When I was a kid, maybe 13 or 14, my dad got it in his head that he wanted me and my brother to see Shaft. No, you would not normally confuse my dad with being a fan of Blaxploitation flix. Nor was he particularly keen to let us kids watch the entire movie.

But he was giddy to share with us one of the prime musical pleasures from his early adulthood, the still-amazing theme song and score by Isaac Hayes. So my dad went to Randall’s, rented the movie  (remember VHS?), and let us watch the opening credits. Then he shut it off, figuring correctly that was as much as young teenagers probably needed to see.

Like pay phones and stamped letters, the idea of renting a video cassette just to see a movie clip seems archaic. If YouTube had been around, my dad could have saved $2 and just posted the video to my Facebook. Like so:

I thought about this the other day, when I introduced the wonders of YouTube to my own young son. Patrick LOVES the Spider-Man shirt I bought at Old Navy. He saw it in the closet the other day, and I started singing to him the old 60s theme song. But only the part I could remember from the Simpson’s movie.

So together, we both sat down in front of the computer and looked up the “spiderman theme song”.

First hit was a bingo:

Now when I saw the Shaft clip, I was confused, “I guess that was okay.” Only later in life did I realize how awesome Isaac Hayes could be, and it took a bunch of Quentin Tarantino and South Park to get me there.

Patrick has no such ambivalence about Spider-man. And he doesn’t need a cultural introduction to appreciate a costumed dude who swings around the city fighting crime. He’s in love. Every time we watch it, he simply asks, “Again?” So we watch it four or five times at a sitting. I’ve tried to get him into other YouTube videos, including the campy credits for Batman. But he’s not interested in watching other shows or cartoons or animal videos. He just wants Spider-man.

And since rewinding is painless and instant and free, I don’t mind indulging his newest first love.

Here she is “performing” with her spiritual predecessor, Madonna.

Goofy? Yes.

Fun? Absolutely. We dig it.

And although I don’t have a sanctioned clip, her musical performances from last night were what really impressed. Kids these days could do much worse as far as pop stars go.

Now, you probably weren’t expecting a short review of SNL when you fired up our blog. And we’re not here to disappoint. We know who you want. You want this guy right here:

He’s 5 1/2 weeks today, and as the title suggests, we’re gaga over this kid.

I know you’re probably thinking, “is he old enough to sit in one of those things? He can’t even hold his neck up yet, right?” Yes, you’re right. It was only for a moment. But these Bumbo things actually provide a bit more neck support than you remember. And his neck is crazy strong. In fact, at 12 lbs 4 oz, he seems to be extra healthy and strong. Able to hold his neck up for long stretches and use his powerful legs to push away from my belly.

Anyhow, not much has been happening. We’ve had a fairly uneventful time since Patrick’s birth. Which is a good thing. We’ve not been getting much sleep. Sometimes he sleeps well during the night. Sometimes not so much. Jordan has been a champ about doing what it takes during the difficult nights and letting me get some sleep.

She’s still breastfeeding almost exclusively. And Patrick’s only had breastmilk from a bottle a few times. Once was on my birthday when Jordan’s folks came over and babysat so that we could have sushi at Osaka (OMG, best sushi in town).

The next day we had all the grandparents over for Patrick’s 1-month birthday party (and my 35th birthday, I guess). That was a great time. My Mom made spaghetti for everyone and my dad and step-mom forgot the dessert they made, and got stuck in two hours of traffic on the way over to our house. On their detour through the Heights, they ended up driving by Dacapo’s Pastry Cafe and getting a Pecan Brownie Pie that was the best pecan anything I’ve ever had. Holy moly that was amazing.

Aside from that, we’ve had a pretty quiet time.

We still walk Hank twice a day.

We’ve been watching a ton of football on our lazy weekends.

And I got a new iPod touch for my birthday (thanks Grandmama and Granddaddy). It’s basically an iPhone except it doesn’t have a phone or a camera. But it’s great for checking my email or Facebook when I’m on the couch. It’s particularly useful because I only need one hand.

The other one is holding a much bigger miracle than any thing Apple could dream up. 

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If you want the latest photos of Patrick, you should totally keep up with our Flickr account. We’re adding photos all the time. All Patrick-related photos are available here. You can check out his new Greatest Hits set here.