Meet Petie, my mom's dog
After his water fun, he is truly one of the happiest dogs on earth!!
"Oh cool!" is often my response to Daniel when he shows me something, rather it be a page in one of his books or a piece of paper he found on the floor. It has become such a habit. He now echoes "Oh cool!" when he sees something he likes and wants to show us. And to what did he say "oh cool!" today?
Thomas was the one to suggest that I needed a new camera, although there might have been some prompting from a friend (thanks Dawn). The little point and shoot that I currently have is around 4 years old, which is quite old in digital camera age. It has a tiny LCD screen in the back and the batteries, no matter how new, always seemed to lose charge---at the most inopportune times. Now, my new Cannon SD750 has a 3in LCD screen on the back, an internal, rechargeable battery, and it is totally awesome. We've done some saving, researching, and sale watching on cameras, and today was the day that we finally got one.
A few extra things I love:
- When you flip the camera sideways, the images on the back flip too
- You have no need for a viewfinder on the back--even in sunny situations--because the screen is so big you can see everything.
- I have a video camera on this one as well, but the quality will be much more crisp and clear.
And, for the first pic (of many more to come)....................................
Cute.....but ornery....trust me, his cuteness is deceiving!
On top of the teeth issues, he is coming into his own, wanting specific items that he can't always specifically request. Gone are the days where the baby is hungry and the baby eats whatever is put before him, completely content because he is simply eating. Now, its goldfish, not peanut butter crackers. Bananas, not strawberries.
Also, Daniel has been discovering even more about his ability to get into nearly anything and everything. His long and lean physique makes nearly all items within reach. I'm running out of places to put things, especially in the kitchen, for he can reach everything that is placed on the counters unless they are pushed back to the wall or dead center of the island.
When it comes to his mobility, Daniel is pretty capable of doing what he desires. He will frequently need a little boost or a quick hand grab to get a task done, yet, there are times when he does not want any help. He wants to try and try and grunt and whine, sometimes breaking down and getting help, but other times becoming successful. It is hard for me, however, to know which is which--does he want help or not?
It is neat to see him developing likes and dislikes (for instance, he likes pulling his peanut butter crackers apart, having one piece in each hand). But I just wish he could put up with the dislikes a little more cordially.
Let's just say we have both been learning about patience this past week! He is clearly a toddler.
One of my dear brothers, John, who works for Google out in sunny California, was on TLC's new show Master of Dance last night. Since we don't get the frills of cable television, we did not see it. In an attempt to catch a glimpse of John on the show, I checked out YouTube. Although I could not find the episode, here is a promotional video of the show. If you care to see him, you might want to just skip forward to 4:20 or so. He begins to cut a rug shortly after that point. He is in some other quick scenes in the background, but at around 4:20 is when he dances.
The Hubby and I took a few nights away from the kiddo to enjoy some time at Holiday World- water and amusement park- for our anniversary! It was a great time! The park was not very crowded, so we were able to enjoy short or non-existent lines to ride the rides. The park is very family friendly, clean, and very affordable. They have free unlimited soft drinks for goodness sake! All you had to do was go to a "Pepsi Oasis" and grab a cup, filling it up with the beverage of your choice. No catch. The place even offered free sunscreen! Some folks, as identified by their bright red lobster skin, did not take advantage of this perk. We, however, used it to re-lather mid-day.
My ultimate favorite had to be the Bakuli, which means "bowl" in Swahili
The amusement portion of the park, per its name, is divided into holiday sections: Christmas, Fourth of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Most of the hard core rides were in the Halloween section, such as "The Legend" and "The Raven." The literary gal in me liked their little puns. While riding "The Legend" for the second time, our coaster pulled up to about 3 people waiting to get on to ride! They eventually ended up taking one of the coasters off, just operating on one, because the park was just not crowded.
Overall, we really enjoyed the park. We liked that it was less crowded during our trip. Also, being that we got 1/2 off
The downside---Holiday World is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
And yes, we played skeeball---because I really like it and it was only a quarter a play, so we blew 2 bucks.
Daniel loves to brush his teeth. He really just sucks on the mini-toothbrush and wiggles it around in his mouth, but you get my drift. I forget to brush his teeth in all honesty, but he reminds me. He will either see me brushing mine and point and grunt until I get him his toothbrush or he will just go into the bathroom, pointing and grunting, until I come and get him the items.
The new trick is getting Daniel to actually stay still while brushing his teeth. He would prefer to just dance around the entire house, doing whatever deeds he feels necessary while he cleans his teeth (which is something I might do, until recently, when we've been trying to teach him not to do so). We've been trying to teach him to "stay in the bathroom when you brush your teeth." I bet I've said that a hundred times already in his short teeth brushing life. If he steps out of the bathroom, he is asked to come back. If he keeps walking, teeth brushing time is over.
Anyway, today I was brushing my teeth and Daniel did his point and grunt. I, of course, tell him "This is your toothbrush. Can you say toothbrush?," to which Daniel responds "no." Guess he's being honest. I grab the brush, slap on some kiddie toothpaste, and hand it over to Daniel, for which he gives me a very sweet "tank ewe," which is "thank you" to those of you that don't speak toddler.
As you might have guessed, Daniel steps out of the bathroom. I ask him kindly to come back because "you need to stay in the bathroom when you brush your teeth." My son then reacts to that with a sprint to the bedroom door, which every mother loves to see---your child running with a toothbrush in his mouth.
I catch up and grab back the toothbrush while Daniel proceeds to scream and wallow on the floor. Lovely. At least we are alone in our home rather than in public. My job now consists of ignoring the tantrum and cleaning off the toothbrush, putting it back in its proper place. I am not sure how long he pouted because I just continued on with getting ready.
A tiny bit later, I begin to hear this smacking sound. Next, I feel a tug on my leg. I look down and Daniel is making the lips for kisses, along with the smacking sound. I lean down and give him the kiss he was requesting; Daniel leans in and give me a hug. Although he didn't say the words, that was Daniel's "I'm sorry."
Too sweet.
Typically I am not a big movie watcher. I know it sounds odd, but it costs so much to go to the actual theater and to find a place for Daniel to go is annoying. If we are going to watch a movie, it is usually a rental, but that is even rare at times. Recently, however, we've discovered the McDonald's Red Box. Who can beat a buck for a movie!?? Since we live pretty close to a Mickey D's, we've increased our viewing of some new releases. Also, I found myself the bearer of a Blockbuster card that allowed for 2 free rentals, 2 free cokes, and a free bucket of popcorn, which was pretty cool. The April showers that bring May flowers seemed to hold off until May, because we've had quite a bit of rain here recently. All that combined, we've been watching movies! So here are some of my thoughts on some movies that we've seen recently....no comments from John, my movie snob brother, (or others like him) on the quality of our movie choices. Unlike him, my MA is not associated with film, so back off :o)
Although this one was watched a bit ago, I just found something recently that made I am Legend worth mentioning. All together, this was an awesome movie......until the last 5 minutes. Thomas and I were both completely frustrated with the ending, thinking it was seriously stupid. Via Josh's blog, I've discovered that there was a different ending that was filmed, but ultimately not released in the theatrical version. Stupid decision. If you've seen it already, watch the video on this site. To say that the web ending is a zillion times better than the theatrical ending would be an understatement. In short, watch the entire movie, until right at the end, then stop it. Go and watch the web ending, and then call it a day.
We wanted to get National Treasure 2 with our Blockbuster card, but all their copies were rented, so I just grabbed a movie that I knew Thomas had an interest in viewing. Alas, Cloverfield. You can skip this one. There was one really awesome scene in the subway, but, beyond that, not much else. The ending was weak as well, and I have not come across anything that offers a better finale. Part of the extra portions of the DVD were some alternate endings, but those really only altered a few words within the conclusion rather than offering any true new endings. Also, the back of the DVD has a clear picture of the monster, which is suppose to be the big secret. Who decided that was a good idea? It is like the stupid Scarlet Letter books that I taught my juniors. Right there, on the back of the book's cover, were sentences about Pearl's paternity. Seriously, whatever dummy in the publisher's office thought it was a good idea to give that answer right there on the back cover was stupid. Fortunately, not many students read the back cover of books....but I digress....Cloverfield......only watch it if you are really bored (or perhaps if you have a free rental with nothing better to choose).
I had been wanting to watch Enchanted, especially after my friend Brandy thought it was good. That is quite a funny request of me because I am not really the romantic or sweet movie type, however, it looked really cute, and family friendly, which is always a plus. Being that it was my Blockbuster card, I got one that I wanted to watch. We put this movie in while we were watching my niece and nephew. It was so cute! Thomas called what was going to happen in the end, but it was still good. I think the idea of the cartoons coming to life was great, and the naiveness of the princess was lovely. It was clean and fun. Thomas even enjoyed it, for what it is worth. My nephew would catch glimpses of it while playing and would ask questions: "Why is she singing?" "Why does she have that apple?" which shows that 3 year olds can follow the ideas as well. If you have kids, you need to rent this movie!
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets: Although Blockbuster failed, the Red Box provided. All in all, this movie is enjoyable. It is not, however, as good as the first. I think that the existence of the "bad guy" could totally have been thrown out. I mean, the plot of the movie could have proceeded quite effectively without it. Plus, the one chase scene was just a little too over the top. The Reighley character was still full of silly quips and puns that give great humor to the entire movie. Some of the scenes felt a bit repetitive from the first, but that was to be expected. If they make a 3rd off of the pg47 stuff, I'm afraid it will be no good at all, for then there will truly be way too many repetitive scenes. I don't feel like you have to watch the first one in order to enjoy the second one, but it couldn't hurt, yet the first is better anyway, so you should be sure to view it. I still appreciated all the cool historical codes and riddles that were solved in an engaging manner.
And finally, we actually viewed one in the theater--The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. This was a great movie! It would be best viewed on the big screen due to the fight scenes and such, so you might want to make time to see it in theaters. There were a few moments that were not interpreted in the best way, but that can be overlooked. For this second installment of the Narnia series, however, you will need to watch the first in order to know the plot well enough. There is not quite as much of a magical feeling to this one, but it is still nice. The dwarves, ultimately comic relief, are great in this film as well. The Telmarines (the bad guys) have a bit of an accent that makes a few words or phrases hard to catch, but not so much so that you can't follow the plot. I know some major Lewis fans that are not too happy with the adaptation of this book, but Thomas and I both thought the film was still a strong one that is definitely worth seeing.
Anyone tend to disagree with my evaluations? Have you seen any other good movies lately that we should check out?
We've been keeping busy at our home up on the hill (you can see our view from atop the hill to the left). Several visitors, mainly family, have visited over the holiday weekend. We had the joy of watching my niece and nephew for a few hours while their parents got some quality time away from the kiddos. The boys played well and little Jenna slept nicely, so 3 kids 3 and under for 3 hours was a breeze! Getting a picture of these three cousins together, however, was not so easy.
Our son has found a love for corn on the cob. Fortunately, his Daddy
likes it quite a bit too, so making it for dinner is great. Look how
happy he is, munching away. He cleans his cob off better than I do!
One of our most surprising visitors had to be this fellow:
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Yeah, its a turtle, no big deal you think. But what you don't understand is just how big this turtle truly is. He (or perhaps a she, I have not a clue how you tell that sort of thing on turtles) is the biggest turtle I have ever seen outside of a zoo. I called the neighbor kids over to look at him, and they then yelled for their parents to come and see the big shell, thick claws, and long tail of this turtle. Later, the turtle decided to leave our yard. Watching him walk was quite a sight! He would go for a bit and then take a break, perhaps regaining strength from the weight of his shell. I told my brother that I thought the turtle was going home. He made fun of me for that comment. Just think about. It will sink in soon.....the turtle was traveling home.
And, like the scientific people do, I took a picture to show scale. See our camera's lens cap next to the turtle? Now do you believe that he was big? (No turtles, people, or lens caps were harmed in the taking of these pictures)
Coming soon, Thomas and I hit the 5 year mark. Hard to believe we've already been married 5 years! We have big plans--Holiday World :o). I am still laughing a little at the thought, because it does sound a bit cheesy, but, we've never been, so this should be fun! Plus, you get unlimited soft drink refills. Could there be a better way to soak in some calories?
Momma Bird found a shrub at the corner of our house to be a suitable place for her nest. Fortunate for us, we've gotten to watch the her little babies grow. Pretty cool, isn't it! (She sure does have a full house.)
