Charlotte's name

Naming a child is a big decision. Here are the "rules" I've been informed of when deciding a name. - You don't want it to be too whimpy, or too butch either. - You don't want it to sound too old, yet not trendy. - You don't want it to sound too weird, yet not too boring. - You have to be careful naming them after someone still alive, cause that person could still do something really stupid and then your kid is stuck being named after someone........really stupid (so, no Jesse James Nelsons will be coming anytime soon). - You have to imagine every possible rhyming word and phrase and nickname associated with it, cause they will be called that. - You have to make sure it sounds good phenetically (sadly my wife won't let me name our future son Brock Lee, or Corey Ander). - You gotta make sure you aren't copying a friend that just had a kid by using the same name, cause that shows you have no creativity. - You have to make sure the name means something cool (for instance, another name my wife won't let me have is Nimrod, the mighty hunter......cool meaning, should work right?). - You have to make sure the initials don't spell something bad or embarrassing (a name like Pamela Marie Smith is doomed to failure) - you can't name them after Sci-Fi movie characters, that gets the kid an automatic Nerd stamp the rest of their lives, not to mention the parents too (no kids named Legolas or Skywalker are allowed). -Many other rules, but I'm sure I'm boring some folks now. Now I would like to add another rule to the rule book, and provide the example of why this rule applies. - You must consider how the name is going to sound as your child is learning to say their name. In other words, you gotta say it in baby talk before you give it your stamp of approval. The following video of Charlotte saying her name is my proof as to why this rule is vitally important to consider:
Now I'm not saying that I would have named her anything differently. As a matter of fact, the fact that she says her name like this makes our choice seem even wiser. How many other people out there have video evidence of their child cursing at 20 months old that you can share with future boyfriends and grandchildren. This goes into my file called "How to embarrass my daughter in the future". That is an important collection to have as a father.

Everyone, I have discovered a video on the internet that after you watch will change your perspective on life forever. Feel free to watch it over and over again in order to allow the gravity and deeper meanings soak into the very innards of your soul as I have done with mine. It will take a few moments to load, and a minute or two to watch, but you will soon understand, as I have, just what needs to be done in order to move forward. Please comment to let me know how this video has touched your life, and what you are going to do now that the truth has been revealed.

Adam

Click here to discover who your future hero is

Happy Father's Day!

Growing up it was tradition to make my dad breakfast in bed on Father's Day.  Last year Charlotte and I were in Houston for Father's Day and didn't get a chance to celebrate with Adam.  This year we got up a little early to make Daddy a special stuffed french toast breakfast.  His response, "Who needs IHOP?"  Yeah, we think he liked it.

Also, what would Father's Day be without the "Daddy's Homecoming" song?  Here's a little rendition of it dedicated to Paptio and Poppi!  We love you.

(A More Real) Love Story

This is all too familiar!

The West Side Market

This past Saturday we went to The West Side Market with our friends Scott, Beth and Heidi.  I had heard great things about the market since we moved out here, but had never gone.  It was on my list of things to do before we leave Cleveland, and I can now finally check it off!

We had so much fun looking at all the different vendors and products that they had.  Like these red snappers:

There was a huge variety of produce there.  Adam and I bought some yuca because we love it and can never find it here.  We cooked it up last night, but I still need more practice to get it as tasty as when my mom makes it.  They had awesome prices and some of the vendors loved to barter.  I got 2 containers of blackberries, 2 containers of blueberries, and two containers of mushrooms for $4!  It would have cost me $4 for a thing of blackberries alone at the grocery store.

(Please ignore the fact that I'm starting to retain water in my face.  Bring on the third trimester!!!)

The architecture of the building is really neat.  I don't really have the eye of a photographer so if you want to see it, you'll have to come visit us in Cleveland!  :)  This picture gives you a little bit of an idea with the cool ceiling.  You can also see a lot of the vendors down below.

We had a great time and are so glad our friends invited us to join them!  I am really bummed though because we didn't get any pictures with them!  We'll just have to go again.

Our Little Performer

This past Friday our ward had a spaghetti dinner/auction for the Scouts. After the auction I saw Charlotte climbing the stairs to the stage. I assumed she was going up to play with the other kids and followed after her to make sure she was okay. I couldn't find her with the other kids behind the curtain and quickly made my way back down the stairs to see if maybe she had unknowingly wandered somewhere else. As my eyes swept over the cultural hall, I spotted her curly brown hair up on stage (front and center) with the microphone to her mouth. As I got closer to her, I realized she was singing (the microphone was turned off) the ABCs. I pulled her off the stage in her moment of glory and sobs broke out. She was crushed. I'm a dream crusher. To make up for it, we took some videos of her singing during family home evening.

23 Weeks

Here's a little picture of me at 23 weeks.
I'm now 26 weeks...so this picture is a little old, but I wanted it on here for the sake of documentation.

Two Down...Four More to Go

Whew! The month of May came and went in a sort of whirlwind. Adam left on yet another externship...this time to South Bend, Indiana. He took our computer with him again and that's why I haven't updated the blog in some time. The good news is that he's back and here for the rest of the summer! He got back in time to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend. Here's the month of May in a nutshell:

1. Charlotte and I both got a stomach bug (awful, awful stomach bug) two days after Adam left. It was bad news.

2. Adam had an entire extended stay suite to himself so we drove out for a little visit. It rained almost the entire time we were there...lots of thunderstorms. Charlotte and I spent a lot of time in the hotel taking care of her baby and reading Green Eggs and Ham.

Charlotte also thought that since we were in a hotel, everything was free game. Including the things she's usually not allowed to play with...like mom's glasses and dad's books.

It finally got sunny near the end of our trip and so we went to the zoo. Charlotte loved petting the goats.
3. We spent the two last weeks here at home. We visited lots of parks and had play dates with friends. We've been blessed with wonderful friends here who helped the time without Adam pass by quickly.