2 year tale of the tape

Russell weighed in at 32lbs and just over 36 inches this morning.

Russell's Birthday Party

Unfortunately, Daddy scheduled the party on the same day as the BMO Wonderland day, but Russell still had a great time.



Singing Happy Birthday


Opening a gift


Dancing to the Thomas Theme

Brunch with the mommy group

Angela invited us and the other families in Russell's postnatal class for Brunch on Saturday. It was a great opportunity for Russell to see some of his old friends. Carys, Sophia, and Delaney all go to Graydon Hall Nursery so it's been a while since Russell has seen them.

Watching Diego

(Russell actually looks like the smallest here. It was very cute, Carys said "Russell, sit here" Lucky little guy)

For reference...(1 year ago)



Hugs for Carys


Too much Zoolander for Russell

Disney Trip

I was going to rewrite this post but in a nutshell, here is what happened on the trip in bullet form.

Mar 28 day1 - travel

We got a pretty late start today as we had a few false starts getting to the airport. Fortunately we arrived at park n fly with perfect timing as the shuttle pulled up as we quickly unloaded. AirTransat had a bonus for us with child loot bags including a beachball, etchasketch pad & kid sized headphones.

Mar 29 day2 - overcast

the buffet breakfast at ponderosa. $3.99, what a bargin
buy some essentials for the condo. Milk, OJ, Grapes, KD, Ketchup, etc.
At the Super Target, the checkout girl did not know what ginger was. Welcome to the USA.
drove to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (paid toll) but decided it was too early to eat.
drove to outlet mall - bought nothing (except for paying the toll again)
drove back for dinner at Texas roadhouse (yes, toll again)
drove back to condo... yes, more tolls.

Mar 30 Day 3 - Disney Animal Kingdom

straight to animal safari
lunch @ pizzasafari
tough to be a bug 3D movie
playing in the bone yard

Mar 31 Day 4 - Disney Magic Kingdom

trains trains trains
Tram from the parking lot to the ticket gates
Monorail from the ticket gates to the front gate
Disney Railroad around the park
Russell was in Choo-Choo heaven.

rode tomorrowland speedway with Russ
buzz lightyears space ranger spin
photo with Buzz
lunch as cosmic diner
small world
winnie the pooh ride
Carousel
Disney railroad

Apr 1 Day 5 - Shopping

breakfast @ Sizzlers ($4.99 and not as good as Ponderosa)
find a walmart
Premium Outlet mall (Bought nothing again)
Orange World (Bought Grapefruit)
Russell naps in the car
Downtown Disney

Apr 2 Day 6 - Disney magic kingdom

fast pass perfected - as you can see by out increased ride count

Aladin's Magic carpet
Enchanted Tiki Room
Lunch - tacos
Jungle safari
Tomorrowland Speedway (again but with Mommy this time)
Tomorrowland Transit
Peter Pan's flight (Russell did not like the dark)
Teacups
disney railroad

Apr 3 Day 7 - pool party

breakfast @ ihop
back to Walmart
swimming
dinner @ Kobe
Disney Boardwalk

Apr 4 Day 8 - departure day

breakfast & packing
Mall of Millenia (Bought nothing)
Cheesecake Factory for lunch
Killing more time at Millenia
Festival Bay mall (Bought some Quicksilver flipflops for Russ)
Prime outlets mall
Returned the rental car and got to the airport.
Our already late flight was delayed. Departed after midnight. Russ fell asleep just before boarding.
Russell wiggled and whined occassionally during the flight, arrived at Pearson after 3am
Got bags around 4am. Massive line for Park N Fly shuttle so daddy squeezed on without any luggage to get the car and come back for Mommy and Russell.
Home and in bed at 5am.

Russell's Raspberries

Russell has figured out the most ergonomic way to consume raspberries, provided you have small finger tips.

Cobra Kai in the Tabata Dojo

Russell started the day trying to sweeten up Mommy.



and it worked.



Later on, we invited Kai over for Burgers and some play time.

Russell's Car Review

Russell loves cars. Infact, his teachers at daycare commented on how excited he gets with all forms of transporation... cars, trucks, buses, trains and airplanes. Infact he can say Airplane in Japanese... "Hikooki" When he was upset with daddy leaving him at daycare, they would give him a matchbox or hotwheels car and he would be very happy.

Since Russell was so happy with them at school, naturally, daddy had to select a few cars that Russell could play with (with daddy) at home.

The first two in the collection were the 1964 Alfa Romeo GTA, and the 2008 Tesla Roadster. Daddy had to get at least two cars, because what would daddy play with while Russell was playing with the other one.



Start with a classic. The Alfa Romeo GTA has always been one of daddy's favourites. We found that the Matchbox version has a higher center of gravity and is prone to oversteer. This is great for making skidding motions across the floor, but is prone to flipping over.



The other car was the Tesla Roadster. This pick was really more of a statement to the world in which Russell is entering. The Tesla is the first modern all electric sports car and is historically sigificant. As you can see, it is ultra low to the ground with just over 1mm of clearance. Handling is much different from the Alfa with more weight up front it is much more stable. However, more stability does relate in a little less fun in the driving experience.

Russell's Garage

Russell is already practicing parking in confined spaces.

Julia's 5th Birthday

We were all very excited when we were invited to Julia's 5th Birthday Party. It was going to be a long day, starting around noon at the indoor playground, and well through dinner at Mike & Sheryl's. Russell napped in the morning before we left but after 2 hours of running and eating he still needed a 30 minute power nap in the car.

He had a great time with all the kids.




Russell hamming it up at dessert... (hijacked from Julia's blog site.)

Busy weekend

Friday was Russell's last day at Graydon Hall Daycare. I think Mommy and Daddy are going to miss the staff and all the attention Russell got there. He was a real celebrity around there with even most of the parents there knowing him by name. I think Russell is going to miss the blonde haired, blue eyed girls. Not too many of those at Ikebata.



Saturday we drove to KW to visit Quentin and Kim & Grantley. Quentin was very excited to meet Russell and gave him a detailed update as to what he's been upto. Unfortunatly, the rest of us just heard babbling.



Sunday we took a long overdue walk thanks to the nice weather. Later, Russell settled down for a bit to watch some football. (unfortunatly, Daddy didn't)



Monday Russell started his new daycare. Ikebata is a Japanese/English bilingual daycare. He was pretty unsure this morning about starting something new. I hope he's okay. We'll find out when Mommy brings him home later.

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.