Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

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Dear Jack: We Loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Out of the Shadows!

5 years, 7 months.

Dear Jack: We Loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Out of the Shadows!

Dear Jack,

You and I have seen many action movies at the theatre in the year 2016 so far, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse. But after this weekend, you and I both decided we have now seen our favorite so far- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

I’m not saying it is better than the other movies we’ve seen so far this year, but I am saying it was definitely the most enjoyable and entertaining.

This is the first time a live-action Ninja Turtles movie included the essential villains Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady; as well as Baxter Stockman. The action was non-stop. It was fun to watch the entire time, yet not cheesy at all.

Here’s an Instragram (nickshellwrites) I did of you eating your huge slice of pizza right before the show:

It is most appropriate for the kid to wolf down pizza right before we go see Ninja Turtles 2.

 It is most appropriate for the kid to wolf down pizza right  before we go see Ninja Turtles 2.

I recently officially realized that one of our traditional father and son activities is to watch action movies together. It was a couple of months ago when we were watching Jurassic World together that I put that together. Then conveniently, a few weeks later, Jurassic Park (as well as its sequels) showed up on Netflix. That was convenient.

Mommy calls the movies we watch “boy movies.”

She understands that you are wired for adventure and that it’s good for just you and me (“the boys”) to disappear for a few hours and see an action/superhero/dinosaur/sci-fi movie together.

Of course when you and I go to see a movie, we make an event out of it. We are not casually about it at all.

I typically buy our tickets a day in advance, then the next day, we show up at least an hour before the movie begins. It’s vital to get the perfect seats, so therefore we are the first to arrive to have the ability to choose whatever seats we want.

Plus, we always stay until all the credits are over, to make sure we don’t miss any hidden scenes.

I keep my calendar marked with upcoming movies to take you to see. We don’t play around when it comes to our movies!

Dear Jack: We Loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Out of the Shadows!

Love,

Daddy

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Unboxing: Interactive Watch Kit for Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday

Unboxing of the Interactive Watch Kit for Pee-wee’s Big Holiday

If you’ve been keeping up with my son and me, you know we are big Pee-wee Herman fans. A little over a year ago, when my son first started an interest in watching Pee-wee’s movies and show, I did a couple blog posts on it:

Dear Jack: Why Pee-wee’s Playhouse is So Relevant for You Right Now

Dear Jack: Your Homemade Cinnamon Milk/Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Then last month, when Pee-wee’s new movie, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, was released exclusively on Netflix, I was already in the middle of planning to do a blog post and videos on it when I had a representative for Netflix reach out to me because of those 2 blog posts I did from a year ago.

Unboxing of the Interactive Watch Kit for Pee-wee’s Big Holiday

They asked me if it would be okay if they sent me an “interactive watch kit” for when my son Jack and I watched the movie for 2nd time. I didn’t know what an “interactive watch kit” even was, but I quickly agreed.

Last Saturday night, Jack and I sat down to watch Pee-wee’s Big Holiday; this time with our camera rolling as we participated in the full interactive watch kit experience.

Here’s the fun video I made showing how it all happened. I’m happy with how this turned out, as the whole thing was completely unrehearsed:

The kit consisted of a giant shoe box which contained 8 smaller numbered boxes. We also received a road map, which cued us on when to open each box during certain scenes of the movie.

My personal favorite box we opened was the first one, which had Pee-wee tuxedo t-shirts in it for each of us. They even guessed right on my t-shirt size, which is large.

Jack’s favorite box was the one that included the root beer barrel candies like Pee-wee and John Manganiello ate in the movie.

We had such a great time together! We like “interactive watch kits” after all.

By the way, don’t forget to also check out my recent Parental Summary Guide of Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.

Unboxing of the Interactive Watch Kit for Pee-wee’s Big Holiday

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Dear Jack: The Mysterious Package- Puss in Boots Funko Vinyl Character

5 years, 7 months.

Dear Jack: The Mysterious Package- Puss in Boots Funko Vinyl Character

Dear Jack,

You are always so excited whenever a package is delivered to our front door. When I got home Tuesday afternoon from work, Mommy asked me, “Were you expecting a package for your blog or something?”

The only thing I have been waiting for to come in the mail was a much larger package; a Simply Fit Board I saw on Shark Tank.

So I was just as surprised as Mommy to see such a small box with my name on it. With much anticipation, I opened the mysterious brown box in front of you, Mommy, and Baby Holly.

It was as if time stood still. The anticipation…

I had received my first Funko Pop Vinyl character: It is Puss in Boots from the Shrek series, which is part of DreamWorks Animation, which is now part of Comcast and XFINITY.

Dear Jack: The Mysterious Package- Puss in Boots Funko Vinyl Character

It was only natural that you immediately asked me, “Daddy, can have that cat?” You immediately named him Quasi, and it appears “he” is your new favorite toy.

Coming up in a month from today, you and I are taking a special father and son road trip in an all-new 2016 Toyota Prius that Toyota is sending us to drive for a week; like our they recently sent us a 2016 Lexus IS 200t.

We have decided to take Quasi’s picture at each point in our trip, as a way to sort of document the chronological progression with the background of the photo illustrating our whereabouts.

So this new toy cat of yours will be showing up again in a few weeks.

The reason I received this gift from Comcast is because for the past 3 months, I’ve done a monthly sponsored post about the relationship between Comcast, XFINITY, and DreamWorks Animation:

April: XFINITY X1 DVR: Taking Entertainment on the Go for Road Trips

May: Comcast + DreamWorks Animation = Future of Family Entertainment

June: XFINITY’s Share App Lets You Stream Live from Smartphone to TV

The folks at Comcast recognized that I’m one of the top findings when you do an Internet search on “Nashville Daddy Blogger”. So they hired me to spread the word about what’s going here in Nashville with Comcast.

Little did they know, they would be making you very happy!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: The Mysterious Package- Puss in Boots Funko Vinyl Character

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Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

2 months.

Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

Dear Holly,

It was exactly 2 months ago today that our family was graced with your glorious arrival, in which Mommy amazingly gave birth to you with no epidural. You are everything I hoped you would be and more.

I love getting to go home each day and spend time with you. You are such a delight.

This week Mommy took you to the doctor for your newest check-up:

You are now 10 pounds, 2 ounces and 23.5 inches long; which puts you in the 38th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height.

If you remain growing at these proportions, I suppose you could end up being as tall as your brother, by the time you are both adults.

Speaking of Jack, I can tell you two are going to be really good for each other. Even if he’s just coming over to you to making funny noises in your face, you seem to like it.

And he’s so quick to help out Mommy and me when we need some help. He runs so fast to go find the burp cloth or the pacifier or the diaper that we need.

Having you as a sister is a really good thing for him. I feel you’ve arrived at the perfect time in his life. He’s less than 2 months away from starting Kindergarten; starting that new stage in his life.

Simply because of your existence, he is becoming more independent and mature.

I guess I need to start taking more pictures of the two of you together. A common question that Mommy and I get is, “Do Jack and Holly look alike?”

If nothing else, you both have the fairer toned skin; unlike Mommy and I who both have a sort of yellow-tinted olive complexion.

Happy 2 months! We have an exciting trip coming up in a few weeks…

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

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Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

8 weeks.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Dear Holly,

Mommy and I have been friends with John and Amelia Kennedy for as long as we’ve been married; nearly 8 years now. I will never forget how back in 2011, when our family moved back to Alabama for nearly a year, they visited us from Nashville. That meant the world to us.

A few months ago they had their first child, a son named Hudson. Our family visited him when he was first born. This past weekend they came to see you, as well as our “new” house. (And they were very kind to bring us vegan meals, as well!)

It was fun (and funny) to see you and Hudson interact with each other. While you have seen two other girl babies, your cousin Darla and your friend Hanna, I don’t suppose you’ve met a boy baby before.

It was inevitable that we as the parents would joke that you and Hudson will go to prom together in about 16 years: Holly Joy and Hudson James.

Nonna and Papa were also at our house for the weekend. It was their 39th wedding anniversary. I took Papa and your brother Jack to the Monster Jam event in downtown Nashville.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Papa was surprised how you were able to sleep through all of Jack’s noisy playing. At one point, Papa was using a Lego snake to try to bite Jack when we walked by. It was hilarious because Jack seemed genuinely afraid of the snake, even though he knew it wasn’t real. Through it all, you remained asleep while Nonna held you on the couch.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Once you woke up, Nonna entertained you by pretending to feed one of Jack’s stuffed animals your bottle. You were quite into.

Even though you won’t remember it, take it from me, you had a really fun weekend with family and friends.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors