2 months

Its hard to believe that our li'l guy is 2 months old!  While we've gone through quite the trials & tribulations with the reflux & the famed billi blanket, he has been an AWESOME baby.  Considering what he is probably feeling, he's such a trooper.  We are excited to see what fun times are ahead as we close out the summer & get into fall.  He is growing so much & now he is much more alert.  From time to time, we even catch him smiling!  I never realized how special it would be to see him smile, but it gives me goosebumps for sure.

Ethan had his 2 month check up yesterday & he's growing like a weed!  They said he is just SLIGHTLY bigger than he should be at this age, but not anything to worry about.  Here's his stats:

Weight:  11 lbs 14 oz

Length: 23.5 inches 

Head: 16 inches

We had a few questions for the doc regarding things we've noticed or were curious about, & got all the answers we were looking for.  This visit was also his first for vaccinations!  Mel was a little nervous but he did great!  He had one that he had to drink & one shot in the leg.  We thought he was gonna freak out, but he cried for just a minute & then was good to go.  They slapped a Taz band-aid on there & he was good to go.

We find ourselves looking at him in awe now.  How much he's changed from just 2 months ago is crazy -- we fall in love with him a little more each day & he truly is the most amazing thing in our life.

We love you, buddy!

Pic Site is UPDATED!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that the picture site is updated as of today!  Please click the link to the left  & check out the newly added gallery -- there are some good ones in there!

Hope all is well!

First Mobile Blog!

Greetings from Verizon Wireless Music Center! I was reading on blogger that it possible to blog on your phone so I thought this would be a good time to test it.

I'm working the DMB show tonight on behalf of VZW & right now I'm waiting for things to get started. I hear that Tim Reynolds is here which, if true, is AWESOME!

Oh well, let me know what you think of the mobile blog, if this works......the possibilities are endless!

To Be Continued.....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Movie Recommendation: The Dark Knight

I know its been a while since I posted a movie review, so what better time than now to do that?  The reason the timing is perfect is because I just saw The Dark Knight last week.  I'm probably the biggest Batman freak you'll ever meet, so to say that I was excited about seeing this movie is pretty much the understatement of the year.

I should probably begin with the preface that if the only Batman you know is the old school TV show, or the Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher movies (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever & Batman & Robin) then you don't REALLY know Batman.

I'll admit, when the first movies came out beginning in 1989, I was stoked.  I, like probably everyone else, thought Michael Keaton was a horrible for selection to play Bruce Wayne/Batman.  I thought of Mr. Mom & said, "Are you serious?"  But to my surprise, he did a stand up job.  As a matter of fact, he was my favorite Batman up until Christian Bale took over the role in Batman Begins.  Of the first series of movies, Batman Returns is probably my favorite, but the first one was pretty good too.

But then, in 2005, Batman Begins came along & kicked all of the other movies' in the tail.  Christian Bale was outstanding as Bruce Wayne & this movie was stellar mainly because it explained how Batman came to be.  It showed his rise from youth to Caped Crusader & the trials & tribulations that went along with it.  So when I saw it, I thought -- "This can't get any better."  I thought that for about 3 yrs.  Until last Thursday night at 12:01 am..... it got better, way better.

The Dark Knight as everyone knows has Bale at Batman but introduces the INCREDIBLE Heath Ledger as Joker.  Also, Aaron Eckhart stars as Harvey Dent/Two Face.  

For sake of those who have yet to see the movie, I won't go into specific scenes, story lines, or the like, but just my opinion of the movie overall & individual performances.

Bale, again was excellent.  This was a much darker movie & his role reflected that.  In the movie he struggles with being Batman & Bruce Wayne, & the balance that it takes to carry on as the 2 entities.  As in Begins, his "love interest" Rachel Dawes (this time played by an okay Maggie Gyllenhaal - & an okay M.G. is way better than Katie Holmes at her best.)  is in the forefront of Bruce Wayne's mind that those feelings flow over into Batman's thoughts.  

Christian Bale IS Bruce Wayne/Batman.  I can't think of anyone who could play the part better.  Of course, I said that in 1989 too, about Keaton.

Next up, & receiving the most pub is the late Heath Ledger as Joker.  Ledger has been one of my favorite actors in the past as I think A Knight's Tale is underrated & Brokeback Mountain was a really good movie even if you aren't comfortable with the story.

Ledger as Joker just shot him up close to the top my favorite actors list.  His portrayal as Joker makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look like a clown at a 5 year olds birthday party.  Ledger was so much darker, deeper, & straight up creepier.  It was weird because the character was in love with anarchy & had no rules.  He just did what he wanted & had no remorse about it.  But somehow, I LIKED him.  Maybe I have issues. HAHA.  I couldn't get enough of Ledger.  He was in the movie a lot & every scene he was in, I wanted to watch him:  to see what he was going to do next, what he was going to say next, what he was up to next.  

There has been a lot of press about him being nominated for an Oscar for this role.  I say forget a nomination, GIVE him the posthumous Oscar NOW.

Aaron Eckhart is an actor I'm not entirely familiar with.  I have not seen many of his movies, but after seeing The Dark Knight -- I'm going to seek them out.  He plays a brilliant Harvey Dent & when he is turned into Two Face, he does a great job with that too.   I would say my only concern is that he did Dent TOO well.  In the sense that when he became Two Face he wasn't evil enough.  I suppose it could also be because I was used to seeing Joker as conniving as he was.

So as I finish this post, I've come across word that The Dark Knight has this weekend, become the fastest movie to reach the $300 million mark.  It only took 10 days to hit $314 million & the previous holder of this title,  Pirates of the Caribbean 3, hit $300 mil in 16 days.

This is amazing to me & to put it in perspective check these fun facts out:

• Shrek 2 hit $400 mil in 43 days.  (TDK is on pace to hit that in less than 20 days)
  
• Star Wars is the second highest grossing movie of all time ($460 mil)
  
• Titanic holds the record for highest grossing movie of all time with a whopping $600 million dollars

If this post isn't enough to persuade you to see this movie then I don't know what will.

Do yourself a favor & see The Dark Knight IMMEDIATELY!

To Be Continued...

"I want a beaver tail"

Mel & I aren't carnies, but we enjoy us some County/State Fair action.  There's not much like going to a fair & taking it all in....the food, the sounds, the smells......AHHHH its summer which means its FAIR TIME!  

So this past Friday, Mel & I decided to venture out with the li'l dude & hit up the Johnson County Fair.  We figured it would be a pretty good way to get outta the house & get a little walking in too since neither of us get as much exercise as we'd like.  All we gotta do is put on some comfy shoes & wheel Ethan in the stroller & take in the sights & sounds of the good ol' fair.....

So we get to the fairgrounds & find a parking spot.  Mel figures that it would probably be best if she tries to feed him before we leave the car to make sure he's full & he'd be more likely to pass out - thus making the day easy.  About 20 minutes later, we get him in the stroller & head over to do our thing.  About 3 minutes into the walk, Ethan FREAKS in the stroller.  He just starts screaming, turning red, & tensing up.  (This had been a fairly common occurrence that day & we're not sure why)  Mel figures he didn't eat all that much in the car so its possible that he's still hungry.  We went back to the car cuz it was right there & she fed him some more.  After he got good & full the 2nd time around, we headed out again.

This time we got all the way over to the stand that had the corn dog she wanted, the polish sausage I wanted & a couple drinks.....then he started up again.  I felt his hand & he was sweating big time.  This time Mel pulled him out & held him.  Wouldn't you know it, he was all chill & relaxed while she was holding him.  We motored through our food & figured this wasn't the best idea so on our way out, we grabbed the other staple of the Johnson County Fair - the beaver tail, mmmm.

We got back to the car, chowed on a li'l beaver tail & then headed home.

So, Ethan -- this was your first County Fair experience & here's what Mom & Dad came away with:

1.  when its 90 degrees out, don't hit up the fair with a 7 wk old.

2. think it through (what your "musts" are -- cuz you'll only get to do one)

3. hold out for the State Fair in a few weeks.

4. really make sure you wanna go to the fair.  We were there for MAYBE 15-20 minutes & spent $30 bucks....OUCH

The Indiana State Fair is a few weeks away so we might just give it another whirl, its a better fair anyways.  Plus, there's a few more indoor places to hit with AC if we need to get outta the heat.

Hopefully everyone has learned there lesson here.  HAHA

To be continued...

Congrats

Its great news that my best friend Graham is engaged!  He broke the news a while back but he & his fiance Julie came down with his roommate Cobb & another friend of ours Courtney for a cookout....he let us know that the plans for the wedding are going great!

G & I go way back.  We first met in Studebaker West Hall our freshman year & began as neighbors but it didn't take long to become friends.  The first week my roommate, Ryan, & I were going to go to the gym to shoot some hoops & we decided to ask the guy next door to see if he wanted to go.  G was decked out in a "wife-beater", sprawled out on his bed, munchin' on some popcorn, watching TV.... "sure, I'll go!" he said.

From that moment on, G & I were inseparable.  The next 4 yrs were spent as roommates & where ever G went, I went....& vice versa.  We hit up the party scenes together pre-fraternity, we rushed together, & we joined the same fraternity.  We lived in the dorms as roommates 1 year, then got an apartment together with Drew, then moved in with Cobb & Jake in THE BEST house on Calvert & Jackson.

After graduation, we each moved back home with our parents & after I found a job near where he grew up, I got my first apartment & it was less than 2 minutes from where he lived.  He was over all the time, which was perfect because I didn't really know anyone in the area, but it was close to work.

Then we joined forces again in an apartment with Jake, then we went on our own in an apartment for another year....then I got engaged to Mel so G moved in with Cobb & Jake after our lease was up.

You could say that G & I have probably been the most distant over the course of the last few years just because Mel & I moved to the south side after we got married & G & the guys stayed on the north side.  We still stay in touch & try to get together as often as possible but with schedules as crazy as they are -- I don't get to hang with G nearly as much as I'd like.

I was taken aback when G asked me to be his best man.  He was my best man, but given that we don't get to see each other that much, I would've been honored to just be in attendance at his wedding, let alone play this big role.  It really means a lot to me that he wants me to be his best man & I am extremely happy that he asked.

So, to wrap up..... Graham & Julie, congrats on the engagement.  This next year of planning will fly by & before you know it, it'll be the big day.  We are excited to see you two venture into the best part of your life....life together as a married couple.

Sleep much?

We knew going in that we wouldn't be getting much sleep.  We knew that we'd be up at random hours of the night to feed li'l buddy.  We even knew that we were supposed to sleep when he sleeps (contrary to popular belief that you get stuff done when he sleeps)

What we didn't count on was the reflux.  Reflux is exactly what you think it is -- acid reflux:  that burning-in-your-throat feeling when the acid from your stomach makes its way up your esophagus.

Ethan actually does really well considering thats the issue -- I mean, if you've ever had it, you know that its horrible.  He mostly grunts through it but sometimes its bad enough that he wakes himself up & kinda cries a bit.

This is where we lose sleep.  He grunts CONSTANTLY & hes even choked a few times which scares the living bejeebies out of us.... so naturally, when it occurs we gotta make sure he's okay.  

He sleeps really well on our chest & Mel swears that I give off a "vibe" that knocks him out HAHA.  So on the nights prior to closing shifts the next day, its not unusual for me to stay up until 4am-5am so I make sure he can sleep & it helps to give Mel some rest too since she deals with it throughout the day.  I stay awake so as to make sure he doesn't roll or slide off of me.  If you could see some of the pillow fortresses that Mel makes in our bed, you'd be impressed.

Anyways, we'd be interested to know if anyone has ever dealt with this before & if you know much about it.  Mainly, how long are we gonna hafta worry about this?  Its extremely frustrating & exhausting.  We look forward to any thoughts/suggestions anyone might have.

Hope everyone is well!  Oh yeah, here's a funny face we caught from the li'l guy!

10 lbs?

So li'l guy had an appointment today -- they weighed him & he's tipping the scale at 10 lbs even!  As you all may or may not know, he was 4 weeks early at 7 lbs, 7 oz....so if he would've went full term, he would be about 10-11 days old now.  Granted, we've been feeding him like crazy, but its safe to say that he could've been a 10 pounder at birth!

They said that he is healthy overall & doing well.  Whew, 10 lbs, how about that?!

To be continued....

Online Photo Galleries

We recently created an online gallery so our friends & family can visit the page & check us out!  Keep in mind, when you hit that page -- its not messed up, it is SUPPOSED to ask you for user name & password.  We feel that there's no reason for any ol' schmo to randomly come across that site & have access to our photos.  We wanna keep stuff private, while still allowing our friends & family to keep up with us....mainly Ethan.

If you don't have the credentials to access the site, just get at me with an email & I can give you the information you need -- given you submit the required dissertation on why you should gain access to the photos, pass the background check, drug test, retinal scan & your fingerprints come back approved by a federal agency.  HAHA

So hit up the Online Photo Gallery link over in the links section of the blog & let us know what you think!!!

To Be Continued....

1 month

Of course things have been hectic lately.  Its hard to believe that Ethan is over 1 month old & that he has already changed so much in the short time we've known him.  Everyday brings new challenges & funny moments.  We still can't believe how perfect he is & the thought of us being parents still hasn't sunken in completely but knowing we are responsible for this li'l guy's life is an amazing feeling.

We have already had his pictures taken a few times!  Our good friends Maya & Pat are starting their own photography business & we were excited to have them take his newborn pics.  As always, you can get over to her blog via the link on the side of our blog.  We'll add a link to her photography webpage when it goes live as well.

Ethan's 1 month pictures were taken at Portrait Innovations, a retail location they've recently added to our mall.  We went there the other day just on a whim & decided to get some photos done....& let me tell you, we were very impressed!

Our sets of photos are amazing & we couldn't ask for better pictures.  As soon as we are able, we'll try to add them to our online gallery.

Well the li'l guy is stirring from a nap, so I better go help out!

Until next time....