Russell on Ice

Grandma's company had a family skating day at the Ricoh Center so what better place for Russell to display is athletic potential to new Leafs GM Brian Burke? So with new skates and the helmet from last summer, he took to the ice for his try out.



Ice is a lot trickier on skates than carpet is.

In the penalty box...(i guess he didn't like the call)



Russell still doesn't care for Santa too much.

Russell Rocks

Saturday, Julianne is thinking how cute Russell was singing along with Rockband, holding the mic. I explain to her that our old copy of Rockband won't play on the new playstation, but I would gladly go pick up a copy of Rockband2 for PS3 while Russell napped.

.... the rest is Rockband history.

Halloween

I know i have lots of stuff to catch up on, like Russell Takes to the Seas, Russell goes to the zoo, Russell Picks a Pumpkin, and Russell goes to the ACC. Oh, and most importantly, Ron Rents a Mazda 5.

But to respect the season, here are Russell's Halloween photos.

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Ron's rapid rental recap

Okay, so for the 3 people who are interested in the rental review over the Russell updates, here goes a catch up post.

Hyundai Accent - so they didnt have any midsize cars so they offered me this. I figured the Sonata was really good so i'll give it a shot.

It's really peppy and nimble. would be a ton of fun on an autocross track or any track for that matter. Interior finish is pretty good for a cheap car, on par with the Mustang for comparison sake. My rental had one big problem. The front door contacted the front fender when opened. I guess this could be adjusted but felt like a sizable defect.

Nissan Murano - really looks nice, but was pretty average in all. Felt a lot like the Equinox, with and nicer exterior and interior.

Mustang - again... honestly, not quite as bad at the first one. Visibility is still an issue, but this was a little quieter, stereo was a little cleaner, drove a little better. But in general still crap. Need to try a new Dogde Challenger and Chevy Camaro to have a valid comparison.

Chevy Trailblazer - interior is straight from the 80's. black leather top to bottom, just missed the eau du Polo. Interior was more fit for an IROC from the 80's than a modern suv. Car itself wasn't too bad, solid, handled okay, and rode fine.

Hyundai Tucson - I'm continued to be impressed by Hyundai. Interior is not as nice as the Sonata, probably on par with the lower, Elantra. However, car drove fine, good interior space for a small suv, and everything worked well.

Hyundai Sonata - had another one and it was as excellent as the first time.

Dodge Caravan - This weeks car... first true minivan and there's tons of space. However, tonight, the cruisecontrol lever flatly fell out of the steering wheel and is flopping around getting caught on the wiper level. First it could get stuck on the wiper lever and prevent me from steering and cause an accident. Now I have it taped to the back of the steering wheel to keep it out of the way.

Bringing da Thunder

So 2008 is the biggest movie blockbuster summer to date. Hollywood is expecting a record 4 billion dollars in ticket sales. This pumped up from comic book sequels The Dark Knight & Hell Boy, and double dips to old franchises like Indiana Jones.

I've seen an unexpected number of movies this year. There is a theatre in the same complex as my hotel so it's pretty easy to catch a late show while i'm on the road. This summer held a lot of high expectations. Ironman really held up to its promise. One of my favourite comic book heroes as a kid, delivered a great summer movie. The retooled Incredible Hulk was incredibly not terrible either. Marvel is sewing the seeds to the biggest hero movie of all time by developing individual storylines that will eventually come together in the Avengers movie featuring Ironman, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America. The Avengers franchise ties together most of the Marvel Universe including Wolverine (new movie coming) and Spiderman. Maybe it is a move to counter the inevitable Justice League movie that can never seem to get off the ground.

Most other highly anticipated films could not say the same. Indiana was too far fetched and fell into the Lucas trap of blue screen effects over a solid cliffhanger story. Pixar is a guaranteed ticket but the eco-preaching Wall-e overshadowed a promising story and dazzling animation. The Dark Knight, I feared that the Ledger's demise would overshadow the performance, but in fact, the Joker's portrayal was so captivating, it blew away the rest of the storyline and as a whole, the movie was empty and aimless. Hellboy, while a surprisingly good first movie, was flat and boring in sequel form. Wanted was a cheesy film so get adolescent boys to buy tickets to see Angelina Jolie's naked ass. (it really was the best part of the entire 2 hour film) But the unsuspecting guy becoming secret agent story is already done and done much better in the TV series Chuck.

Many other efforts didnt even get my six bucks. (yes, Tuesdays in Rhode Island are cheap) Get Smart, The Mummy 3, Love Guru, Zohan, Speed Racer... (maybe Pineapple Express.. might see that next week) will all be lucky to get a few hrs of my time via the PVR when they're broadcast on TMN.

So tonight.... I think I saw the most wicked awesome film of the summer. Tropic Thunder has to be seen in the theatre with the commercials and previews and everything. Completely original, satires the Chuck Norris Delta Force movies with Hearts of Darkness, Making of Apocalypse. The concept is great and the cast has you jumping between "that's the guy from..." and "I can't believe he's in this too". This movie is a cool as Ironman, but funnier than anything i've seen this year.

3rd Anniversary

So Julianne and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary with a phone call. In lieu of being together for the actual day, we planned to have Friday as our 'date' day.

We dropped Russell off at daycare after breakfast and we headed up to Wonderland. It was a weekday, and the Ex was on so it shouldn't be too busy right??? Wrong.... we spent some quality time in line for the 3 rides we managed to get in before we left to pick up Russell.

Now aside from that, i did manage to catch Russell on video a fair bit so everyone can see what he's up to. Of course that's what anyone is interested in anyways.

Russell's Vocabulary




Russell's Exercise routine




Russell's new shoe

Snip Snip Russell

This is one of the hardest decisions the parents of any boy has to make. You know that he'll never be the same after the first cut, but as parents, you have to make a decision that is in you son's best interest, and frankly, Julianne and I think it just looks better.


.... so i caught the whole procedure on video....

Ron's Rental Review - more hawt pony action

So a week ago the hertz lady offered me either a Mustang or a Sonata... in that brief moment that followed, I could imagine my review of the Sonata: "The car was white....that's about it" I cannot imagine a more bland, uninspirational car in production today. At the Autoshow, I can't imagine coming within 100 yards of one of these buckets. At least the Mustang is an icon, so I took it.

This week, after feeling soiled by the 'stang, I had no problem taking the Hyundai keys she offered me.

From the outside, the Hyundai Sonata is indeed one of the most boring cars i've ever seen. It basically looks like a dated Honda Accord. They exterior styling just doesn't look quite current.




So i opened the trunk to stow my bags and things got slightly more promising. Two oval tail pipes and a V6 badge gave me a little more hope for the week. Opening the door and stepping into the Sonata was the big surprise. The fit and finish here is excellent. I would say that the dash and dials look better than my BMW (mind you my car is over 4 years old) The interior is the complete opposite from the Mustang. The quality and feel of the dash and all of the surfaces feel far beyond my expectations, and that of anything I've rented so far. Even the shift path has a fine subtle chrome pinstripe.






So lots of photos but how does it feel? Again, completely different from the Mustang. The engine is virtually silent. Even when you stomp on the accelerator, the engine is still hardly noticeable, you just feel a solid whoosh of power as you're surged down the freeway. Handling is surefooted, not exactly 'sporty', but confident and comfortable.

Honestly, this is the perfect car for someone who really doesn't care about cars. What I mean is I really can't find any 'quirks' that only a true enthusiast would embrace like the tone of the exhaust. This car really gets you from point A to B smoothly, comfortably, reasonably quickly, without any complaints or issues. And it does all this with the best fuel economy next to the Prius that i've encountered so far. Over 26 mpg.

Basically I can see the Ford & Hyundai engineers each given the task of building a $25,000 car. The Ford guys spend $20k on the body, (it is a cool looking car) and the remaining 5k to get the rest of the car done. The Hyundai guys took $24k to engineer the interior, engine, suspension and chassis, then make a quick sheet metal mould around the outside to design the body. Decide for yourself which is more important to you.

Oh, and by the way, it's white, with a metallic pearl hue. Very nice.

Ron's Rental Review 4 - The Pony Express

So i'm at the counter to pick up the car this week, and the lady says she has a Mustang for me. Almost like a gag reflex, I ask if she had anything imported that she can offer me instead. She says they have a Sonata, but in that time, i think of the blog, and the fact that the Mustang is a classic, the Sonata is pretty boring and good or bad, I should have something to write about. So I say I'll stick with the 'stang, take the keys and plod off to space #31 and the red 2008 Ford Mustang.

I drop my bags in the trunk and slide into the car and am immediately awash in a sea of beige plastic and polyester. Plastic here was far worse than any of the GM cars I had rented. Clearly the materials were supplied by either Hasboro or Mattel. Infact, i'm sure the dash in the Barbi version is exactly the same, only pink.

What was even worse than the dash was the ridiculous shift knob / lever thingy. The stupid design aside, the plastic used here felt like the handle of my super soaker. As a driver, there are really only three parts of the car you touch with your bare skin: the radio, the steering wheel, and the gear shift. If you have to use cheap materials, don't scrimp on those three items.



So a few minutes later I'm rolling down the interstate and I can feel the impressions of the Mustang flowing out like diarrhea. All the dials and vents have about an inch of chrome trim around them. The only good thing about that is that all that chrome reflects the sun into your eyes so you can't focus on how bad the rest of the interior looks. The view, the seats, the sound, the radio, the dash..... all so exceptionally bad they are truly exceptional.

The windshield is short and the hood line is very high which is cool in a chopped hotrod but for a practical car, makes you feel like you're steering a tank, looking out one of those little slits.

The Mustang has bucket seats, but they have absolutely no lateral support. It really just feels like a shorter version of the bench seat in my dad's 78 Impala. However, this is probably a good think because it discourages you from attempting any real cornering. You can feel the rear axle hopping over small highway bumps and you can easily imagine yourself facing the wrong way if you pushed the car in any way.

Of course, Ford has conveniently fitted the Mustang with a permanent traction control system. They've done so by giving the V6 absolutely no horsepower whatsoever. With your foot on the floor, you still can't squeek the tires.

The fact that you can't squak the tires is ironic because those very tires rolling down the freeway at 50mph are so loud, it sounds like you're in the bathroom filling up the tub. So with the roar of the tires, i turn up the Sirrus satellite radio to alleviate the noise. The radio, sounds awful. It has tons of treble and the plastic door panels rattle to the beat.

This car is so incredibly bad, it stands out among all others. In 2005 it was awarded Canadian Car of the year by some inebriated snowmobile drivers. How this is possible is beyond me. I guess the only question is how the copycat retro cars from Dogde (Challenger) and Chevy (Camaro) will fair.

Ron's Rental Review take three

Now we're truckin'! I was ready to whine about the Equinox. But in all honesty, aside from the expected shortcomings of pretty much all GM cars, its not that bad. This opinion could be tainted by the car i'm driving this week which is a true automotive abomination, and is completely rant worthy.

So the Equinox. Yes the dash makes no attempt of being anything other than a large sheet of pressed plastic.



Basically the look and feel of everything could be best described as Flea Market Chic. The Artsy square fabric with the big plastic handle from what felt like recycled Coleman coolers.



Mechanically speaking, there really wasn't much to complain about. Ride was comfortable, very much like the Outback from the previous week. The engine was no less powerful than the Subaru. The overall feel of the car was solid. Of course this is a new car. A few short years would see all those hard plastic bits on the interior squeaking against one another, but for now it was quite comfortable. I averaged about 25 mpg which was also on par with the Subaru.

In conclusion, the Equinox was only memorable because it wasn't as awful as it could have been. Not really rant worthy or rave worthy.

LMBR Cup Training

With two Kozai's in this years Lumber Cup Championship... the Tabata's have taken steps to reclaim the cup. Russell has commenced training with his eyes on the prize for 2020!!!

Ron's Rental Review part deux

okay, so what the heck is PZEV??? Google says its Partially Zero Emission vehicle. So 'partially' must me sometimes its zero emission right? So is it a hybrid? There's a green leaf on the logo so it must be right?

Well, all i can figure is that its a very low emission vehicle. So really the only time it is "zero emission" is when its turned off.... pretty much the same thing as a Hummer or a Lamborghini.

Okay, aside from the PZEV, the Outback is really a very nice car. It's jacked up higher than a regular car so the view is pretty good but its definitely a car, not an suv. The ride is very comfortable, the tires and suspension suck up the bumps and the car feels very solid and planted at all times.



The interior is nice. I'm driving the base model i guess with cloth seats but its tasteful and most of the materials seem to feel like a good quality.

Okay back to the PZEV... I think it stands for Practically Zero Energy Vehicle. This wagon with 4wheel drive is heavy, and the 170hp four banger just isn't enough to get this family wagon up to highway speed at under a glacial pace. Also the weather here has been really nice, so morning drives to the office, i've had the windows down. On starting the car, the PZEV idles really rough, and is sounds like a wheezing putt putt engine.

Really the only downside of the Legacy Outback wagon is the engine. I've gotten about 25mpg driving it for about 2 weeks. (Hertz has given me the same car two weeks in a row) Half the roads around here have a 25mph speed limit so the weak engine is bearable. However,if there were an STI version of the outback, I think it would be a great car and something I'd consider after the M3 if the price were right.

Burgertime

So Russell's diet is almost exclusively composed of organic or naturally raised foods. Mom & Dad don't usually eat as well so we've fallen into a routine of cooking separate food for Russell and us.

Well, we're now trying to eat the same things as Russell because cooking twice for dinner has us going to bed later and later.

We had homemade burgers and this time, and had some for Russell too.

Ron's Rental Review

Okay, sorry, I have lots of photos of Russell but they're all on my cameras at home. The only pictures i can access are on my phone so these 'on the road' updates will have some other themes... And i guess I'll try to take more Russell pics with my phone on the weekend.

.....So its my 3rd week in Rhode Island and I'm in the line at Hertz to get my car. There's some semi distinguished looking guy at the front of the line and he's talking with the Hertz guy. It sounds like he's not too keen on the car he's getting and I think I over hear the Hertz guy say "PT Cruiser". The semi distinguished guy makes some gesture, lifting his hands, palms up, in an upward motion... sort of like asking for something a little more 'distinguished' you might say. So the Hertz guy puts the keys back and I think he mumbles "Outback" to the guy. The semi distinguished guy looks much happier and takes the keys and I get one step closer to the front of the line.

I now see how the game is played, and I'm ready for an upgrade. For the last two weeks I got a Pontiac G6. The G6 is an pitiful effort at designing a car. It's really not worth the effort of describing how awful it is. Honestly, if Oprah Winfrey game me one of them, it would be on craigslist before you could spell TTC.

So I get to the counter and there's no way i'm taking a G6 this time, however when the Hertz guy brings the keys over, it's only a small block, with no cut metal part sticking out. I first thought it might be a Volkswagon, with the switchblade key but it was black plastic on all four sides. No brand logos, only 3 buttons, lock, unlock and red one I assume is panic. The Hertz guy tells me the space number the car is located at but doesn't mention the type of car. Well, i know this is no G6 with this key so I take it and haul my stuff to the spot.

I get to the spot and the first thing i think is "cool, they rented me a golf cart" because before me is a white Toyota Prius.


I unlock it, place my bag in the back, and get into the driver's seat. I plug the key block into a slot in the dash, then start looking around to figure out what to do next. There's a button on the dash labeled "Power", I press it and the dash lights up, but nothing else really happens. I can't get the car in drive and can't get the AC going because it's hot. I push the power button again, now the little light behind it goes from orange to green... still can't get the car in gear. So i push the button again and everything is off again. Finally I push the button a 4th time and its back on and green. Foot on the brake, and I get the car in drive. I can finally adjust the mirrors, set the A/C and figure out how to get radio going. It now feels like it's been 10 minutes since I got into the car.



So I'm now off for the 20 minute drive from the airport to the office. First thing i notice is the brakes are really 'grabby', which I like. Sort of reminds me of when I had the track pads on the S2000. It might be uncomfortable if your driver is a little hard on the brake but it suited me fine. Accelerating is pretty much what I expected... on par with the G6, sort of like doing the 1/4 in a cruise ship. Aside from that, the interior is spartan but nice. The dash and doors look some kind of recycled rubber/plastic product textured to look like a tatami mat. Looks and feels 100 times better than the G6.

So after a day off work, I get back into the Prius to get to the hotel. I back up and all i hear is "beep..... beep......beep.....beep...." OMG!!! I am driving a Golf Cart!!! It was good for a laugh.

So what about the gas mileage? There's a big screen in the middle of the dash that shows the current mileage, and where the power is going between the engine, the motor, and the battery. It's really distracting and all I can say is that sometime the mileage is good and sometimes its not.




In fact, my very favorite show on the planet had a segment last week comparing the fuel consumption of the Prius against of all things.... a BMW M3. What a coincidence!!



So as the days progressed, I noticed that the fuel gauge was still on full. I started to flirt with the idea that i might get to drive and not have to refill the tank before i returned the car. (you're supposed to return the car with a full tank of gas) It's Thursday and I'm heading back to the Airport to return the car and the tank is still 8/8 bars full. I get off the highway and just before I turn into the airport, bang.. one light goes out, 7/8. Bugger.... now i detour to the gas station, with the intention of putting in just enough gas to get that last light back on. I start filling, I get just past a gallon and i'm ready to let up and pump clicks closed. Must be totally full. I'm just put in slightly over $5. I get back in the car, start it up to head back to the airport, pull away and notice that it's still at 7/8ths. Now I'm second guessing myself, did the pump stop or did I stop early? I pull around to another pump just to make sure. I reinsert my credit card and start filling again. This time..... 52 cents of gas before the pump stops again. It's definitely full. It's full but the gauge is still showing 7/8ths... which is just another quirk because the car still had trouble starting where I have to 'reboot' it get it in gear every so often when starting it up. I have my 52 cent receipt ready for the Hertz guy if he says anything about the tank not being full, but just as I pull into the Hertz lot, the final 8/8ths bar re-lights and is showing a full tank.

I drop off the car and I ask the guy, how far I went. He says 120 miles. Pretty good, 120 miles on less than 1.5 gallons of gas! Maybe they are on to something here!

Opening a present!

Okay so maybe the editing doesn't keep pace with the music but i had to take a step beyond dumping the vid right from the camera to the web.



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There she blows !!!

Okay, it's day 2 of poo watch.

Russell was up at 5am this morning so I got him a bottle to eat while we changed his diaper. First verdict.. no poo.

tick tick tick... 5:50am: So poo watch continues. Breakfast and still no sign of the tell tale pushing the we've all become accustom to. (click here for a reminder) So i'm checking my watch. Registration for today's golf tournement is at 7:15 with tee off at 7:45. I figure I could leave at 6:30 to make the registration time, maybe as late as 6:45 to make the tee time.

tick tick tick... 6:15: no poo,

tick tick tick....6:30: no poo, (well some from daddy, but none from Russell as of yet)

tick tick tick... 6:45: no poo, oh well so much for golf. I call Louis to see if he's on his way and of course he's just leaving his house. We'll find out if he made it to the course tomorrow.

tick tick tick... 7:30: Julianne is now taking my car to work (with my golf clubs in the trunk) so I have her car with the car seat if we still end up going to daycare.

tick tick tick... 8:00: I'm playing with Russell's train that uncle Mike and auntie Sheryl gave him to lure him away from the back door. Russell approaches, following him is the waft of a stinky diaper. I'm thinking, well, time for a change, I should give him a few more minutes to make sure he's done. Just then, i notice a small brown chip on the rug... it must be Poo! Then a second later a baby sized 'log' is sitting right beside me on the hardwood! Whoa, no time to spare, the diaper must be overflowing and the poo is falling down his pant legs!!!

So I leave the poo on the floor, grab the little dude under the arms with one arm, and around the cuffs of his jeans with my other hand in an attempt to contain the poo. We get up to the change table and thankfully, there is towel on it so I'm not too concerned with the poo getting all over it. I get the diaper off and the poo is everywhere, up and down his legs as suspected, much too big a job for wipes, this is going to require a bath. I carefully haul Russell to the tub leaving the poo pants, poo onesie, and poo diaper on the now soiled change table. As I'm washing him off, naturally, Julianne phones at this very moment to see what's going on. (this is where an extra mutant arm would come in handy) I inform her that the bowels are now moving once again and she proceeds to remind me to see that he has adequate extra clothes for daycare, all the while, I'm balancing poo boy with my other hand.

The bath is over, Russell is clean again, so i take him back to his room, but I can't change him yet because the poo clothes are all over his change table. I put naked Russell in his crib a few moments while i dispose of the diaper and dirty clothes. No more than 10 secondly later, I've cleared the change table, turn to get Russell to notice he's standing over a wet spot in his crib. Great, so I slap a diaper on the little squirt and now i have to change his bedding. Jeez, that little guy really knows how to work Dad over.

Anyways, Russ is now napping. I have some stuff to put in the wash now as soon at the last load finishes. I'd like to say "I'd rather be golfing" but if I was, I would have missed Russell smiling and laughing at me once he was full dressed again.

At least now, I'll never forget it.

Thrusday should be perfect???

So today is Wednesday. Brian, Louis and I played Maples of Ballantrae on Sunday where I shot a round of 100 even after starting with a triple bogey on the 1st and taking a 10 on a later hole. I had a mediocre round at Maples which was a vast improvement over my previous round three weeks ago. I knew would be missing the next tournament in two weeks and i didn't want to wait 4 weeks till my next round after improving 13 strokes over my last one, (new driver helped) so i had a strong itch to get back out on the links again.

On another front, the project I am working on doesn't quite have enough budget to keep me through the end of next week so I figure I could take 1/2 day off this week and next to help the budget and get in a bit of golf.

This morning I checked out www.lastminutegolfer.com. I saw that I could play the same course I played on Sunday, for 1/2 the price and with a cart included. It's a 7:45 shotgun start, so I figure I could be back at the office for 1pm. Sounds perfect right?

It even gets better. Julianne's mom has agreed to stay over Thursday night so we were planing to go out for a quick dinner and see a movie. (maybe Ironman or Indiana Jones)

So now my plan is to leave the house around 6am, play golf, get to the office for 1pm and do a series of Release Management interviews, then come home, shower, leave for dinner and a movie with my sweetie. Sounds pretty good for a Thursday.

So I'm driving home with my prefect plans running though my head when I get a call from Julianne. She picked up Russell from daycare where she found that Russell has diarrhea, and he can't come back until his bowel movements firm up. So if Julie takes the day off, she has to arrange someone to take her patients AND loose a day's pay, versus, I skip my golf, forefit the fees, and I still have to get back to work for my workshops so I need to get someone to care for Russell after 1pm, until Julianne's mom arrives after work.

So my parents are now on call to watch Russell if needed, and my Thursday plans are all now hinging on Russell's next poop. Not only the texture of his excrement, but also the timing. I need him to drop a load by 6:15 at the latest to make it to the course on time.

Wish us luck. Oh, and feel free to wish Russell a happy 13th month birthday today.

It's my Party!!!

So we organized Russell's first birthday party for Saturday May 3rd. We knew it was going to be hectic day but really had no idea just how hectic.

On Tuesday, the day after Russell's actual birthday, Julie got a call from daycare informing her to pick him up as he had a fever. Julie had the day off, and was planning on visiting the new dental practice that she would be starting at on Thursday. I on the other hand, was out in San Francisco getting an preview of the next version of Siebel. (and watching the cable cars a bit)


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Julie picked up Russell and took him to the Doctor. She said to give him Tylenol and bring him back on Thursday.

So Thursday, I'm back in town, so I take him to the doctor so Julie can go to her first day of work. The doctor says that Russell has an ear infection and prescribes some antibiotics. The good thing is that his fever is fading by this point.

Friday night, Julie and I plan to get ready for the big day. I made all the hamburger patties that night and Julianne did some baking. The next morning, Julie was going to decorate the cake and tidy up. I was taking Russ to music class, getting beer, then going to Loblaws for chicken (for the beer can chicken)

After music class we change Russell and notice he has little spots all over his tummy. Some on his arms and legs too. Julie calls the doctor and leaves a message for her. We assumed it must be an allergic reaction to the antibiotics so we don't give him anymore, and I proceed to the grocery.

I know have beers in the car, I've just loaded 4 whole chickens into the grocery cart when I get a call from Julianne. She says the Doctor called her back and from our description of his rash, thinks he has Rosiola? (sp.) She proceeds to tell us that he's not contagious but he may have been when he had his fever earlier in the week and that his toys and stuff he's touched my still pass it on. So now, we're scrambling to figure out how much food we need and to see who is still coming. We called everyone with small children to give them an update and see if they're still coming. All this time I'm looking at the chickens... how many do I need now... 2? 3? or should i still buy 4 since they're on sale this week?

I come home and we're still scrambling to get ready. Julianne still needs to shower, I have to pre-cook the burgers and prepare the chicken when the guests start to arrive and on top of that, the rain starts to fall.

Of course, none of this seemed to bother Russell, who had a great time regardless. In fact, i think everyone had a great time, and Julie and I probably just scrambled for nothing. Hopefully we'll get better with practice.

Happy Birthday to Russell


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Russell's Cake


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Russell takes the lead in Rockband


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Man on the Move

Russell is 364 days old today. He'll also getting quite bored of just crawling around. He's be working on his walking for a few weeks now. Basically he could stand up, and maybe shuffle one or two tiny steps before falling into whoever was coaxing him on.

He's progressed beyond that now an is truly on the move.



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Russell the Swinger

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Breakfast with Russell

I know I'm way behind on updates but here's a quickie.


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Russell's School of Seduction

For all the single guys out there, my boy would like to demonstrate how he executes some the basic rules of engagement. His old man wasn't nearly as good at this, but its all the rule of nature that a child will someday exceed the skills of the parent.



Step#1 - Be Excellent
Excellent or at least memorable. Check how Russell is rockin' the mismatched sock deal. That little girl can easily recall Russ from any other dudes at the party as the cool sock guy.

Step#2 - Be Desireless
Nothing stinks more than the stench of desperation. Russell looks slightly aloof and coolly ignores the fact that her eyes are all over him. He's already confident and content and it's her challenge to gain his attention.

Step#3 - Be Gone
Those pursue that what retreats from us. Russell doesn't want to stick around to give up his whole story. By leaving the scene early, he leaves with his cloak of mystery intact. At this point, she knows he's got some cool sock style, he's confident and not needy... he's given her a taste, but wants to leave while she's still hungry.



There you go boys... by this point, she's ready for the 'reconnect'. Russell would have gotten her number but she can't speak yet, and Russell's penmanship is not quite up to his Casanova skills.

Russell-less update :-(

So I can't say much about what Russ has been up to this week. He left for Trinidad on Wednesday to see his Grandpa Ken and his Great Grandma Leontine.


..so i guess this will be a Daddy update...

so last night, still somewhat stunned by the Leafs win over the Red Wings, I found myself at Dan's place playing Guitar Hero. After rocking it with the Yam-man for a few hours, i had it in my mind to bring home my electric guitar at my earliest convenience. So tonight, I'm strumming it with the TV on, and I see if there's anything interesting going on with the Grammy's... at the commercial break, they say Alicia Keys is will be performing live so...being a lonely guy with the Ms. away, I figure I could use a little Alicia 'pick-me-up'.

So I basically turned the volume down and fiddled with my guitar for the next hour or so as I waited for her act.

She looked great as usual (sorry hun) and was singing "No One". Yes its totally been overplayed but she mixes it up a bit live and had John Mayer step in for some added soloing, (Unlike Kanye and the dumb, but slightly catchy, 'Stronger' - They actually muted out the "shit" and "dyke", just like on FM radio, the probably just played the CD they bought at WalMart in the background... what a meathead... I really wished he wouldn't win so he could cry about how much he should have won and would boycott the awards... blah blah blah... ) ... k so back to Keys.. so the song is going and I'm trying to follow the base line to learn the chords. The song is the 4 chords for the entire song except for the bridge. D - A - Bflat - G... so I'm playing along and I realize why that song sounds so good. They're the same chords as "Weekend in Scarborough"! Damn you Alicia for stealing my stuff!!!

Like Father Like Son

I swear i must have drove my parent loony doing this very thing when i was little. My memory is pretty poor but i recall doing this to no end as a baby.


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9 months old today !!!

Just to keep yall informed... and yes, my sleeper has been washed since the photos in the last posting.

Sick week

Sadly, Russell's social calendar had to be cut short this week as he came down with a cold.


Actually, he really cut back on seeing other babies. He still made it both the mall and Ikea for a little shopping. Basically a regular weekend eating, watching a little tv, and hanging out in the old crib.

A few new ones for the new year.

Russell is modeling his new car seat. He was too tall for his old one at about 8 1/2 months. He's also practicing his product endorsement skills here.


Also, he doesn't like to take being left alone lying down. Usually, if he's protesting a nap, this is how we find him.


note to self... consider lowering the mattress.... again.