Category: JSL

My Little Photographers

Birthday, JSL, NHL, Photography, Photos

When NHL turned four years old, my parents bought him a camera for his birthday.  No, not a DSLR or even a cheap point and shoot  This was a Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera.

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The entire camera was designed with kids in mind.  There were two handgrips (for better grips), two eye pieces (since kids might not get “squint and look here”), and the whole thing was rugged enough to survive a drop down a flight of stairs.  NHL had a blast taking photos of everything in his sight.  (So much so that we quickly realized ground rules were needed like “No taking photos of Mommy and Daddy when they are on the potty!”)

Eventually, his attention was diverted by other toys and the camera found its way to the Heap Of Rarely Played With Toys.  At some point, JSL took an interest in this camera, but there was a problem.  No matter how often I put a fresh set of batteries in, it would only work for a brief period of time before dying again.

During our Disney World trip, JSL began asking for a camera.  What began as an occasional request quickly ramped up.  In fact, as I waited in line at Epcot’s photo center (to get some photos added to our Photo Pass card), JSL went berserk.  There, right in front of him, was a display of Disney-themed kids cameras.  He wanted one and he wanted one NOW!

Somehow, we held him off until his birthday.  That’s when he got this:

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That would be his new V-Tech Kidizoom Plus.  It is a 2MP camera, does video, adds special effects to photos and more.  If anything, it’s a little too complex for JSL so we’re trying to limit him to just photos.

He’s now hooked on taking photos.  Here’s a small selection of his work.

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Don’t feel bad for NHL, though.  He’s inherited my old camera with the broken flash.  Well, perhaps not “inherited”, but rather “will be allowed to use on a heavily supervised basis.”

If the weather holds out this weekend, perhaps I’ll be able to take the boys on a photo shoot.  I’ve got my eyes on a photography exercise that Chookooloonks posted about.  I’ll take them outside, walk 100 paces and have them take 20 photos of things right around them.

If you could go on a photo shoot with your kids, where would you go?

Happy Fourth Birthday, JSL!

Birthday, JSL, Photos

Sliding JSLDear JSL,

Today, you turn four years old.  It seems like only yesterday that B woke me up, the  Monday after Mother’s Day, telling me that you were on your way.  That day was filled with a lot of hurrying.  Aunt S & Mimi hurried to pick up your brother.  My parents (Bubbe and Grandpa) hurried to make the drive to see you.  Mommy’s parents (Nana and Papa), meanwhile, hurried to join us in the hospital.

Before we knew it, you were born and we all instantly fell in love with you.  Your brother came over, said hi to you and gave you a kiss like he had known you for years.  As you grew, you would always look up to him and would try to do the things that he, as a bigger kid, could do.  Sometimes you succeeded, sometimes you fell flat on your face.  But you kept trying to be just like your big brother.

JSL Giving Sleeping Beauty A Kiss When we went to Disney World, it was fun to watch your reactions to the costumed characters go from horror to delight.  (Ok, the horror wasn’t so much fun, but the delight was.)  You would have probably been happy if Disney World consisted of only the Winnie the Pooh and Small World rides.  Add in all the rest, though, and you and your brother were in love.  We had created some Neurotic Disney Kids!

You’ve scared your mother and me many times with your many febrile seizures and falls.  We have seriously considered wrapping you in bubble wrap or hockey goalie padding/helmet more than once.  When you decide on which record of your brother’s to break next, please avoid ones such as “Most Ambulance Trips” or “Most Days In A Hospital” and look to ones like “Best Grades” or “Quickest Room Cleaning.”

A Swinging Kid As you began talking, we found your speech to be very cute.  Unfortunately, those dropped sounds that began as cute became frustrating.  You knew what you were talking to us about and couldn’t understand why we were having trouble deciphering what you were saying.  Luckily, you are now getting speech therapy and we understand you much more often.  There’s still the odd moment where we just don’t get what you are saying, but since the problem has been identified we can calmly work out what you mean.

Every day as I go to work, you insist on hugging and kissing me goodbye (and then closing the door behind me).  I look forward to your “welcome home” hugs/kisses when I return.  You are always there to help me, Mommy, or anyone else.  You are, as you put it, “everybody’s helper.”  I also love tickling you because I just can’t get enough of your laughter.  (Fair warning: There will be plenty of birthday tickling.  In fact, I might just tickle you as I read you this.)

JSL, Tinkerbell, NHL and Terence You love playing on the playground (especially the swings), puzzles, watching TV with me, Buzz Lightyear, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, superheroes, and macaroni and cheese.  Despite how some people might assign gender roles, you also love Tinkerbell.  When we went to Disney World for the 2011 Social Media Moms Celebration, I was the only dad on the line with two boys and no girls.  It didn’t matter, though, because my sons got to meet the famous fairy in person!

Though I don’t want you to grow up (you’ll always be my little boy no matter how big you get), I’m also excited to see all the new things you’ll learn in the coming year.  We all love you very much.  Happy birthday, JSL!

Mom Field Trip = Dad Day With Boys

Comics, Family, Fatherhood, Fun, JSL, NHL, Parenting, Photos

Today, over on TheAngelForever.com, B is recounting the story of her mom field trip with Christina from CutestKidEver to see Rene Syler (aka Good Enough Mother).  But what of the flip side?  What did the boys and I do while B went on her road trip?  Well, the boys and I had our own fun times.

As you may remember, I was undecided on whether or not I should go to Free Comic Day.  After B left, I made my decision: We were going.  I armed the kids with their Green Lantern rings from our Green Lantern party, got them into the car and headed over to Zombie Planet.

I had heard that the 501st, a group of Star Wars fans who dress up like Stormtroopers, would be there.  NHL was excited to see “costumes.”  Ever since Disney, he’s gone costume-crazy.  He must meet (and get his photo with) any costumed character who is anywhere near him.  He was not disappointed.

We got out of the car and there, in front of the store, was a single Stormtrooper.  He was joined by a Tusken Raider.

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The Tusken Raider would occasionally make a growling sound (like the one that the movie Tusken Raider made as he stood over Luke Skywalker).  This scared NHL off from getting his photo taken with the Tusken Raider.  So we went indoors and proceeded upstairs to the free comics section.

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Unlike last year, when it was “take as many as you like”, there was a 5 comic per person limit.  I had gone online the previous days to Free Comic Book Day’s website to see which comics would be available.  This meant that I knew just which comics were the best for my boys and which should be skipped.  The only complaints from the boys came when NHL looked out the window and spied Spider-Man.  He insisted that we *HAD* to go outside right now to meet the web slinger.

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I explained to NHL that we needed to check out (even we had nothing that we were being charged for).  Besides, I had brought some Phineas and Ferb action figures that needed peg stands.  I hoped that the comic shop would be able to help.  (Sadly, they didn’t have what I needed.)

Finally, we left the comic shop and NHL immediately approached Spider-Man for a photo.

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Then, I made a Geeky Daddy decision.  NHL was wearing a Green Lantern ring.  Green Lanterns Hal Jordon was supposedly “born without fear.”  So I couldn’t very well let him leave afraid of the Tusken Raider, could I?  I’d have been deducted 30 Geek Points!

I spoke with him about it and he finally agreed to get his photo taken.

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After that, we headed home for lunch and some comic book reading.

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Once the boys were fed, I decided that it was too nice of a day to be couped up indoors.  So we grabbed some of our colossal cannons and headed out to play.

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Eventually, NHL had a bright idea.  His great-grandmother had given them some butterfly nets, but NHL thought they’d make great colossal cannon disc catching nets.  And they did!

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Our next door neighbor’s daughter, N, also came over and played with the boys for quite awhile.  Eventually, they tired of chasing after green discs and wanted to play with bubbles.  Cue the Winnie the Pooh bubble blower!

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They also wanted to play with chalk and I eventually relented.

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I noticed the skies were getting dark and warned the boys that we might have to go inside soon.  Besides, B’s return time was getting closer and closer.

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As B pulled up, I hurredly gathered the chalk and got the boys (and N) off our driveway.  The boys said goodbye to N and hello to B.  Then, as we walked in, the heavens opened up.  Perfect timing!

The boys and I had a fun day together and B had a nice Mommy Road Trip.  I’d call that a win all around!

Partying with the Green Lantern

Fun, Geeky Pursuits, JSL, NHL, Photos, Superheroes

When you’re a geeky dad raising two geeky kids, nothing can be better than sharing some superhero lore with your kids.  Unless, of course, you get to play with superhero themed toys with your kids and your friends’ kids in a park on a sunny spring day!  That’s Geeky Dad Nirvana!

To facilitate the party, Mattel and MomSelect provided me with a big box of Green Lantern goodies including some figures (Hal Jordan and Tomar Re), a pair of Colossal Cannons, some Green Lantern comic books, a DVD of Green Lantern: First Flight, and some power rings.

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I had seen the movie before and knew that is, while exceptional, wasn’t appropriate for kids my sons’ age.  I also pre-read the comic book and found this to be inappropriate for their age.  (There was a lot of blood and people being killed.)  Again, it was a great comic book, but was just a little dark for kids in the 3 – 7 age range.  Were my oldest son 5 years older, I would have had no qualms about giving it to him to read.

On the morning of the party, we packed everything up (except for the DVD, but including the comics) and headed to a local park.  We brought some snacks and drinks with us and met up with our friends: Christina, Tom and TJ, Ali, Zach and Ro, Irene, Ben and Garrett and Laura, Doug and Isaac.

Each kid that attended the party got a power ring and every adult got a comic book.  (Well, 1 per couple).  I decided that opening the figures in the busy playground was a recipe for lost toys, so we kept those for parting gifts.  Instead, we broke out the cannons.

Now, you may recall that I previously reviewed the Colossal Cannon and deemed risk of injury as a downside.  I need to modify that review now.  As we fired the discs at the playground, I noticed something interesting.  They were flying far and fast but seemed more like they were floating discs than injury-causing projectiles.  Perhaps it was the presence of wind or the open air rather than indoors close quarters, but the toys seemed much less dangerous and more fun outside.  Indeed, on more than one occasion, a projectile hit one of the boys and never did they sustain any injury.

We (or the boys) would fire the projectiles and the boys would run around trying to collect them all.  Other than some tense moments where we thought we lost a few of the discs (green disc on green grass = hard to spot), we had a blast.

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If you noticed that the boys were both wearing green shirts, good eye.  B (who wasn’t photographed) and I had green shirts on as well though mine was a darker green that looks more grey in the photos.  Green shirts, green grass, Green Lanterns!

Of course, being a park with a playground, we didn’t limit ourselves to Green Lantern toys in the fields.  The boys played in the playground, in the sandbox and even used their rings to navigate a hedge maze.

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By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhausted.  Of course, my muscles may have been tired, but my geeky heart was soaring because another piece NHL’s geeky education was in place.  He could now recite the Green Lantern oath!

In brightest day, In blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!

Disclaimer: Mattel and MomSelect provided me with the Green Lantern toys/comics/DVDs to throw the party.  I didn’t receive any other compensation and all opinions expressed above are my own.

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