself into a blue-Christopher burrito-like-creation. Once he does that move, "lights out" is certain. Lo! and behold! He was asleep within 5-minutes, when I checked him the final time before la-la land. It really is a proud moment for me as a parent, although somewhat bitter-sweet as I'm reminded that he no longer a baby...officially. Time just seems to move too fast sometimes.