Black Friday

O.K., People who know me know that I actually hate about everything that has to do with the Black Friday sales extravaganza. I hate the way impatience, arguing, rudeness, and other completely ludacris behaviors that entail the shopping melee. I also generally hate being around large groups of people, waking up at 2:00 in the morning, then standing out in the cold to buy something no one really needs (or sometimes even wants). I've done it before and vowed never to do it again, but this time, I was swayed by Colleen to come out with her and her family. Being the dedicated and loving husband I am, I agreed to go through this torturous event if, for no other reason, because it would make her happy. After the Thanksgiving feast, we dropped Christopher off at Pop-Pop and Nana Culley's house to have his first sleep-over. This was our first time having the house to ourselved without him...it was pretty tough (honestly tougher for her than me). I reminded her that her parents were really excited about having him stay over for the first time, which seemed to help her a lot (admittedly, it also served as a reassurance to me as well...)

We got to Circuit City, which I guess is where they go every year, around 2:30 in the morning and was surprised that the lines weren't too bad. I contributed it to the failing economy, but I'm no financial analyst. This was also slightly awkward for me because I had a part time job there last year and quit due to a lot of things that were going on...lets just say our split was not amicable. So I wasn't sure of how my entrance into the store was going to go. The wait wasn't as bad as I thought. I 'm thankful that a lot of people in Colleen's family are very funny and we ended up laughing a lot of the time. And my aforementioned awkwardness quickly subsided as I entered the store and was greeted with open arms by the few people I actually got along with during my stint at Circuit City. Here are some pics of the wait...

After Circuit City, we headed to a nearby diner (not the Blue Falcon for those who ate there during my wedding out here) for breakfast, then headed out to Target and Kohl's. We all separated after that and went our different ways. Col and I headed home for a nap, then went to pick up our son and that was that for the Black Friday fun.

All things said and done, we ended up with a few gifts (2 for Colleen, 6 for Christopher, and 3-4 for me). So it wasn't a completely awful experience, as I figured it would be. The obvious question remains, though....and the answer is "probably never again." Colleen can pretty much talk me into anything.

Thanksgiving Pictures

Some pics of Christopher's Thanksgiving...we start with his post-breakfast/pre-bath chillin' in his high chair while Mommy is cooking pies and stuffing for Thanksgiving and Daddy is cleaning up the breakfast mess (the in-laws were over for Thanksgiving breakfast). Christopher is content with his chew toys and a bit of attention.

Daddy gave Christopher a bath, and we had a good time playing afterwards. We also played with some bathtoys during his bath. Most of bathtime was splashing with hands and feet, but we did get the bath in...even a hair wash! But there was still more fun to be had after getting out of the tub, dried off, and diapered up...especially his very impressive impersonation of Sean Penn here.

Then we got to Colleen's aunt's house and feasted. All were merry...until Christopher's second cousin decided to take his lunch money! Only kidding, of course...she apparently wanted to pose with him for the picture and I tought it was funny becuase it really looks like she's about to punch him in the face and he actually looks a little scared...cowering to the larger, faster, and stronger second cousin!

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.

Been a While...

It has been a while since I've posted anything to the ol' blog. Things have been a little crazy at the Kane house for the last couple of weeks. Regardless, I thought I'd take some time and post a couple of pictures I took over the last week or so...enjoy....

There is absolutely no chance of Maury now...He looks just like me in this picture. Its pretty scary. I even think I've made that face on more than one occasion. Those who know me well can identify this look as my general look of "what the hell?"

I don't think that he's feelin' the hat. Mommy and Nana Culley dig it...and I suspect that Grammy Stevie loves it as well. Daddy hates it, but he needed a hat and that was the only one we could find in the 4 stores we searched that had one that would fit. Probably because last week, the temps dropped under 20 degrees F. I'm still a last-minute-man apparently. I love his face...as if he's saying, "I hate them....both of them."

AND he's finally holding his own bottle on his own...pretty magnificent I think...but I'm a bit biased. He has one of those cool Captain Kirk-esque high-chairs that has separate tilt functions for the tray and the seat...craziness. Anyway, he had just finished downing some turkey and sweet potatoes and a bit of mango (which is what is splattered ever-so-slightly over his tray). He seems to be taking to the home-pureed foods pretty well. We just started meat a couple of weeks ago. So far, out of everything we've tried (veggies, fruits, and now turkey), he hasn't completely rejected anything. He wasn't such a fan of lima beans, but who is?

Well, there you go. I must off to bed now...

Night, all.

Guess Who Figured Out How to Get Cell Phone Pics on His Blog

That's right....me! So, I thought I'd share some of the pictures that I've taken with my cell phone since the lad decided to grace us with his presence. Some of the pics are a bit out of focus, but taking pictures with a cell phone can, as many of you might know, be somewhat challenging. Definitely not Anne Geddess (sp?) material or anything like that, but still...

ABOVE
Here's Christopher an hour or so after his birth (upper left) and some random cute pic I had to get when he was about 3 months (upper right). Cuddling with his wolf teether thing (lower left) and falling asleep after almost an hour of screaming his head off (lower right)...don't worry, he was tired the whole time and couldn't be consoled at the time. So he got some supervised floor time. After long battle with the strong human urges to rest and recooperate, he had to succumb to the gentle beast of human nature.


ABOVE

(left)...we were at a party for the child of one of Colleen's friends. This was Christopher's first visit to Philadelphia since his intrduction to gaseous oxygen. Good times had by all. The pizza was really good I remember. We shared that same expression for much of the party. (right) Christopher at the Gastro-Intenstinal doctor at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (not a fun drive if you're wondering). He was, obviously, elated to find out that he was no longer under the weight charts in the dungeon of infant development...jumping from 4th percentile to 10th percentile. We all shared his excitement.

BELOW

I hate to admit this, but I was at the mall (not an activity I practice often, trust me) and found myself being drawn into Gap Kids or Kid's Gap...whatever. The scary thing is that these pictures were taken almost a week apart...8 days apart to be precise. Regardless, after being drawn into the abyss, if you will, I found some humor in trying on these flap hats (we only tried them on because I refuse to pay over a certain dollar amout for baby clothing...call me irresponsible or Daddy Dearest if it makes you feel better). They made out for pretty decent pictures...and my son has the patience of a saint...a trait that he had to have gotten from his mother (for those of you who know me well).

Also note that Daddy has an uncanny ability to accessorize...brown hat with earth-toned outfit on left, red hat (barely noticeable...sorry) on the right with the red/white/blue athletic outfit...craziness...

He Loves Bathtime

So he's getting ready for his bath...guess who likes to be naked....sorry the last shot is so blurry...its tough to get good close-ups of him now that he's moving around like a squid in water....

Guess Who's Learning to Share?

So I guess the t-shirt finally decided it would share kiwis, peaches, and apples with Christopher....such a monumental time for the whole family...

Sketches

"Hey, Rocky."
"Yes, Bullwinkle?"
"Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat."
"Again? But that trick never works."
"This time for sure!...

...Think I gotta get another hat."

"And now for something I hope you'll really like."

Promise, the next post will have pictures of Christopher...I felt this blog had been neglected for a while and I had nothing new except for some old sketches....sorry.