Say “Mama”

Here’s a video of Rome mastering the word “Mama.” He also says “Dada” and a number of other “consonant”+”ah” words…too many to list. Anyway…enjoy!

How Babies are like Dogs…and other stuff

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As Rome continues to grow, I’ve noticed more and more how the behavior of an infant/toddler is much like that of a dog. Here’s why:

1. Babies drool and so do dogs.
2. They make weird sounds, including barking at times.
3. You teach them tricks.
4. They like to chew on everything, including shoes (see picture above).
5. They find little things on the floor, put them in their mouths which you then have to dig out with your finger lest they choke on it.
6. You have to clean up after them when they poop.
7. When they see you eating, they try to mooch food.
8. You buy them fancy toys and all they want to do is play with paper and other such items.
9. Chocolate is poisonous for them. Oh wait…that’s only dogs.

If you can think of any other similarities, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. Of course, we love our son very much…much more than we would any dog…but I just thought it was quite funny how there are some similarities.

In other news, as I’m sure you’re all aware, St. Louis was hit with a huge storm last Wednesday knocking out power to around 700,000 Ameren UE customers. Fortunately, we were only out for about 48 hours. As of today, there are still about 145,000 customers without power. Please keep them in your prayers, especially the sick and elderly as it can get quite uncomfortable and dangerous in the St. Louis heat without AC.

Also, right now we’re in the process of packing up our belongings as we prepare to move to Janesville, MN to start vicarage next week. The process is going quite well and the time is just flying by. Our friends, Eric, Jen, & Ben Estes are leaving today to start vicarage in Palm Coast, FL. We will miss them and wish them God’s blessings on their move and vicarage.

And last but certainly not least, I have posted a ton of pictures on our photos page for your viewing enjoyment. Whew! I think that covers it. Now, back to packing…

Trip to Niagara Falls

Kris, Rome, and I just got back from our trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada and we had a pretty good time, eh! The falls were pretty amazing to look at but nothing was quite as scenic as the plethora of other natural attractions such as Frankenstein’s House of Horror, Louis Toussou’s House of Wax, and Spiderman’s Ultimate Ride. Nevertheless, the falls themselves were quite awesome and best of all, free to look at (check out our photo page to see for yourself). The drive up and back was also quite beautiful which took us through 6 states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) and 1 Canadian Province (Ontario). However, the ride back left something to be desired. I’ve told Kris many times how I like driving in rain but now I regret I ever said it. I’d say that out of the 776 miles we drove home, about 500 of those were in pouring rain. When I’d finally had enough and bought some Rain-X to help me see better – the rain stopped. Naturally. All in all, it was a good trip and Rome and I really had some quality talks while Kris slept in the back. Nothing like some good father to 10-month-old son bonding time.

Our Virst Video

Well, we’ve taken a lot of footage of Rome with our camera and camcorder and decided that we should finally put some video on the web. We hope you enjoy this clip of Rome playing with one of his favorite toys, a stuffed duck from his Gramma.

Happy Independence Day

I realize that this post may seem a bit out of place amongst all the Superman talk, but I do have a serious side too. Today we give thanks to God for all that he has blessed us with as Americans. Despite the political banter and partisan lines, we are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country. I’ve talked to people who have been to various countries overseas and I keep hearing the same thing when they return – “the United States of America is the best country in the world.” So thanks be to God for all the freedoms we enjoy in this country. Thanks be to God for all of our military service men and women who have sacrificed to protect those freedoms for us. Thanks be to God not only for the freedom we have from tyranny and political oppression, but for the freedom we have from sin and the power of the devil through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again that we might live forever! My prayer today is that God will continue to watch over and protect all those serving in the armed forces whether here or abroad and that He remind us not to take any of our freedoms for granted. God Bless America, indeed!

Superman Returns

Kris and I saw Superman Returns this morning and I must say it was really good. Though I’m a big Superman fan, I was never exposed to comic books as a kid so I’m not one of those “purists” who knows his entire history and all the intricate plot lines and complains about stuff like “his suit is the wrong shade of blue” or “according to the comic books, that would never happen.” A nerd I may, but I am certainly not at the level of the “comic book dork” (although with my newfound affinity for comic books, that may soon change). Anyway, I’m not exactly sure how much artistic license they took on this latest film adaptation of the iconic super-hero, but regardless, Kris and I really enjoyed it. She even managed to stay awake for the whole thing so that’s definitely a stamp of approval. In fact, we opted for the IMAX 3D edition which is the same movie but has 4 scenes which have been converted to 3D which was pretty cool. So, all-in-all it was a very entertaining movie and I won’t bore you with any sort of “review” because I’m just not that creative and I don’t want to spoil any of it. Just go and see it for yourself. It’s worth it.