GQ

I saw this picture of Shia LaBeouf a while back and thought it was pretty ridiculous. What is he trying to do? To me, it kinda looks as though he just farted really loudly right in front of the girl of his dreams, and feels like such a moron that his heart has sunk way down, into the deepest part of his stomach.

Our little guy, on the other hand, pulls off the GQ look as if he were born for it.

Who is the Bigger Idiot?

Once in a while in April we get some decent days. It seems like this year there has been a shortage of those decent days. However, yesterday wasn't just decent. It was nearly perfect.

We decided to go for a hike up Millcreek Canyon. The weather was nice, we have a killer new hiking backpack for JJ (thanks to my sister), and it was the 16th, an even-numbered day. What's the deal with the even-numbered day? Well, in Millcreek Canyon, odd-numbered days are designated for dogs to be allowed on the trails off-leash while even-numbered days are designated for mountain bikers to be on the trails, thus requiring dogs to be leashed. Since our dog is not great with other dogs, even-numbered days, when dogs should be leashed, are more ideal. Unfortunately, most of the people who bring their dogs to Millcreek don't follow the leash rules.

To be frank, the lack of obedience to this rule pisses me off. The people not following the rules get all put out when we ask them to leash their dogs as we pass. One guy acted particularly irritated while leashing his dog.

He wisely told us, "This probably isn't the best trail to hike if your dog doesn't get along well with other dogs."

We replied, "That's why we come on leash days so we don't have to worry about loose dogs."

"It's not a leash day."

"It's the 16th. In my book 16 is an even number."

[looking at his watch] "...uh, I guess you're right."

IDIOT.

Not only is it a pain for us to have to worry about a dog fight, but the mountain bikers that go specifically on even-numbered days have to dodge loose dogs. I have very little patience for this complete disregard to an established rule in a very public place.

We decided that we can't change the world full of idiots, so next time we'll just put a muzzle on our dog. Maybe we are the idiots for not thinking of that sooner... but then again, muzzling our dog isn't going to stop a mountain biker from being thrown over his handle bars after hitting a loose dog though. I guess that still makes them the bigger idiots, right?

Either way, we had a great time and have made a goal to do the hike at least once a week. Hopefully it will get us in better shape and teach our dog some social skills.

JJ was mimicking the dog - sticking his tongue out and trying to do whatever the dog was doing.

Can your kid show off his smile without taking out his pacifier? Didn't think so.

Mommy Blogs...

We started feeding our baby rice cereal a couple of times a day. He loves it. We got a lot of crap from pretty much everyone for not feeding him anything but breast milk for so long, but like my brother told me, "The nice thing about being a parent is that you get to decide what's right for your kid, the copious free and conflicting advice you'll receive notwithstanding."

That being said, this same brother and I don't see eye to eye on everything. For one, he hates blogs like the one you are currently reading. Actually, I'm not so sure that hate is the right word. Let's go back to October 18, 2009, when he used two of his strongest talents: writing and being a smart a%$, to humorously describe what he calls "mommy blogs" and the rampant creation of these blogs in the cyber world. Is hate the right word? Probably not, but my vocabulary is not extensive enough to come up with a better word right now. Read the post in that link. It's funny.

With all of my free time I have lately, I have been trying to develop a hobby. I have often thought about the fact that I don't have a hobby. I hate it. I used to love to snowboard, but I'm too poor to do it now. I think I could get into golf, but again, money is an issue there. I like to cook, but I have a wife who, for the most part, has the taste buds of a pre-teen. The only other real interest I have had has been photography. Taking pictures has always kind of interested me, but since I've been married, that job has always been up to Lori. She has a nice camera and used to work at a couple of different photography studios. We never really thought of photography being a hobby that we could do together, until now.

I guess it only makes sense that since I write on a "mommy blog" I may as well start taking pictures. However, once the weather starts warming up, I don't know how much portrait photography I will be doing. I'd like to photograph things. Nature, bridges, landscapes, power lines, sunsets, architecture...

I've started reading, watching tutorials, and practicing. I'm having fun. Maybe once I figure things out, I can stop writing on my "mommy blog" and write about things I learn, tricks I have discovered, and hopefully post some cool shots. In the meantime, here are some pictures I took a couple of days ago of the most photogenic kid in the world.

Water Drops

Over the weekend Lori and I read about photographing water droplets. We had to try it. It wasn't easy to get them to turn out just right, but after a while, we got it figured out. We were pretty pleased with the results and had a lot of fun doing it.

click on the image so you can actually see his funny faces. such entertainment.

Blessed

Most of the time,I would say that my life is pretty good. However, if you were to ask me this week, I'd say that my life is great. March of 2011 has some pretty exciting milestones for my little family and me. This month, Lori and I will celebrate four years of marriage, and I must say, it's been a wonderful four years. On March 16th, 2007, Lori became my wife. Since then, she has become a mother and my best friend. We have established a home together and started a family. We have helped each other recover from sicknesses and surgeries, supported each other in new jobs, and we've learned to rely on one another the way a husband and wife should. We are each the other's support systems--at least I know that Lori is mine.

On Monday I started a new job. For over four years I worked for KeyBank. When I left, I felt like I was leaving a part of my life behind. Lori said that Key has helped us build the life that we have had together. I have worked there since before we were married and I really have never had any other "real" job. A few weeks ago I accepted a position in the Tax Department at Goldman Sachs. Monday was my first day. Starting a new job has been fun, exciting, and scary. So far, there is a very obvious benefit to my new job: I have spent more time with my family this week than I have in months. To say it's been amazing would be an understatement.

Since JJ turned 7 months old this week, Lori had to take some pictures of him. OK, I guess she doesn't really need an excuse to take pictures of him, but here are some of his "7 month" pictures that have been taken over the course of the weekend.

JJ is a very determined boy. He has an extremely long attention span and an insane ability to focus on a particular task. I'm pretty sure he didn't get that quality from me, but hey, it's a pretty good thing to have. This picture above is him studying the rain outside of our front room window.

Everywhere we go, people compliment JJ's eyes.

Nothing much to do but stare at the rain. Poor JJ has had a cold all week so we haven't had him outside much. He seemed pretty content to just stare out the window though.

The kid has an obsession with tags. He scoots around all day finding tags to suck on. We had to take this picture to remember this little quirk about him.

Since he's been able to sit up, Lori is really excited about all the new poses she can do for pictures. The only problem is that he has absolutely no concept of falling or getting hurt so he'll throw himself off of anything.

JJ loves dogs. Well, at least he loves his dog, Hurley, and this stuffed dog that his Aunt Kathy gave him on the day he was born.

The laundry basket is one of JJ's favorite new toys. There is something about the toys being louder when he bangs them on the floor that really seems to get him excited.

He had to sit on the chair like a tough guy because he kept lunging forward out of the chair. Most of the time I was paying attention enough to catch him before he fell, but there was one close call. I caught the poor kid by the back of the shirt with about a quarter of an inch between the cement floor and his face.

Tags and strings. If he doesn't have a tag to suck on, he'll find a string to pull on. Funny kid.

7 months has flown by. JJ is almost crawling. He gets around in his own ways (scooting and rolling), but I know that any day now he's just going to take off. He is by far the best toy I've ever had. Yes, I am blessed.

What a Stud

Just some pictures to show you how much cooler our baby is than yours. Ha! just kidding. Seriously though, this little guy is just six months old and already has it figured out. He knows how to flirt, he has dashing good looks, and he's like a baby dog whisperer. JJ's life is simple. He just needs sleep, food, his dog, and colorful toys to keep him happy. I think those stickers that say "simplify" should probably say, "sleep, food, toys, dog"

That's todays lesson from a 6 month old. Trust me, he's probably the happiest person I know so you should probably take his advice.