Barry’s Daily Web News

Untitled Post

Sean had his early intervention appointment this evening, since his normal appointment would fall on Christmas morning. We were worried he would be hyperactive, since it was close to his bedtime, but he showed some good concentration, particularly at the beginning. Towards the end of the session, he would say “Oh, funny”, and then do something goofy. This was so cute, that even the early interventionist didn’t seem to mind.

Minority Report

The second movie of the weekend was Minority Report. I thought that this was an excellent science fiction movie. Spielberg did a good job with this movie, and didn’t botch the ending like he did in A.I. I didn’t care much for Tom Cruise as the leading character, but that didn’t spoil the movie. As a science fiction fan, I rate this movie an A, but I would recommend seeing the movie even if you aren’t a science ficiton fan.

Buy it.

Reign of Fire

The first movie of the weekend was Reign of Fire. I suppose the Hollywood types thought that realistic-looking dragon scenes would be enough to sell a movie, even with a plot that could be picked apart by a seven year old. Are we supposed to believe that a single dragon could spawn and lead to the destruction of the civilized world, only to be destroyed by three individuals in a post-apocalyptic world? This movie is so bad, it doesn’t deserve a letter grade. It deserves a steaming turd rating.

Buy it.

Untitled Post

Weather wise, today was a lousy day. It was cold with a steady drizzle of rain the entire day. The high temperature was only 49 degrees. Ethan didn’t seem to mind at all. He spent a good part of the day smiling at mommy and daddy.

Untitled Post

We went to see the zoo lights this evening. This is where the local zoo is open during the evening, with the animal areas closed, but decorated with light displays. It was a cold, wet evening, so Cortney and I dressed warmly, and bundled Sean and Ethan in the double stroller with plenty of blankets. The cold weather didn’t keep the crowds away, and we had to follow the pace of the crowd because of the stoller. This gave us plenty of time to see all the light exhibits, and we had a good time. I’m sure we will be going back again next year.

Untitled Post

I finished my Christmas shopping this morning. I started early, arriving at the first store when it opened at 9:00am. I was able to finish my shopping in about an hour and a half, stopping at five stores. Overall, it was a good time to be shopping. The stores weren’t too busy, but they still had a full time staff working, so no lines for the check out. I took Ethan with me, and he didn’t seem to mind the shopping, even when I had to transfer him back and forth between the carrier and the car seat.

Untitled Post

It was a cloudy day, raw and cold. We went to the outlet mall, arriving right after it opened to beat the crowd. We bought a few items, and had Ethan’s picture taken with Santa Claus. Sean was too interested in the train set to sit down with Santa. Afterwards, we wanted to go to the playground area nearby, but it was still too cold and wet. So, we went home and relaxed for most of the afternoon. We went out to dinner at Cortney’s favorite restaurant, the Red Lobster. We both had the all-you-can-eat shrimp special. We finished the day with a fire in the fireplace, and watching a movie.

Untitled Post

Ethan spends most of his waking hours looking at his hands. I think he has figured out that if he moves his arms in the right manner, he can actually get his two hands to touch each other.

Untitled Post

Even though it was chilly again today, we had a thunderstorm this afternoon, which prevented us from going to the park. I don’t think we received any rain, but we did have high winds. The only thing preventing our Santa from blowing into the neigbor’s yard was the electric cord. We rescued Santa and brought him indoors.

Untitled Post

It was a cold and windy day today. The Santa in the front yard blew over twice. The forecast is for the temperatures to drop into the 30’s tonight.

Untitled Post

We undertook the thrilling task of returning our new TV/VCR/DVD combo unit to Costco. We have had the unit for three weeks, and were annoyed to find that the VCR stopped working after one or two times. Costco allowed us to return it, but they wouldn’t exchange it directly. So we were given a cash card, and we turned around and went back into the store and bought the same unit, paying with the cash card. The net result was that we now have new combo unit with a working VCR. And as an extra feature, I was able to get in some weight lifting, carrying the 80 pound unit down and then back up the stairs, and lifting it in and out of the minivan.

Untitled Post

For your amusement: The Michael Jackson baby catch game. The only thing funnier would be if you also had to catch pieces of his nose dropping off.

Untitled Post

I took Sean and Ethan to the library this evening. It was definitely less crowded than usual. I guess everyone is getting ready for the holidays. Sean had the train table to himself. I think he missed the other children, since he became bored after only an hour and half of play.

Untitled Post

Ethan slept from 9:00 last night until 5:00 in the morning! I don’t think he is eating enough to sleep through the night on a regular basis, but at least the little tyke has the right idea.

Untitled Post

Not much to say today, being a typical Monday. After a busy weekend, we just relaxed this evening. Ethan slept a bit longer last night. He went from about 8:00 in the evening to 3:30 in the morning. I hope this means he is getting to closer to sleeping though the night.