kenny in his jump-a-roo: the movie

kenny the pterodactyl

The boy has been making some interesting sounds lately, as he fights to make his voice heard. While he's not quite even at the "gibberish" stage, he's emanating these incredible guttural screams, that to the misinformed, sound like someone who is incredibly constipated. Instead, he is merely testing out the ol' lungs and trying to see if he can freak the hell out of his parents on the other end of the baby monitor at, say, 3:48am.

Click here to see and hear Kenny the Pterodactyl in his crib habitat. Make sure to note the big grin at the end of his "battle cry."

onward and downward

Kenny has been doing a nice job of growing, and as such, we've been forced to adapt his surroundings to his new length and girth.

The other week, I dropped his crib down one level, so his little hands wouldn't reach the top of the railings anymore. Also, while perusing the hysterically entertaining blog of Mr. Niklas Smith, I realized (in retrospect) that he had surpassed the weight limit of the bassinet on his pack n' play. Consequently, we retired the bassinet in a stirring ceremony, and transformed the pack n' play to its ultimate purpose: baby jail.


Image taken from Niklas' site, as I just didn't think any other picture would do it justice.

kenny gets a leg up on things

Another of Mr. K's fun new habits is his desire to rest his foot on the top of his "breathable bumpers." While I don't mind his wanting to "kick it" in his crib, I hate his decision to rest his foot in a place where it can (and has) become stuck in between the slats. This often results in a fun game where Kenny puts his foot up, I take it out, he puts it up again, I take it out, he puts it up again, and then I slide him into the middle of the crib. At this point, Kenny usually gives me a grin, then rolls over to the side of the crib and puts his foot back up. Good times.

this little piggy tastes like roast beef

One of Kenny's latest accomplishments is his ability to put his toes in his mouth. He's quite good at it, and I encourage him to take advantage of this time in his life when he's at his most flexible. Before he knows it, touching his toes (no less chewing on them) will be quite a feat.

happy jewish christmas!

Well, Kenny's first Hanukkah came and went, and while we have no pictures of him in front of the menorah, that simply falls in line with his general ignorance of the situation. That is to say, I doubt he understood what the hubub was all about -- tho he did rack up some fun gifts.

Personally, as much as I love Hanukkah, I always look forward to the Jewish Christmas each year. "Jewish Christmas," you ask? Ah, lemme 'splain.

See, every year on Christmas Day, while the Goyim are opening presents and hanging out with their families, Jews have nothing to do. And I mean NOTHING. Everything is closed on Christmas Day...everything except for movie theatres and Chinese restaurants. Consequently, "Jewish Christmas" is when every Jew in America heads out to the movies, followed by a tasty meal of Chinese food on Christmas Day.

I've been observing this sacred holiday for many, many years now, and had to spend the first few in Chicago on my own while Overboard worked. Last year, I got Cousin Mitch to come with me, but he's still bitter about the movie selection. We went to see "King Kong," and while I was mildly disappointed, Mitch was unamused and grumpy that the flick was a three hour epic. Afterwards, we grabbed some Chinese food at a hole in the wall restaurant in Lakeview.

This year, Mitch wasn't keen on letting me pick the movie again, but I provided him with a few options and let him choose. We decided on "Casino Royale" and went up to the theatre in Northbrook for the noon showing. When we arrived, there were TONS of fellow "observers" lined up at the box office, which was manned by a lone employee. Many people in line commented that it was foolish to only have one person working, but Mitch keenly noted that "maybe they need more Jewish employees."

We purchased two tickets to see the movie, but noted that the time on the ticket was 3:10pm, not noon. Turns out, the online information was incorrect, so we ducked into a noon screening of "The Good Shepherd" instead. The theatre was completely packed, and we debated whether or not we should lead the assembled crowd in a blessing or two, or maybe just a rousing version of "Hatikvah."

The movie wasn't bad, but honestly, I think I would have preferred the other spy film. Oh well. I suppose the new part of the annual tradition involves picking a questionable movie, so long as I'm going with Mitch.

After the movie, we noted the ever-growing crowds waiting for the late afternoon screenings, and headed over to our neighborhood Chinese place to grab the ceremonial dishes of "Beef Chow Fun."

And there it is. Another year, another egg roll. Sacrilicious!


Everyone gathers for the holiday meal.

Kenny forgoes the Chinese food for a little squash.

"God bless us, everyone."

kenny's espn fame immortalized on cover of si

I found this fun site called MakingTheCover.com, where you can customize the cover of Time, SI, People or Entertainment Weekly with a picture of your own. Obviously, I couldn't resist...

kenny the internet celebrity

Every Monday, John Buccigross writes a hockey column for ESPN.com. The first half of the column consists of Bucci's weekly hockey thoughts, and the second half consists of his responses to reader's emails. A new element of the column consists of one picture each week sent in by a reader highlighting their "hockey kid." I sent in the famous, "Kenny & the Cup" picture, and wouldn't ya know it, he published it!

Click on the image above for a better view, or check out the actual column here and just scroll down to the bottom.

As a hockey-obsessed father, I am so proud. I can't wait 'till Kenny is old enough to ask me, "Dad, why the hell am I wearing Thrashers pajamas? You know I'm a [insert team name that would break dear Daddy's heart] fan!"

"well, how do you define 'torture,' daddy?"

The following is from the Urban Dictionary:
Purple Nurple -
1) The act of grabbing and twisting a nipple of another person, one's self, and even occasionally other mammals
2) A nurple that is purple

Yes, Kenny has developed a love of grabbing and twisting things, often done before Overboard has had a chance to trim his razor sharp nails. While my little camp counselor in training has a penchant for doing this to the inside of my arm while I'm bottle feeding him, he has been known, on occasion, to go for my nipples. Considering how small my nipples are (yeah, I said it, and I'm okay with that), I'm somewhat impressed. Well, after the pain subsides I'm impressed. Before that, I'm in agony.

To add insult to injury, according to Overboard, I'm not allowed to chastise him too severely, or react in general, to these attacks. This has not stopped me, however, from howling in pain at, say, 3:35am while near a baby monitor that may, or may not be, linked to another baby monitor near Overboard's sleeping head. I'm just sayin'.

kenny's lunch - a pictorial

Today's lunch was quite an event. Kenny started with formula, and made his way through about five ounces before getting fussy and wanting to switch to some more solid options. Eager to accommodate, I moved him into the kitchen and placed him in his high chair. Thinking I would get a quick picture of Kenny in his new outfit, I took his bib off -- just for a moment. He, of course, took the opportunity to spit up all over his new sweatpants.


Kenny pre-solids...

Bib replaced, Kenny then consumed a full serving of rice cereal, utilizing his new routine of crying and fussing in between bites. As far as I can figure, this means he's either in a massive hurry to eat as much as possible, or he has a horrible short term memory. Think of it this way: He takes a bite of rice cereal, realizes it tastes like wall paper paste and gets upset. Then, he sees the bowl of rice cereal and thinks to himself, "Hey, that looks tasty!" And the cycle continues...

After the rice cereal, Mr. K wasn't ready to throw in the towel (or use one, really), so I opened up a container of sweet potatoes. He got all excited when he saw it, and did an excellent job of getting most of it in his mouth. The rest went all over his hands, which he then wiped anywhere else he could. This included his eyes, as he began to get sleepy, since we were nearing his nap time. I began laughing uncontrollably when he got the orange paste all over his eyebrows and forehead. When Kenny saw me laughing, he started too, and it was a minute or so before I could get things under enough control to wipe him clean.


Kenny post-potatoes

When he was done, I cleaned him up again and we headed upstairs for an overdue (and well earned) nap time. It took him all of 45 seconds to turn around a bit before passing out in soporific bliss. Pay special attention to the spit-up stain on his leg...

kenny's new chapeau

The Winters of Turlock, CA sent Kenny this awesome penguin hat a little while back. I think it's in honor of the plethora of flightless arctic waterfowl that permeate Northern California. But that's just a guess...

playtime pix

Here are some fun shots from the basement "play room."





Poor Sadie feels even more marginalized these days whenever we're in the basement with Kenny's play blanket. We try to keep her off of it, but she just wants to be close to the action. It's frustrating for both her and us, as we feel guilty for having to reprimand her for wanting the attention and encroaching upon Kenny's "space." Sigh. Poor pooch, she had a sweet ride for the past 11 years or so.../

give peas a chance

kenny thoroughly enjoyed his first ever serving of peas and looks forward to many more helpings of solid food...

kenny's first "real meal" - the action shots

Make sure to also check out the video of the big event, but here are a few pictures of Kenny and his very first batch of strained peas. Mmmmmm...strained peas.

Sadie enjoyed herself too, as the kid finally started to make a mess she could get at. She is hopeful that this is but a pleasant prelude to many meals to come.

a new baby pool!

Kenny's Aunt Carol (who won the Dr. Rosenberg baby pool) has set up one for our impending niece, codename Petunia, who is due to arrive on December 24. If you feel like entering in the pool, click here to place your bet.

The playing window closes soon, so don't delay!

wieland's in town? let's get sushi!

Overboard & Our Man in LA

Our Man in LA made his monthly work visit back to Chicago this past week, so we decided to get together at Tanoshii with the Finch-Newtons for some raw fish. Kenny fell asleep in the car on the ride over, but once inside the restaurant, he woke up to check out what the noise and smell was all about. We opted to grab a table in the back room so things would be quieter for him, but he had no interest in falling back to sleep, so instead, he joined the party.


Kenny and Sarah get to know each other better

Reggie gives Kenny a lift up in the world


Hey, is this edible?

Don't look now, but I think the guy with the camera is back...

Sushi Mike made his way from behind the bar to the back room to say hello. His impromptu backrub of Overboard's shoulders went over just as well as his signature rolls, and to be honest, I think he may have slipped a charge for it in the bill. I don't think Overboard would have cared if he did.

hey, let's not make any rash decisions here

Poor lil' Kenny has a wicked case of diaper rash, and for the past few days his bum has been on fire. This has, of course, caused our lovable Mr. Mellow to be a touch crankier. Combine that with his teething, and you can see how he might find himself in an irritable state.

We've been trying a few different methods to help soothe his tush, including washcloths instead of wipes and liberal amounts of Balmex or Desitin. On a humorous note, the cream reminds me of an infant-equivalent of BenGay, which allows me to try and convince Mr. K that he isn't suffering from diaper rash, but rather, a "sports injury."

The other night I went out to Walgreen's and bought an Oatmeal bath solution to help the cause. Kenny thought it was fun to "kick it" in the bath, and even managed to force a restart after peeing in his oatmeal (so to speak). During round two, I started squirting him with his toy crab and he responded by peeing again. Not one to be out done, that boy.




On the upside, his tuchus is looking better, and I think we're on the way to recovery. Which is nice for everyone involved.

i know you're out there, i can hear you reading

This is a shameless cry for comments. I encourage everyone to add their two cents for any and all posts (including this one...should you want to call me out for my desperate cries of "Ain't anyone listenin'?").

So there you have it. Don't do it for me or Overboard, do it for Kenny.

kenny's six month checkup

We took Mr. K to the doctor this evening for his six month checkup, and here's where he stands (or sits, or really lies on his back for the most part):

He's up to 16 lbs, 10 oz & 26.5 inches. This puts him around the 25th percentile for weight, but 50th percentile for height. The doctor said he looks great, so we can stop worrying that he's too skinny. He is pretty long though, so maybe he'll outgrow both of his parents who stand an intimidating 5'6" a piece. Again, the doctor was pleased, so we're happy too.

We also got the green light to start Kenny on some "real food," so Overboard is excited to go shopping tomorrow for peas and other strained and pureed green food stuffs.

Kenny was his usual awesome self at his appointment, giggling and screeching away, and not fussing at all while getting stripped naked, as well as being poked and prodded. He did have a bit of an issue with the three shots he had to endure, but to his credit, after a minute or two of serious wailing, he quieted down. I, of course, attributed this to his future as a "hockey player."

You can hear the announcer now, "Oooooh, Rolnick takes a vicious hit which undoubtedly aggravated his third concussion of the season. Combine that with the stitches he took in the first period, and you know he's hurting. But wait...he's not heading to the locker room...he appears to be heading back onto the ice for his next shift! And you want to know why, ladies and gentlemen? Because he's a hockey player!"

In the interest of full disclosure, I must add that Overboard would be off camera, beating me over the head, and cussing with wild abandon at the players who "dared" to hit her son. And while she's at it, "what's up with this announcer's fakakta logic?"

on the cuspid of a new milestone

Kenny is in the very early stages of teething, and we're curious to see how this changes his demeanor, in addition to his mug.

The early signs of teething include increased drooling [check], increased fussiness [minor check], increased gnawing on things [major check], and for some weird reason, acidic poopy which causes increased instances of diaper rash [icky check].

To add to it all, Kenny is also working on sitting up all by himself, as well as crawling. Well, he's not exactly crawling, but he is starting to rock back and forth while doing his tummy time. Furthermore, his scooting while on his back is outstanding, and gets him all over his crib in record time.

This is a lot to handle at one time, but our boy is quite the multi-tasker (just like his mommy).

snap, crackle, poop

Kenny started adding rice cereal to his gastronomic repetoire a few weeks back, and he's all about the stuff. According to the doctor, rice cereal tastes something akin to wall paper paste, which raises the question: Who the hell ate wall paper paste and then rice cereal?

We give Mr. K rice cereal twice a day, in addition to his bottles, and have slowly moved up from two tablespoons up to six. He devours it, but also manages to make sure to spread the proper amount around his face, hands and bib. As of late, he has begun grabbing onto the spoon and holding it while you try to get the rice cereal into his mouth. I'm not sure if this is done because he wants to control the action, or because he doesn't trust us to hit the target.


Hey, you mind? I'm trying to eat here. Don't make me turn into an angry rice cereal eater.

Yo, seriously...wanna bring that spoon back, please?

The only things that distracted Kenny from his demands for more rice cereal, were my insistence on periodic picture taking, and when Sadie came sniffing around. Suddenly, Kenny was very keen on making sure that Sadie didn't try to muscle in on his action. As a protest, Sadie then plopped down on the floor and turned her back to us.

exer-saucer action shots

Kenny was having a blast in his exer-saucer this morning, so I snapped a few pix...

another visit from dr. professor silverman*

After we got back from Thanksgiving, we received an all-too-brief visit from Dr. Professor Adam B. Silverman (an all around dude of a college music professor). Amy was nursing a cold, so she was forced to stay away, thus delaying her first visit with Mr. K. While we didn't get too much time, we had a lot of fun, and the good doctor professor was very impressed with how far Kenny has come along since he saw him last!


*I realize that this post is not so much in chronological order, but hey, it happens, deal with it. Thank you - The editor.

left out in the cold

AJ and I went over to the outdoor ice rink up the street for the first time, but were regrettably denied entry.

I called the park district's ice rink hotline this afternoon and started dancing in my seat to the sounds of, "Monday, December 4, and the rink at Johns Park is OPEN." Yes, I wondered why it was Monday's message, but that didn't matter -- the rink was finally open for business!

Much to our chagrin, when we went over to the rink at 9pm this evening, the lights were out and the gate to the rink was locked. AJ called the hotline and got a Tuesday "we're closed" message. Freakin' ice tease, that Glenview park district.

Sigh. I guess we'll just have to try again tomorrow or Thursday...

my two moms

"Maman Michelle" has been my "French Mom" for around 20 years now. I haven't had a chance to see her since the wedding, and as each year goes by, so goes my French down "la toilette."

I was able to converse well enough to get my point across, but that's because Michelle forgave my singular use of the present tense, and general disregard for the formalities of proper grammar. Sort of ironic for a writer, non?

The really fun part was when I would blank out on a word, grab the French/English dictionary, and groan in disbelief when I saw that the word was the same in both languages, just with a different pronunciation and inflection. For example, the word "example" is "exemple." But of course.

Another fun "exemple," you ask? Well, Mom's PC laptop (which she uses for video Skype calls) decided to act up, and although it was claiming to be connected to the Internet, no connection could be made (and thus no calls placed). Try as we might, we couldn't get the damn thing to work. I tried to explain to Michelle that, apparently, the hamster that powers the wheel that powers the laptop was MIA. I couldn't think of what the word for "hamster" was, so I checked the dictionary. The word? "Hamster" (but pronounced without the "H"). I then turned to Michelle and explained that the hamster was missing. I paused, then repeated, en francais, "L'Hamster et mort" ("the hamster is dead"). This became a catch phrase over the next day and a half.

Damn hamster. Kept us from Skyping with the Oakland clan. Mon Dieu.

fun with typos

DSC00026 copy.JPG
Originally uploaded by PondMusic.

So, Mom's b-day party was held at the 191 Club, a very shmancy social dining club that my folks have belonged to for many years now. It's a classy joint, where the staff know all of the member's names, personal tastes, etc.; so I was a bit surprised when they misspelled my Mom's last name on her special b-day dessert plate. Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was pretty funny.

"hey, grandma...surprise!"

We went down to Atlanta this past weekend for a surprise 60th birthday party for my mom.

Due to the snow storm in Chicago, our original flight at 9am on Friday morning was cancelled, and our rescheduled flight for 1:15pm was bumped back to 3:20pm. We eventually took off somewhere around 3:30pm, and got into Atlanta around the time Mom was discovering that there was a surprise party being held for her. A MARTA ride and short waltz around downtown later, we got up to the restaurant, where they have a dress code.

At this point, I ducked into the men's room to change out of my jeans and t-shirt. As I disrobed at the lovely marble sink, one of mom's best friend's boyfriend came out of a stall. I would have shook his hand, but I was busy trying to pull up said pair of shiny black slacks. Moments later, the unmistakable shrieking of my Aunt Robin could be heard as she rounded the corner and spied Overboard and Kenny.

Mom had a similar reaction moments later when we rounded the corner into the private dining room. All of our travel shenanigans were worth it for the excited look on her face. I was amazed at how Kenny kept his composure in the face of a sudden storm of attention. Well, to be honest, not that surprised. After all, this was the boy who once again flew like a champ, falling asleep shortly after takeoff. Best baby flier ever, I'm tellin' ya.

The other super-surprise guest was "Maman Michelle," who had secretly flown in from Paris for the party. While Mom was somewhat expecting a surprise party (Dad had thrown one for her 40th & 50th birthdays), she had no clue Michelle would be there. We hadn't seen Michelle since the wedding, and she had never met Mr. K, so it was very cool not only to see her again, but to watch (and listen to) her oooh and aaah over him en francais.

Michelle (aka "Mimi"), also once again extended an offer for Overboard and I to prend un voyage au Paris, where she will put us up at her Hotel, look after the boy, and in general, spoil us all. Needlesstosay, I'm trying to figure out when we can go.

Soooo...here is a link to the Flickr slideshow of our weekend. In addition to the party pix are my trip to the AMAZING new Georgia Aquarium with Robin and Bob, two shots of Kenny and Melanie and Josh's new boy, Ryan, as well as some pix of everyone else with the boy.

Kenny thoroughly enjoyed his sink bath on Sunday too, and didn't pee once! Personally, I think he knew better than to take a whiz in Grandma Jackie's kitchen sink. As a grandson, you can get away with a lot, but you CANNOT get away with relieving yourself in Grandma's sink. Not that I'm speaking from experience....'cause that would be icky.

stickin' with a theme

In honor of the cold spell that just hit Chicago and dumped many inches of snow for me to shovel, I have pictures from California. But not just any pictures...pictures of my nephew on ice skates! Oh yeah, this is how it begins. Adam learns to skate, loves it, tells his cousin how cool it is, his cousin wants to do it, next thing you know, the Rolnick cousins are lifting the Stanley Cup over their heads (and not just a replica on display at some NHL store).





My brother said that he hunched over and held Adam between his legs while gliding around the rink. Adam thought it was fun and so did my brother (although his lower back argued to the contrary).

The cold that is invading Chicago also means that the outdoor ice rink up the street should be operational very soon, which, for me, makes not being able to feel my toes while standing outside completely irrelevant.

Sweeeeeeet.