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.

Christopher's New Room and Our New Kitchen (both about 85% done)

A look at Christopher's new bedroom and our new kitchen floor and paint job. The old kitchen is the last picture, and I never took a picture of the "old version" of Christopher's room. I admittedly paid or the kitchen to be done (painting walls and ceiling and new floor installation), but I did Christopher's room myself...aside from the new carpet. Obviously, no curtains or blinds have been installed yet...that wil happen this week, I might update the pictures at that point, but who knows.

4th of July with My Cousins

The first part of our 4th of July festivities involved us going to New Jersey to visit some of my family...namely, my Aunt Jennifer and her kids, Tommy, Jeff, Justin, and Michael. Jeff was kind enough to extend an invitation to me and my family to come to his girlfriend's (Tara) house. It was cool to see them and chill with them. We really should do it more often. We also got to see my cousin, Mike, former Marine MP Canine Unit and son to my godfather and godmother/Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbie. It was a good visit with my family....this is a good thing I think.

Hanging Out with Charlie

Our friends Kristy and Mikes' daughter, Charlie, came over to visit with Christopher last Friday....they had a great time. They played some piano for a little while and then swam for an hour or so before they both took very long naps (separate beds, of course). It was a good time for them.

...and I must apologize for the messy house, we're getting some work done in or kitchen so everything that was in our kitchen is now in the corner of our living room next to the piano...thanks for your understanding.

Christopher Swimming

The second half of our 4th of July festivities took place at a friend of the family's house in Bensalem, PA, which is about 5 miles or so south of Levittown, wehre I live. The family has an in-ground pool. Christopher was more than excited about getting to swim in it.

Now, the significance of this post? I mean, Christopher has certainly swam before, so this is no reason to triumph or celebrate, no? So, the signficance is that Christopher has graduated to being able to swim with his swim-tube without having to be held...swimming all by himself (sort of). So this post is to mark this point in his life. He was proud as a peacock about it, yelling "I'm swimming! I'm swimming! Good job!" repeatedly. He swam for over 3 hours without and had to literally be forced out of the pool because he was so tired he was being obstinant and wasn't listening. It was truly a great day.

Jamming

In keeping with the "making sure my child has some culture" process, may we now introduce:

Christopher M. Kane's rendition of Bob Marley's "Jamming"...

please hold your applause until the end and I apologize for messing up the lyric.