The Boy of Summer

What do you do on a lazy Saturday when it's starting to warm up outside and your dad hasn't started the AC yet? Strip down to your skivvies and take a nap of course!

Roly Poly

Liv took the boy to her spanking class today in one of his new shirts from Aunt Shauna.

As expected, it was a hit. She said he weighed in at 15 lb, 12 oz putting him at 11 oz over the past 2 weeks. She also said that he is a couple inches taller than a boy that is a week older, and he's as tall as a 1 year old girl there as well. He is also starting to get good at rolling over...

I've never witnessed it, but Liv says he's been pulling his knees up under himself when he's on his belly. Crawling can't be very far behind that. Time to get out the play pen I think.

More Birthday Fun

In addition to the BBQ yesterday (which was great, thanks to everyone involved!), Olivia also got me another birthday treat. She hired Grandma Dudley to watch the boy for a few hours and took me to see Iron Man.

Being a fan of comic books, I really wanted to see this movie since I heard it was coming out. After seeing it, I was left with only three words... FAN FREAKIN TASTIC!!! If you like super hero movies, you will LOVE this movie. Even if you're not a huge fan of comic book movies, I think this movie could still be enjoyable to you. There's a lot of humor and the special effects are seamless. When I first heard that Robert Downey Jr was playing Tony Stark, I was a bit sceptical. Thankfully, I was very impressed with the results. There was a lot of character buildup to the movie, with much foreshadowing about a sequel (if you know enough about comics to spot it). Even with the emphasis on the plot and characters, there was still enough action and explosions to keep me satisfied. Another big plus was that the basic story stayed true to the comics. When I rate a movie I try to think of things that I would have done differently. I can honestly say that there's really nothing I would have changed here. It's safe to call this a must see for any fan of action movies. One last thing, make sure you stay until the end of ALL the credits for a special treat.

An Early Birthday Present

I managed to ruin Olivia's day today. She thought she was going to pull the wool over my eyes and throw me another surprise birthday party this weekend. Unfortunately for her, I foiled her plan because I can do math. We had originally planned a BBQ this weekend with some of our friends and she cleverly decided to invite lots of family as well and upgrade from humble BBQ to all out birthday bash. I got to thinking and couldn't figure out why we needed 40 hamburgers for 10 or 12 people. I like to eat, but I have my limits. When I questioned her about it, she couldn't come up with a good lie. So I foiled her master plan, but I'm still grateful she cares enough to scheme up things like this for me. Thanks hun, I love ya!

I want to thank my mommy too. She went to bakers square and bought me a strawberry/rhubarb pie. As soon as I got home with it, I warmed up a piece and plopped some Schwann's ice cream on it.

The only word I can come up with to describe it is sinful. Thanks momma!

The BBQ is tomorrow afternoon, so I should have some good pics to post from it soon.

A New Wardrobe

I'm excited that the boy has started to grow into some of the clothes that Aunt Shauna bought him. She's put together quite a nice wardrobe for the lad, and it's all pretty funny stuff.

As expected, about 5 seconds after this picture was taken I felt a familiar rumbling. The t-shirt was actually correct. No kidding! Stay tuned for more of the boy's cute new threads.

So Long, Grandpa

We said goodbye to Grandpa Mick and Uncle Chaiim yesterday evening. We had a nice week with them here and we were happy to be able to spend some extended time with them. Before they left, Grandpa made sure to teach the boy some essential life skills...

Tell me this kid doesn't look creepy without red-eye correction.

Anyhow, before they left we took the opportunity for a last minute photo shoot. Nathan took advantage of it to mess up Uncle Chaiim's face,
...to show off the new bib Grandpa bought him,
...and also to bring out the nutty side of his Grandpa as well.
Oh, and he also decided to try on Uncle Chaiim's cool shades too.

So after one last family photo, it was time for them to hit the road.

It was a fun week but I think it took a lot out of the little guy.

One final and totally unrelated thought... Have you ever known a baby to poop so much that it came out the front of the diaper?

Nathan's New Talent

Wow, what a weekend. This weekend is not even completely over, but I already have enough pictures and video for about 3 posts. So, buckle up Kermitt fans cause here we go.

The weekend events started Saturday morning when Grandpa Mick and Uncle Chaiim showed up from Tennessee. Nate was sleeping when they showed up and they both took naps as well, having driven through the night. While everyone was sleeping, I took the opportunity to plant Nathan's tree. Grandma Dudley bought a flowering redbud for Nate's dedication and mother's day. It was a little tricky since it was my first tree planting, but I got it in and it survived a wind storm today. So, I guess I did it right. After that I planted the rose bush I got for Liv in the front yard. Later, after everyone's naps were complete, Nate finally got to meet his Grandpa for the first time. I think the Teeny Little Super Guy was still a little sleepy.

We all hung out at our house Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening, Aunt Shauna and the rest of the Dudley clan came over as well. Aunt Shauna tried to help me get the boy's pants on, but it didn't work out so well.

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but we accidentally stuck both of his legs into one leg of his pants. He looked like some sort of mermaid with a tail. Very funny. Later on in the evening, we discovered one of Nathan's newest talents. I guess you'd call it growling. I just call it funny. Aunt Megan started horsing around with him and mimicking his little noises. They made a little game of it and pretty soon Nate was instigating things. It was hilarious, and luckily I managed to get some video of it...


We kicked everyone out fairly early so we could get some rest for our big day on Sunday. Sunday morning at church was Nathan's dedication.

Liv and I felt very lucky to have so many of our family members there to celebrate with us. After church, we went over to Great-Grandma Dudley's house for lunch. We had originally planned to have a big picnic at New Salem, but the weather turned out miserable. So, big thanks to Grandma for letting us use her house. We crammed both the Dudley's and Adamski's into there. That was a lot of rednecks for one house, but it was great. We got lots of good pictures too. The boy got lots of neato presents including a family tree from Aunt Shauna and a cuddly new blanket from Aunt Megan.

He also had lots of quality time with his 2nd cousins.

Grandma and Grandpa Dudley also managed to get their hands on the lad too.

You may have noticed the change in attire between the Grandma and Grandpa pics. That was because Nate had a little surprise for Grandma after his nap...

Towards the end of the afternoon, Morgan decided that she wanted to try on Olivia's hip waders, er, uh, boots I mean...

Soon after, Morgan, Kelly, and Will went up to the shop to check out the tractors. I didn't get any good pictures of Will because he never stopped moving, but I did catch Morgan tearing around a corner in the combine.
Shortly before we left, Nate was trying out his new found growling skills with Grandma.

Once we got home, he was just spent and needed to towel off.

Then Uncle Chaiim took another turn with the boy. I have been amazed at Chaiim's ability to sooth the boy. He seems to have some sort of power that just turns Nate into a pile of goo.

Soon, the boy was off to sleepy land again. Then upon waking up, he proceeded to ruin another set of clothes in the same fashion as above. I guess it was the cherry on top of an exciting weekend.

Liv and I wanted to again thank everyone for their presence and presents for Nate this weekend. They were both appreciated very much and we really had a great time. We especially thank Great-Grandma and Great-Grandad Dudley for the use of their house Sunday. An outdoor event would have been IMPOSSIBLE with today's weather and cramming all those people in our house would have been equally difficult. And finally, happy mother's day to all the Kermitt reading mom's, especially Olivia. She did a really good job orchestrating things for this weekend and she's an absolutely terrific mother to Nathan.

Farts Are Funny

Olivia had a couple good bodily function stories from the Teeny Little Super Guy yesterday. According to her, yesterday morning he farted so loud that he scared himself. His eyes got all bugged out and Liv said he looked as though he was asking "Did that come form me?!" Later that afternoon, they were both at a nursery (the plant kind) picking out a new tree. The tree is Grandma and Grandpa Dudley's gift for his dedication at church this weekend. Anyhow, mother and child were at the checkout when the boy decided to cut loose with another aftershock. Right when he did it, a lady just happened to be walking by them. She exclaimed, with a stunned look I'm sure, "That's a pretty big noise to be coming from such a small package!" Apparently, the boy was so tickled by this compliment that he instantly started cackling with self-pride. Bravo son, if I were there I would have been cackling with fatherly pride as well.

Ha! As I was finishing that last paragraph Liv started gagging in the other room. You guessed it, he's at it again. And he's laughing about it too. What a cool kid!

In other news, he had his 4 month Dr visit earlier this week. He's now 14 lb, 14 oz and 26-3/4" tall. 2 more inches and he will graduate to his bigger car seat. As I said earlier, Nate will be getting dedicated at church this Sunday. Aunt Shauna and Uncle Tom are making the trip down for the weekend. Grandpa Mick and Uncle Chaiim are also coming to stay with us for a week as well. This is their first chance to meet the little guy. We're also planning a big mother's day BBQ Sunday afternoon. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Either way it should be a big weekend for the little guy.

Do You Like the Taste of Gopher?

The boy had a very eventful day today, beginning with some gopher wrestling before church this morning...

After that, it was time for some gopher eating...

After church, we had lunch at Grandma Dudley's. The boy then joined the ladies at Aunt Megan's bridal shower. I'm told he was the only man there, so it was a perfect setting for a ladies man like Nathan.
He even got to meet his Great-Aunts Barb and Marcia for the first time.

After the party we all had some dinner at Grandma Dudley's, followed by a little after dinner bear wrestling...
So, it was a busy day for the Teeny Little Super Guy. I think he enjoyed it though...

Adventures in Auto Maintenance

6:15 AM - I awake to the sound of a whining 4 month old. I entertain him and let his mother sleep some more in hopes that I will get out of the house by 8:00 or so to replace the leaky seal in my truck's differential.

9:00 AM - After playtime and a lengthy mid-morning nap for the boy, I finally hand him off to his mother and prepare to finally start the job I had planned to be half finished with by now.

9:30 AM - I'm finally backing out the drive and head for the shop.

9:31 AM - I turn around before making it to the end of the street and go back to pick up another item I think I might need for the job.

10:00 AM - Finally, the truck is backed in the shop and jacked up to where I can work on it. I loosen the first of 12 nuts holding the differential cover on with relative ease. I'm relieved to find that a decade's worth of corrosion, while looking ugly, has not degraded the bolts to the point of breaking with the torque of my wrench.

10:01 AM - I realize that the gasket sold to me at the auto parts store is nowhere close to the right size or shape for my truck. Luckily, I find this out before taking everything apart.

10:30 AM - I stop at home on the way back into town. I pick up the receipt from the first purchase and head for Springfield.

11:00 AM - I arrive at the parts store and convince the guy there that this gasket really doesn't fit. After realizing that my truck has the off-road package, he finds that my 1/2 ton truck has a 3/4 ton rear end. He locates the correct part for me.... at the store across town.

11:15 AM - Auto parts store #2 produces the new part for me. It appears to be the correct size and shape for my truck. Despite having to drive 15 miles into town to correct their mistake, they still make me pay the $1 difference between the old and new gasket.

11:30 AM - I spend $75 to fill my truck with gas. Surprisingly, this tank of gas is more expensive than all the materials I had to buy to do the repair job in the first place.

12:15 PM - I make it back to the shop, jack up the truck, and finally make it back to where I was at 10:00 AM.

12:16 PM - I find that the new gasket is the correct shape, but is unfortunately about 1 inch too big.

12:21 PM - After 5 minutes lying underneath my truck in stunned disbelief, I crawl out and find the Ford dealer's number in the phone book. I have decided to pay the dealer twice what the part is worth for the knowledge that it is in fact the correct gasket. The parts guy informs me that my truck doesn't even have a gasket, but the seal is achieved with silicone. I'm overcome with rage and relief simultaneously. The parts store has wasted my time thus far, but at least I can continue with the job because they sold me the silicone on my first trip in.

12:30 PM - I begin the messy chore of draining and cleaning the differential. It's slow, messy work but at least it's going fairly smoothly.

2:30 PM - I finally have everything cleaned out and stuck back together. Now I have to wait an hour for the silicone to dry before I can proceed.

3:40 PM - I give the silicone a little extra time and then begin to refill the oil. The fill hole is on the side of the case so I have to squeeze the oil from the bottle through a length of rubber tubing. It's a slow process but there's no better way.

4:00 PM - After draining the 2 quarts I bought into the differential, I realize that there are 2 pints in a quart, not 4. DOH! At least Granddad's truck was there and not being used. Back to town.

5:15 PM - I return from Springfield again with 2 additional quarts of oil at $17 per. (Ouch!) I reach the "full" point at the end of quart #1, so I can at least return one.

6:20 PM - After putting everything away and cleaning up the mess, the job is finally complete. I head home knowing this job should have taken 3 or 4 hours, but lasted all day. I kinda expected as much. At least I get some comfort knowing that I spent about $70 on materials, but probably would have had to pay a mechanic $200 - $300 for this job.

The morals of this story...

1. Nothing is easy.
2. Don't shop at Autozone unless you live 2 blocks away from them, because you'll probably be going back.