The Rover

This kind of encapsulates all that is Peter at 10 months old. Walking things across the floor very quickly, happy panting, uncontrollable bashing of his hands on objects, quick movement from place to place, and yelling.

Even since this was shot this past weekend, he's evolved further. He's taken his first steps and is sounding out words that may or may not be:

Vincent: "Dindin"

Daddy: "Diidii" or "Diddy"

Mommy: "BAAAAB!"

Please enjoy.

An Evening With a Greed-Obsessed Megalomaniac or….. Date Night?!

Rose and I don’t get to many movies anymore. That’s the nature of the game. We’re looking forward to when the boys are into movies so we can catch up once again, even if it’s to go see the 25th Anniversary Director’s Cut of Follow that Bird.

So when the rare opportunity presents itself that we can have a date night and get to both eat dinner and see a movie, we think long and hard about what full-length feature to spend 2+ hours viewing.

Last time we did this, we selected:

All The King’s Men – Remake of an older film that was based on a dense novel of the same name. Centered around a power-obsessed Southern politician who will stop at nothing to raise his political stature. Starring Oscar stalwart Sean Penn.

We liked it but felt totally drained by the end. Too much concentration for date night. Too heady.
So when our latest opportunity rolled around, we had a bunch of films to choose from. Juno? Definitely Maybe? Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins?

Nope.

The Winner was There Will Be Blood. Based on a dense novel by Upton Sinclair, centered around a greed-obsessed California man who will stop at nothing to make money in the fledgling oil business at the turn of the century. Starring Oscar stalwart Daniel Day-Lewis. We figured it would be the best one to see “on the big screen.”

WHY DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES? I won’t bore you with a review of the film but we both found it engaging if a bit depressing. The acting was obviously pretty darn good although, am I alone in thinking Day-Lewis is an over-actor? He only seems to choose characters like this. His Gangs of New York character was like the same dude. It was beautifully shot and all but man, we left feeling like we just got finished working.

So next time, if you’re babysitting for us and we’re discussing movies to see, please remember to tell us this: “Go see Roscoe Jenkins. You’ll thank me later.”

Peter the Axe

What? Never saw a 9 month old with a battle axe before?

Now for all the joking I do about Peter enjoying his food, I'll have you know that he's right in the middle of "the chart." 50th percentile for height, 50th for weight. In other words, I'd better shut up before he gets a complex.

Tooth & Consequences

Below is our account of Vincent's first trip to the dentist, in journal form.

8:30 a.m.: Arrival.

8:32 a.m.: We sign in and get the lay of the land. I wish dentist offices were like this when I was a kid. Photos of Disney movies on the wall. Nice ladies behind the desk.

8:34 a.m.: WE FIND THE ARCADE! Ok, so I was more excited about this than Vincent since it had a few 80s classics but it's still cool that it was even there.

8:35 a.m.: Giant TV is playing Barnyard. Raised, curved play area to sit on and jump from is discovered in front of the giant TV. More Disney posters and photos framed all over the place.

8:38 a.m.: We meet a 2 year old there for her first visit. She watches Peter intently. He's crawling and walking (while holding our hands) and emoting. Vincent is going back and forth from one Disney poster to the next, naming all the characters he knows, which is all of them.

8:44 a.m.: They call our name for a consult with "Dr. Joey." (I'll hide his real name.)

8:45: Dr Joey is pretty ok. Asks for a hi-five (from Vincent), reads our completed form and is slightly thrown by our mention of his fear of gloves. "Fear of gloves, huh?" "Yes."

Let me explain that Vincent has had a lifelong fear of gloves. Mostly of the medical professional and food preparation variety. We think it stems from his getting blood taken when he was about 14 mos. old. Nothing traumatic happened per se other that the fact that that process is probably pretty traumatic in and of itself to a 14 month old. Ever since then, gloves have been kind of a thing. He knows they're all over the place but doesn't want anyone to come near him with them. Winter gloves are ok - fyi.

8:49: We get called into the hygienist's room. Only one parent is allowed in with him and he chooses me. I'm as nervous as he is. He's offered the option of sitting in the chair by himself or sitting on Daddy's lap in the chair. Stupid question, hygienist.

8:51: The first appearance of gloves. We had previously discussed this in preparation for this very moment and even made the office aware but hey - they have to test the waters. It is public health we're talking about here.

Vincent loses it.

He's crying, mildly shaking and yelling, "I DON'T LIKE THEM! I DON'T LIKE THEM." He turns to me and yells the same thing as if to say, "WE DISCUSSED THIS! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM ABOUT THE DAMNED GLOVES! YOU DROPPED THE BALL, DAD!"

8:53: I ask for five minutes. The (very nice and patient) hygienist leaves and I begin to discuss with Vincent why they need to wear them and that I didn't think they would take them off. I pick one up and show him, let him hold it, tell him it's like a "crazy balloon" (I know, seriously Jim?) and try to help him calm down.

8:57: She's back with a blue glove. She tries to make it fun. He won't have it.

8:58: The gloves come off for good. For now.

8:59 - 9:15: The appointment moves on really smoothly. The hygienist has a great way with kids and has obviously done this once or twice before. I do my best to stay out of the way - while still sitting in the chair with Vincent on my lap.

9:17: He's all done his cleaning, has chosen his prize (a Spongebob tattoo!), picked a toothbrush (Eeyore) and is now listening to the hygienist read a book. This woman is good. My son is truly brave. He fought through a major fear this morning.

9:23: Dr. Joey comes in for the final check. He's gloved. I overhear the hygienest say to him, "The glove thing is real and it's intense." Dr. Joey gets cocky and thinks he'll be fine.

9:24: I DON'T LIKE THEM!!!!!!

9:25: Dr. Joey takes off the gloves.

9:29: Vincent and I walk out the door with a clean bill of dental health. He sees Mommy and Peter and acts like everything was cool. No mention of gloves. I'm kind of sweating.

All in all it was successful. I was worried that he wouldn't even let anyone touch his mouth. Who knew that that would be the easiest part? I think this glove thing should wear off soon, right? RIGHT?

I actually booked an appointment for myself next week. I wanna play some free Ms. Pac Man.

Ed. note: Rosalie gets full credit for the punny title.

Photo of the Moment

Vincent feigning sleep for the camera. He was in fact resting in this position for a good 20 minutes prior to this photo.

Just a quick post to keep you hangin' in until our next missive - DENTAL HORROR!

Baby Food is for Babies

Peter has officially kissed off baby food. It feels like he ate that stuff for all of two weeks. He sees what Vincent is eating and wants that. Now.

We talked with his doctor about it at his last checkup and he's been given clearance to eat anything we're eating (with the exception of honey, peanut butter and a few odds n' ends). It's crazy because he only has 2 full teeth on the bottom and 2 growing teeth on the top, so his gumming skills are top notch.

The best is when we leave something a little too close to the edge of the table and Peter speedcrawls (seriously, he's almost ludicrously fast) over, pulls himself up and pops a hand in. He's like a homing pigeon but with mac & cheese.

That didn't make sense. It's late.

Last food-related note - one of Peter's favorites is homemade bread. Rose used a Williams Sonoma gift card on a breadmaker (!) that she swears is the easiest thing ever to use. She chucks in the ingredients, sets the timer and 3 hours later....

It's seriously badass...as far as breadmakers go. And Peter can't get enough of it. We can try any recipe we want. Want some banana bread? We can do that. Wheat for our health concious friends? Check.

Post your requests. Peter would love to try them all.