The Adventures of Ninja Boy

Ball Hockey

2011-03-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

A short video of some ball hockey going on in the kitchen.

Christmas 2010 In Pictures

2011-01-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

Opened stocking full of toy dinosaurs.

Played flashlights with Grandma M.

Cousin cuddles!

Making funny faces at Cornwell Christmas.

Wearing the Pollyanna top hat.

Playing Wii with the Big Kids.

Falling asleep on the way home.

The holidays approach

2010-11-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

Ninja Boy is a great help in the kitchen.

Well this statement needs a little qualification. He likes to help bake items, he likes to remind me that things need to be baked. So as the Cookie season is approaching, I decided to branch out from the muffins that we normally make and bake some cookies.

Adding butter

We can't be done

My fingers are green

A little if this, a lot of that

The final masterpieces

More cookies will be made, just did a small amount today to see how it goes (there is dough left in the fridge).

October Fun

2010-10-26T16:14:00.001-07:00

For Ninja Boy October Fun is all about:

Apple picking!

Leaf jumping!

Papa playing!

Birthday caking!

And chocolate chomping!

Isaac dancing

2010-10-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

I just love this. The off-beat clapping makes me giggle.

Happy Second Birthday

2010-10-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, the past year just flew by. My little boy went from

Sitting in leaves

Sitting in pile of leaves

Running through the leaves

MMM chocolate

With Aunt Sia


I just want to eat it,

Playing in the corn

Too cool

"I ride on Daddy's shoulders, I can almost touch the sky"

Summer is here

2010-06-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hmm, looking at our blog posts you wouldn't know that we made it home from California a couple of weeks ago before this most recent earthquake (in Southern Cali).
Today though we did what in my mind marks the beginning of summer...

Was it swimming in Lake Erie

Nope - we actually did that in May (which I find just amazing that the water was warm enough).
It involved some key phrases:

1) You can't climb on Mommy right now

2) If you take a bite - you have to eat the rest of it

3) The straw is not to eat

4) Another clue... okay

Did you guess - Strawberry picking - cause if you did you got it right.

Day 5: Carmel, Pebble Beach and Big Sur

2010-05-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

On this day, we drove the 17 Mile Drive around Monterey Peninsula, which includes Carmel and Pebble Beach. We also down to the California coast to Big Sur. I don't have the words to express the beauty of the scenery. All I have to offer are these pictures, will have to speak for themselves:

Quote of the Day: "To My Wife Alma, who hates golf but let's me pursue my passion. Love, Steve." Inscription on a commemorative plaque at the Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, CA.

Meal of the Day: Pulled pork with horseradish coleslaw and sweet potato fries at Rio Grill in Carmel, CA. Southwest cuisine at its finest.

Day 4: Monterey

2010-05-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

At first, Monterey was kind of underwhelming. Most of it looks like any other bland suburban sprawl area. But then we took a walk downtown in the historic district. It wasn't too hard to find because the sidewalks were engraved with the following:

They've done a great job of preserving certain key buildings, like the San Carlos Cathedral:

And the house that Robert Louis Stevenson lived in:

Even the children's playgrounds have a preserved Pacific Rail train engine:

Isaac and I enjoyed hanging out at the marina:

Mom and Isaac also chilled out at the pier:

I was trying to teach Isaac about etiquette. His response was unequivocal:

The cannery district at Monterey was the inspiration for John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row". They love to show their appreciation:

Quote of the Day: No real quote, but Isaac made the signs for "more" and "food" in consecutive order, thus officially counting as his first sentence.

Meal of the Day: For Teresa it was Huevos Rancheros for lunch at "El Palomar". For me it was Prawn Scampi for dinner at "Louie Linguine".

Vacation Day 3: San Francisco (Hopefully the damn pictures show up this time...)

2010-05-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Started the day with a ride on a genuine SF cable car.

Next stop: Chinatown!

We were tempted to buy Ninja Boy a "coolie cap" with braided queue, but we settled on this picture instead.

Next we visted Alcatraz Island. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Rock!"

Although its now a national park, Alcatraz Island still has trappings that makes one uneasy.

NB sure didn't like being under constant scrutiny from the tower guards.
Imagine spending most of your adult life in a 6 ft. by 10 ft cell.

Quote of the Day: "I named this island 'La Isla de los Alcatraces' (Island of the Sea Birds) because of their being so plentiful here." Juan Manual de Ayala, 1775.

Meal of the Day: Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown. Alas, I forgot the name of the restuarant.

December 2009

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

October/November

2009-11-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Ninjababy had a busy fall. He celebrated his birthday with Uncle Paul, Aunt Megan, and cousins "AC" and "JC":

Uncle Paul tickles

And AC tries to read him a book:

Later, it was off to see Elizabeth May, Leader of the Canada's Green Party, speak at the University:

The next day it was time to play in the leaves:

A busy boy with big plans.

Caption this

2009-11-03T07:56:00.001-08:00

Halloween brought a little jack o lantern into our house. Instead of coming up with a catchy title to the picture below, I want to see what you are faithful readers have.

A)

Just another shot,

Costume courtesy of Nana who made the costume 20 years ago for Aunt Sarah. Wow I didn't realize it was that old until now.

I Sing To My Ninja Baby

2009-10-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

(To the tune of "I Sing The Body Electric" from the Fame (1980) movie soundtrack.)

I sing to my Ninja Baby,
The one with all that brown curly hair.
He has about thirty-eight teeth,
and that was before he turned a year.

He loves him some Mommy,
and makes his Dad laugh.
He plays with his penis,
when he takes a bath.
And in time, and in time,
He will be a teenager and that won't be as funny or as appropriate to sing about.

(Okay, so the tune falls apart in the last line... sue me!)

Happy Birthday Ninja Baby!

Love, Daddy

Happy Birthday

2009-10-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ninja Baby!

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The past year has been full of changes, and we can't wait to see what the next year brings!

September

2009-09-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Before September is gone, I thought it would be best to update you on some of the recent travels.
Labour day weekend too us west to Michigan, where Ninja Baby got to play with Toddler Jeneric and the recently promoted Toddler Wily.
Watching Toddler Wily toddle around enabled NB to be more interested in walking then he was before the visit.

TJ and TW took us to the local aquatic center where NB was unsure about the water. Once he realized that if he crawled in the right direction, there was dry land there was no stopping him. Not content to sit in the water he made a bee line for the shore each time he was set down.

The following weekend took us in to Toronto to visit Aunt Jen and Uncle N'gai, where a roof top BBQ was enjoyed by all.

Summer, Where oh where part 3

2009-09-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

As the summer has progressed NB has learned to ride a horse, okay it is of the wooden variety but he does enjoy it

Feet were compared between Keeper and NB

And we said goodbye to Aunt Sarah before she left for Krakow
And that brings us to September

Summer Where oh where part 2

2009-09-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

After arriving back from Saskatoon, we went to a company picnic. Now when you get that many engineer type people together it should be no surprise that a giant slingshot comes out. The ammo - water balloons

NB however was a little jaded,
either that or just worn out from the excitement.

Summer - oh where or where did you go

2009-09-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that summer is almost gone, and although we here at Ninja Baby Adventures have been busy we have been laxed at writing blog posts. I will however try and remedy that.
The begining of August brough NB first flight, as we travelled westward to Saskatoon to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and saw Great Grandparents too.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

Since the weather was beautiful, there was lots of walks along the river,

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

and some water play

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

and playing with a classic toy.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The Little Guy

2009-08-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

Number One Mom and the Ninja Baby are going away for the next few days visiting Grandmom out west. Dad spent much of yesterday chronicling NB's activities, because:

1) He's gonna miss his family, and
2) He's a maudlin SOB.

So here are some pics:

1) NB waking up in the morning.

Looks happy doesn't he. Not much else to say here.

2) We decide to go for an early morning Geocache/hike in our little "Master-Blaster" carry-all.

3) Mom and Dad spend three quarters of an hour tramping around in a local park before we realize we got the wrong coordinates on our GPS. Meanwhile NB takes a nap, clearly demonstrating better thinking compared to his 'rents.

4) We go home. NB wakes and tries on a pair of knitted denim pants, made by Aunt Sarah.

The reason for that look: Within 5 minutes of wearing his brand new pants, NB has pooped his diapers.

5) Bedtime.

Funny enough, when Dad was a baby, he too slept with his butt in the air.

The Beginining of Summer

2009-07-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

....
or what we have been doing for the past month.

As many of you guessed Ninja Baby was indeed crawling before Father's Day, and he is now an expert at it. The day before Father's Day, (Fathers Day eve if you like), we had a cowboy birthday party for my Dad at the cottage. The day started off rainy but the sun came out for the party and NB enjoyed being a little cowboy and crawling around

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The end of June took us visiting and a vacation to the Jersey Shore.

The beach was not to NB's liking - the sand was too hot and the water was too cold.

He did enjoy walking the board walk and geocaching with Mom and Dad.

While on vacation he perfected going from crawling to sitting as well as pulling himself up. This I believe is his real motivation to crawl is just to get places where he can stand and cruise around the furniture.

Even though the summer has been cool corn on the cob is in season, and we had some delicious local stuff for dinner tonight. As I was cutting more off the cob for NB, he let me know that he wanted the cob (Mr. Independent, and I want to be like you). So I thought why not let him try, he will probably quickly tire of the cob. Boy was I wrong.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

Moving

2009-06-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ninja Baby isn't crawling... Yet. He however, is moving around. You can set him down and turn your back and given a moment or two he will be in a different place then where you set him down. He does most of his moving while you are not looking at him, and definitely not when the camera is on.
It has been a while since we have had a poll on this blog (I also haven't written a blog in a while) so this is a good time to have a new poll on when NB will be crawling. Now to help out our readers, during today's nap times (and he didn't nap well today) I put together the following video.

Daddy Goes Solo

2009-05-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today, Number One Mom enjoyed a rare day off from parenting duties. She and Auntie Sarah went to a day long knitting seminar while Number One Dad stayed home with both Ninja Baby and Keeper. Mom was nice enough to leave a written outline of NB's playing, eating and napping routine, and Dad was thankful for the reference.

NB enjoyed a breakfast consisting of a mixture of baby cereal and pureed carrots, which he wolfed down in quick order. Ditto for lunch of avocado and baby formula. He was packing it away.

In between play times and during nap times Dad was able to:

Clean the kitchen and dining room
Sort the living room
Prep the new rock garden bed
Beat two major bosses in Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
Watch the commentary for the deluxe edition of L.A. Confidential
Move NB's Evenflow Play Center up one level to account for baby growth
Launder NB's vast loads of dirty diapers

Not to brag, but I am pretty good at this whole parenting thing.

A word about diapers. Now that NB is eating solid food the resulting poop turds are literally scaring the heck out of me. Seriously, my adrenaline levels spike at the thought of changing one of the kid's hot, loaded diapers, similar to what Kamikaze pilots must have felt during the Battle of Midway.

It's a bit shameful to admit, but I put it out there 'cause I want to hear from other moms and dads. Do/Did you feel the same way about poopy diapers? I'm interested in hearing your experiences. I'm not looking for reassurance, or advice; I just want to hear your stories about poopy diapers. Feel free to respond in the comments section.

Swimming, swimming - oh wait

2009-05-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Once NB gets some of these actions coordinated it won't look like he is trying to swim across the floor, but will be speeding along.

We have been remiss posting pictures of NB lately, here are some other photos.

How long can Nina Baby sit up?

2009-04-13T16:16:00.001-07:00

Here's his first try:

Okay, room for improvement.

Here's his second try:

The Month of March

2009-03-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

I realize that the blog here on Ninja Baby has been quiet for the past month. I partially apologize for that. I won't fully apologize since a lot has been going on and blogging has not been on the fore front of the activities.
The first weekend of March brought our friends, the Wily Jeneric family, to visit. Much fun was had, and the camera rarely came out. However here are a couple (some were lifted from Wily Jeneric).

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

Baby Wily is three weeks older then Ninja Baby and it was fun to see them together.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The second weekend in March brought a family skating day. This is the second year the family has rented an hour of ice time. Ninja Baby didn't try out any skates but had fun watching a game of tag on the hockey rink.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The beautiful March day allowed for us to hang out side in the bright sunshine after skating. If it wasn't for the taps on the maple trees it would have been easy to forget that it was the middle of March.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

Unfortunately a couple days after the skating day, Ninja Baby became sick. After 9 days of vomiting, 6 days of diarrhea, 6 doctors visits, 1 trip to the ER, and an ultrasound, it was decided to admit him to the hospital. Ninja Baby is doing much better on soy formula and is back to being happy, laughing and smiling self.
We are not sure what has made Ninja Baby sick, some of the theories are:
NB loves to flirt with nurses and likes the hospital so much so he thought this was a good way to visit with them

NB has a food allergy - possibly to milk (doc is thinking more along milk then just dairy)
NB has a metabolic disorder that he didn't have one screened as a newborn
NB has a yet to be determined health problem (the doc is doing some other tests).

During all of this excitement, Ninja Baby has gotten his first tooth. It came in without a problem and there was very little signs of teething. Just all of sudden a white speck in his mouth. His second tooth won't be too far behind. He can be shy of his tooth, but I will try and get a photo.

A few pics

2009-03-02T11:45:00.001-08:00

I promised you last week some more pictures of Ninja Baby. Here they are

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

You can see more photos in the picasa album (but you have figured that out by now - right?)

Shorter than expected

2009-02-26T07:47:00.001-08:00

Ninja Baby did very well at his 4 month check up on Tuesday, although his shots did make him grumpy but that is to be expected.
Here were his vital stats
Weight: 6.45 kg (14lb 4oz)
Height: 63 cm (25")
So everyone who answered the poll thought that he was taller than he actually is. NB growth was slower than expected (both height and weight) since December but the doctor is not concerned.

More pictures soon.

ETA (April 8): I thought I had posted this in February and was surprised to see it listed as a draft. Whoops.

A new toy

2009-02-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

Ninja Baby wants us to share some pictures of him in his new toy

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

As some of you may know NB loves to stand and move so the Jolly Jumper is perfect for him, we have been waiting to use it until he got the head and body control neccessary to be suspended from a giant spring.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

We are also stealing an idea from WilyJeneric and conducting a poll (its over to the right). Ninja Baby has his 4 month check up on Tuesday. So the question is how big will NB be?
Some info to help guide your answers

NB weighed 3170 g and was 51 cm long at birth (6lbs 15.5oz and 20") at birth
At two months 5541 g and 60 cm at 2 months (12lbs and 24")
When he was released from the hospital on January 14 he was 5150 g

There is a saying "double the birth weight by 4 months and triple at one year"

Photos, just because

2009-01-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

Some of these photos are from Christmas

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

and some are from this past week.

From The Adventures of Ninja Baby

The Return on Ninja Baby

2009-01-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

After giving Number One Mom & Dad a couple of grey hairs, we are happy to report that Ninja Baby was finally released from a week long hospital stay. We don't know yet what type of virus (the most likely suspect: rota virus) it was that made our little guy so sick, but to us, that is secondary to the fact that he has recovered and is back to his smiley and giggly self (as you can see).

To celebrate good health and the inauguration of a new US President, we had this mock up of Obama's famous campaign poster made, featuring Ninja Baby. Visit http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/ to get your own poster made.

TTFN!

Our Christmas Picture

2008-12-20T17:04:00.001-08:00

So here is a copy of the picture that we used for our Christmas cards this year:

And here's how many pictures we had to take to get the one good one.

Ninja Baby wishes you all a Merry Christmas. We will see you in the new year!

More Visitors

2008-12-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some visitors from November.

Grandma Connie

Uncle Wayne

Cousins J and K

Aunt Sia

Uncle Ngai and Aunt Jen

"The many faces of K"

One month

2008-11-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would let you compare these two photos so you can see how much Ninja Baby has changed in the past month.

Oct 24, 2008

Nov 24, 2008Nov 24, 2008

He is growing like a weed (he has gained over 2lbs), loves to look around and to laugh and smile.

Visitors

2008-11-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

NB has been eating with gusto and sleeping as well as you can expect from a 10 day old. I have been getting use to the idea of naps and how refreshing they can be.

We have had some visitors the past couple of days.
Grandma "M" held him for a while...

Cousin "A" was quite happy when he got a chance to cuddle with NB.

Uncle "P" has two kids of his own, so it takes a lot to make an impression on him.

Aunt "M" and Cousin "J" were way easier to impress.

Aunt "A" and Cousin "E" couldn't take their eyes away from NB.

Neither could Uncle "S"...

Cousin "O" was happy to smile for the camera!

Winners!

2008-10-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Jenn and Emily who both won the 'Guess the Birthdate" contest for Ninja Baby. They both will receive 4x6 glossy photo of NB

Here are some more NB photos.

Ninja Baby has arrived!

2008-10-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

After a twenty-eight (!) hour labour, Ninja Baby arrived kicking and screaming into the world, at around 6:00 o'clock. He (yes it is indeed a boy) weighed in at a fit seven pounds, and when I say kicking, I personally observed NB deliver a stunningly technically accurate side-kick and center-level punch (thumb outside of fist instead of inside) while the doctors and nurses worked on him at the incubator. A natural born martial artist, perhaps?

I call this his "Bill the Cat Face"... "ack" indeed!

I call this his "James Brown" face.

Number One Mom & Dad with Ninja Baby.

Number One Mom knit him this nice sweater. Big shout out to Non-Asian Sister-In-Law who knit NB a nice warm burgundy cap.

Cheers!

(PS: For those of you who know NB's real name, we are kindly asking that you do not use it on anything that will end up on an Internet blog or Facebook page. Feel free to use "Ninja Baby" from now on. Thanks.)

Baby Contest

2008-10-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Barbit is out of the running of the Baby Contest. Her guess of Oct. 17 has expired. Incidentally Number One Mom's guess of Oct. 19 has also expired.

The suspense continues....

Wall Street... Main Street... Sesame Street!

2008-10-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

A temporary distraction from all the economic doom and gloom. Here are my top 10 all time favourite Sesame Street bits.

10) Pinball

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9) Would you like to buy an O

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8) John-John counts to 10

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7) Twinkle Twinkle

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6) Captain Vegetable

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5) Alligator King

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3) Ladybugs Picnic

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2) Heeeeere Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

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1) Feist "1,2,3,4"

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Contest reminder

2008-09-29T15:57:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to get your guesses in for the contest.

Here is a belly photo.

Baby Books

2008-09-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

In preparation of Ninja Baby's arrival, Number One Mom has read many baby books, including The Mother of All Baby Books, Sheila Stubbs's Birthing the Easy Way and two different editions of What to Expect When You are Expecting.

Number One Dad, on the other hand, had a hard time reading baby books. Most baby books read like textbooks and I have to admit I found that I was struggling through most of them. Some of them were downright scary and reading them were not exactly what I would call enjoyable. I will go ahead and assume that most Dads-To-Be have a similar issue, and this problem is mostly a "guy thing".

But I did find one or two books that really made an impression on me as a Dad-to-Be, and in the interest of helping other dudes who find reading baby books a chore, here are a few that guys can relate to:

1) The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be by A. Brott and J. Ash

This book was recommended by a good buddy of mine who was a new father himself. My buddy passed me a copy of this book, and after one look at the title, I knew that I found a book that spoke to my particular concerns. It was written by a man, for men, and addressed some of the things that guys often worry about when facing impending fatherhood. I recommend it to other Dad's-to-Be, as it is a good tool to get your mind focused in the right. It's not nearly as scary as What to Expect When You Are Expecting, although given that it was written with an American audience in mind, some areas are not specifically relevant to Canadians. Still, guys, you want to begin with this book.

2) Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent

This book is a marvel! I can't recommend it enough. Most baby books tell how to prepare for a birthing situation, but fall way short in providing a good description of a birth situation. Even the information given in the omnipresent What to Expect When You're Expecting is just too plain clinical, and fails to describe a real-life birthing situation. Peggy Vincent's memoirs were a revelation, because it's basically a series of stories about a variety of different births she observed as a midwife. Most of the stories are absolutely funny, and does more to make one feel at ease with the vagaries of how men and women react during labour. She takes the whole mystery out of the birthing process and presents it as a life-affirming event that you would be crazy to miss. A lot of the initial fear I had about participating in our baby's birth were successfully dispelled after reading this book. Now I'm absolutely looking forward to catching of the baby and the cutting of the umbilical cord, and the fear I initially felt at the prospect has transformed to a kind of expectant exhilaration. Baby Catcher is just great, and it's a book that husbands should share and read with their wives.

3) Lone Wolf and Cub, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima.

Obviously, this one is my wild card pick, and is only partly intended as a joke. In truth, I'm reading this magna comic series for pure enjoyment. But there is something to this tale of a wandering ronin and his son that speaks to some of my thoughts about impending fatherhood. This may be a generalization, but it seems to me that an expectant mother focuses mostly on the birthing process, but expectant fathers tend to focus on providing for the baby. In many ways Lone Wolf and Cub addresses this crux. The main character is a disgraced masterless samurai and hired assassin who has embarked on a long, complicated and dangerous journey to avenge the death of his wife and the desecration of his family's name and honour. But he walks the assassins path with his four-year old son in tow. A hitman with a child: an extreme extrapolation of our common male worries of facing the daily dangers of the world in order to provide for our families. I guess I take some comfort in knowing that the challenges I face daily is nothing compared to the challenges faced by an Edo period Japanese warrior with a bounty on his head and a hungry child riding a tricked out baby cart.

Nursery and Contest

2008-08-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

August was a busy month for Number One Mom and Dad. First, the Jeneric Clan came for a visit. Toddler Jeneric wanted to say "hi":

Then, a special rug we ordered from way out in Toronto finally arrived:

And with the help of a couple of Enterprising Grandparents-To-Be, we were able to finish decorating and outfitting the nursery with some spoils from a baby shower:

Number One Dad repainted and refinished a cute little round table for the nursing nook:

Enterprising Grandparents-To-Be found and installed some window dressings for the nursing nook:
The crib is dressed, toy-ed up and ready to go. Some kind souls hand knitted a couple of sweaters for Ninja Baby:

The changing center is stockpiled and ready. The painting is a souvenir from our tropical holiday:

And of course, we were provided a cows for a nice final touch, in honor of Number One Mom's humble farming roots:

So we are roughly two months away from Ninja Baby's world premiere (ETA October 26, 2008). Number One Mom and I think it's time for a contest. Contestants are invited to guess Ninja Baby's actual birth date and time and gender, and submit their guesses in the comments section of this blog entry. The closest guess of the date and time will win. In the event of a tie, we will use the gender guess as a tie-breaker. The winner will receive a gen-you-wine, 3"x5" glossy picture of Ninja Baby. The deadline for entry is September 30, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Any entry after that date will be eliminated from consideration.

Good Luck!

In Britain, they call it a "holiday"

2008-06-26T12:49:00.001-07:00

Ninja Baby recently enjoyed a luxurious 5-day vacation to the tropics. Most of the days were spent lazing around on the beach...:

...Enjoying fine dinners...:

...and just generally chilling out:

Meanwhile, back home, some enterprising grandparents-to-be were helping to finish decorating Ninja Baby's new lair:

All in all, it's been a good week to be a Ninja Baby.

Baby Name Books Suck.

2008-06-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

When you have a child nicknamed "Ninja Baby" it stands to reason that the baby's real name should be distinctive and unique. The problem is that, with over 6 billion people on planet earth, all the really good distinctive names have been taken. New parents seeking help from baby name books are pretty much SOL because while most of them brag about having over 1,000 different names for boys and girls, they are generally the most common names.

A family member once suggested that we consider naming Ninja Baby based on our progeny's possible future profession. Based on that suggestion, here are some examples we (oh, so briefly)
considered:

Profession: Finance and Securities
"Visa D. Mastercard" (the "D" stands for "Diner's Club")

Profession: Actor
"Angelina Drew Roberts"

Profession: NASCAR Driver
"Shake n' Bake"

Profession: Crappy Right Wing Politician
"George W. Harper-Regan"

Profession: Movie director of an Oscar-caliber pedigree who's quality of work declines significantly in the later years:
"Francis Ford Lucas Spielberg"

Profession: Angry white hippie poet-novelist-songwriter
"Jewel Atwood-Morisette"

Profession: Self-destructive Rock n' Roll has-been
"Axl Osbourne-Simmons"

Profession: Movie director of an Oscar-caliber pedigree who retains their god-like status in the hearts and minds of movie fans, in perpetuity
"Quentin Cameron Thomas Anderson Scorsese-Mann"

Profession: Angry black hippie-poet-novelist-songwriter
"Nikki Walker Scott-Badu"

Profession: Philadelphia-area martial artist of Italian descent
Salvatore Antonio Pasquale Giuseppe Boriello-Lucas

Anyways... for the sake of an update, here is a tummy pic. The belly-button has almost "turkey-timer"ed, so things are getting pretty exciting. Ninja Baby is kicking up a storm, but has yet to respond directly to Number One Dad's voice. The kid's not even born yet and already its ignoring me...

True to name

2008-06-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Seeing as we have updated what has been happening here in about a month - I thought I should post the most recent photo of Ninja Baby.

Ninja Baby 19 weeks

The ultrasound tech said she was printing off a bunch of photos for me, but when I went to pick them up there was only two - this one and another one of the the face that is not as clear. The white mark above the face is the hand. Ninja Baby was looking at the their hands.

Ninja Baby was gently kicking so I could feel it's presence for about 3 weeks now, but it has been the past couple days that I have been feeling kicks during the entire afternoon.

Exposure

2008-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

According to the book "The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dad-to-Be", there is some research that suggests that at around 14 weeks some fetuses can react to outside sounds. Armed with that knowledge, I have been exposing Ninja Baby-to-Be to some different types of media, and then tracking the response. Here are my findings so far.

Movie: Iron Man

Number One Dad's Reaction: One of the best comic book-to-movie adaptions, ever! I was enraptured by a two-hour orgy of superhero coolness. The cast was pitch perfect, the action was great and the special effects were a wonder to behold. And great cameo by Samuel L. Jackson (hint to other fanboys: waiting through the end credits is a good idea). Two thumbs up!

Ninja Baby's Reaction: None observed.

Book: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes.

Number One Dad's Reaction: I chose to read poems to Ninja-Baby in the hopes that the rhyming structure would helps to stimulate the baby into recognizing word sounds and speech patterns. What I didn't count on was how angry Langston Hughes's poems are. Being a key figure in the civil rights movement his poems were all about lynched black men and poor, abused black women. Number One Mom did not think it was such good subject matter to present to a fetus.

Ninja Baby's Reaction: None observed.

TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 7

Number One Dad's Reaction: Again, maybe not such good subject matter for a fetus, but hey, I was bored and Number One Mom was asleep.

Ninja Baby's Reaction: None observed.

Conclusions: It's been pretty impossible to gauge Ninja Baby's response, so far. It's quite possible that Ninja Baby already thinks I'm a big nerd. It's equally possible that I've successfully turned an unformed fetus into a racially militant, comic book loving, demon hunter. Whatever the results, at least raising Ninja Baby won't be boring.

What the hell do I know about being a father?

2008-05-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

As the birth of Ninja Baby approaches, it's amazing how many times I ask myself that question. I mean, really the only previous child-raising experience I have is those few times my parents left me and my brother alone in the house. And although the fact that the house never burned is a plus in my favour, I have to be honest and say there's not much I do know about raising children.

But you know what? I know stuff. Sure it all comes from movies, but it's still worthy advice, and I would have no qualms about passing it down to my child. Here is a sampling of some of the knowledge I plan to give the kid throughout the years, as well as a reference to the source:

On setting priorities:

Leave the gun. Take the cannoli. – The Godfather

On Jesus:

Jesus was black. If Jesus was black, the apostles were black, 'cause wouldn't no 12 white men follow no brother. Not unless they was the police and Jesus had a warrant, huh? They ain't have to describe Jesus to me for me to know he was black. Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding. Now, if that ain't black folk shit, I don't know what is. – The Original Kings of Comedy

On self-defense:

They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. – The Untouchables

On dating:

In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women. – Scarface

On political science:

Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in The Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. – Ferris Buller’s Day Off

On finding inner balance:

First learn stand. Then learn fly. Nature rule Daniel-san, not mine. – The Karate Kid

On passing gas:

In nineteen minutes, this area's gonna be a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska. – Aliens

On self-confidence:

Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big old storm right in the eye and says, "Give me your best shot. I can take it." – Big Trouble in Little China

On manners:

Oh. Johnny, I apologize; I forgot you were there. You may go now. – Tombstone

On oenology:

First thing, hold the glass up and examine the wine against the light. You're looking for color and clarity. Just, get a sense of it. OK? Uhh, thick? Thin? Watery? Syrupy? OK? Alright. Now, tip it. What you're doing here is checking for color density as it thins out towards the rim. Uhh, that's gonna tell you how old it is, among other things. It's usually more important with reds. OK? Now, stick your nose in it. Don't be shy, really get your nose in there. Mmm... a little citrus... maybe some strawberry... passion fruit.... and, oh, there's just like the faintest soupçon of like asparagus and just a flutter of a, like a, nutty Edam cheese... - Sideways

On marriage:

Marriage is an important part of getting ahead: lets people know you're not a homo; married guy seems more stable; people see the ring, they think at least somebody can stand the son of a bitch; ladies see the ring, they know immediately you must have some cash or your cock must work. – The Departed

On the inconsistency of men:

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever. One foot in sea and one on shore, to one thing constant never. Then sigh not so but let them go and be you blithe and bonny, converting all your sounds of woe into "hey-nonny-nonny". – Much Ado About Nothing

On colour theory:

Purple? What kind of a homosexual are you anyway? That's not purple, "Mary", that color out there... is mauve. – Angels in America

On personal beliefs:

Well I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fibre, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontang are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. - Bull Durham

On true love:

Death cannot stop true love. It can only delay it for awhile. - The Princess Bride

On knowledge:

Only a numbskull thinks he knows things about things he knows nothing about. - The Hudsucker Proxy

The State of the Nursery

2008-04-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

I am 14 weeks pregnant, leaving about 26 weeks (hopefully) to get ready for the arrival of a newborn. The nursery is an obvious place that needs to be worked on. We have previously ripped up the blue carpet (the same carpet that was in the living room) to reveal the hardwood floor underneath. The floor needs more fixing than the living room floor though.

Random holes need to be fixed (I think they were bringing up cable from the basement)

Old air vents need to be fixed with nicer looking wood, we want to replace the grill with an old style of grill (as in the living room)

Ali is planning on sanding and refinishing the floor.

The paint colour for the walls is in the process of being chosen
We are slowly eliminating some choices everyday

The closet is a good closet for the age of the house. It is the only place that there is wallpaper (and two different ones).
The current plan, which as all plans is subject to change, is to have a series of adjustable rods on one side, and adjustable shelves and drawers on the other side.
I have stripped about 1/2 of the wall paper and so far has not been a problem. We will repaint the closet white before installing the shelving units.

We have chosen an area rug for the floor. On Saturday, we went to Kids Interior Design Store and ordered the "Somethin Fishy" rug on this page.

Since people have been asking, I am feeling okay. I am getting over the exhaustion of the first trimester and once I figured out that I need to eat constantly my stomach has been feeling better. I am still fitting in regular clothes, although most of my jeans no longer fit.

"A superhero powered by heavy metal music..."

2008-04-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

Many of you may be wondering why, in this age of sky-rocketing gas prices, environmental catastrophe, un-parallelled corporate corruption and shady election year shenanigans, would Number One Mom and I bring a child into such a crazy world.

I argue that those of you who would ask such things, obviously haven't watched this:

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That's right True Believers! Next weekend, Ninja Embryo will be exposed in-utero, to the coolest (read: loudest) comic-book movie ever to hit movie screens since Michael Bay's crap-tacular transforming car flick.

I wonder, is it safe to expose un-born children to such high levels of CGI and Robert Downey Jr. at the same time?

Diet

2008-04-23T08:22:00.001-07:00

An article in the Globe and Mail today discusses diet of the Mom, and sex of the baby.

I can't seem to find the online article but here is the original paper. The group of women in the high calorie group tended to have more boys (56%) compared to the low calorie group (45% boys)
Eating more bananas and cereal increase the number of boys. There is an old wives tale that drinking lots of milk means that you will have girl, but it seemed that drinking lots of milk increased the number of boys. (This could explain my extended family).

I can't remember if I was eating lots of bananas in Jan/Feb or not. I do eat cereal and milk everyday.

** yes I am a geek - you didn't think that was going to change did you.

"The One Whose Name Should Only Be Whispered"

2008-04-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

For centuries, The Ancient One's prophesied the birth of a prodigal child, armed with the ancient skills of the dreaded shinobi. In the language of the old country, the name of this child of destiny is roughly translated as: "The One Whose Name Should Only Be Whispered". Whether this child is a bane or boon to mankind has yet to be determined. And lo', in this Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eight, the time of the child's emergence is nigh...

Sightings of the prophesied child are extremely rare, and we have discovered why. The child has used it knowledge of the ancient mystical arts to prevent itself by being detected by hiding in here:

It currently lives within a host, hereafter designated "Number One Mom", an avid knitter, occasional blogger and dog-owner who has been serving as an incubator of sorts. The picture above was taken by one we shall designate "Number One Dad", a hapless, amateur photographer, amateur entertainment critic, and a recovering Asia-phile.

By using the most up-to-date tools science, including ultra-sonic imagery, we here at this blog have caught a glimpse of the elusive master of the stealthy arts. Here, at last, is the proof of the existence of one, whom for now we shall designate "Ninja Embryo":

A review of video evidence from this sighting reveals that Ninja Embryo is very active, and moves around quite a lot, thus restricting the efforts of our scientific team to record certain measurements. Therefore much about Ninja Embryo, including its gender, remains a mystery. One wonders if this a deliberate effort on the part of Ninja Embryo. One can almost hear the child's terribly smug laughter. We here at this blog will keep you posted on future developments.

Ninja Skills Observed So Far:

1) The ability to engage in a benign, symbiotic relationship with Number One Mom.

2) Cranium size is relatively large for the size of its body, thus indicating a genetic link with Number One Dad.

3) Ninja Embryo seems to have a cute, button-like nose, thus indicating a genetic link with Number One Mom.

4) Foot motions observed during the ultrasound strangely resemble martial arts kicks.

5) Hand motions observed during the ultrasound strangely resemble the techniques one would employ when throwing ninja stars.

The Adventures of Ninja Boy

Ball Hockey

Christmas 2010 In Pictures

The holidays approach

October Fun

Isaac dancing

Happy Second Birthday

Summer is here

Day 5: Carmel, Pebble Beach and Big Sur

Day 4: Monterey

Vacation Day 3: San Francisco (Hopefully the damn pictures show up this time...)

December 2009

October/November

Caption this

I Sing To My Ninja Baby

Happy Birthday

September

Summer, Where oh where part 3

Summer Where oh where part 2

Summer - oh where or where did you go

The Little Guy

The Beginining of Summer

Moving

Daddy Goes Solo

Swimming, swimming - oh wait

How long can Nina Baby sit up?

The Month of March

A few pics

Shorter than expected

A new toy

Photos, just because

The Return on Ninja Baby

Our Christmas Picture

More Visitors

One month

Visitors

Winners!

Ninja Baby has arrived!

Baby Contest

Wall Street... Main Street... Sesame Street!

Contest reminder

Baby Books

Nursery and Contest

In Britain, they call it a "holiday"

Baby Name Books Suck.

True to name

Top 5 You Tube Baby Video's

Exposure

What the hell do I know about being a father?

The State of the Nursery

"A superhero powered by heavy metal music..."

Diet

"The One Whose Name Should Only Be Whispered"