Dear Rebecca,
                  As your Mom has already said, we had a pretty good day yesterday. My day didn't get good until I saw you run up to me and kind of squat down and point at me and scream to the top of your lungs, "That's my Daddy!" over and over again. It certainly did make my day. I always love seeing you out there after work. I also love to see you and Mom when you come to visit me at lunch but I always hate going back to work after that. The last time you visited me at work during lunch you were very upset when you found out I wasn't leaving with you. It made me sad and happy at the same time. I was sad because you were upset and also because I would have loved to have gone with y'all and happy because you love me so much that it would be that important to you.
      Like your Mom said we went to a new restaurant called Nothing But Burgers. They have kind of a surfer theme going on. It's in the building that used to house the Don Pablo's Mexican restaurant. We never went to Don Pablo's. It was only okay. I didn't care much for the fries and the buns were only okay. The meat was delicious though. They get all of their meat from Critchfield Meats there in Lexington. I really don't want to go back to Nothing But Burgers but I do want to buy some meat from Critchfield's though. We had our first experience with frozen custard there though and that was a winner for everyone. Frozen custard is the latest fad or something around here and we all loved it. We'll have to get more of that yummy stuff. You know from Mom's post what we did the rest of the evening
      We got our new bedroom suite Wednesday, well most of it anyway. The mirror came in broken so they are ordering another for us. It's extremely nice. The bed is a big four poster cherry job. I believe I've already told you all about it. I think we are going to get a couple of cheap but nice looking faux cherry bedside tables at Wal-Mart for sixty bucks apiece instead of spending two hundred apiece for the matching tables at the furniture store.
      Before you and Mom came to get me from work you went to Big Lots as your Mom has already mentioned. While y'all were there your Mom saw a set of tools and told you that I would like a set of tools like that. You told her that you liked them too. Mom asked you what you needed tools for and you replied, "I help Papoo".
      You certainly are a big help. Wednesday when Papaw and I were moving the old bedroom furniture out you had to help us carry stuff and thanks to you we didn't get winded because you slowed us down considerably.
      Well, that's all for this early morning. I want to work on the yard a lot tomorrow so I had better think about getting in bed, in our nice new four poster cherry bed. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                           Mommy is starting to feel better from being hacked on and cut to smithereens, so this morning we played outside for a good long time. I was going to let you play outside in your house and on your swing set while I cleaned up the kitchen with the door open but you kept hollering for me every five minutes. So I finally just decided to let it wait and come outside and play with you. We were out there for close to two hours. We had big fun. We even took a walk and when we got back we played basketball and blew bubbles. Then we came in and you watched Maisy, Max & Ruby, and Mrs. Spider's Sunnypatch while I cleaned the kitchen, both bathrooms, and swept the floors, which I really wasn't supposed to do until day after tomorrow but it was driving me nuts. We dragged a lot of grass in from outside when we were out back playing, too so that furthered my annoyance. I fixed you your lunch and put you down for a nap around twelve and finished up what little work I could get to today and took a shower. Right as I got out you woke up and we put our make up on together. You love to use my blush brush and make your cheeks pretty. You are definitely a girly girl.
       We decided to go get Daddy and go out to eat at a new place called Nothing But Burgers. I was not very impressed with the establishment as they had a surfing theme with a bunch of college children about and every where I looked I saw a metrosexual male. What really got my goat however was the fact that they did not have a children's menu. To me that is suggesting that they do not want my child there. Well, la ti da. I did like their custard and so did you. Daddy did, too. You ate the entire custard cone. Daddy paid three dollars for a shake when he could have had a custard cone for half that and our custard cones were better. Daddy has no sense sometimes.
        After we ate our burgers we went and got Daddy's hair cut. You were highly interested in the goings of of Daddy and the black lady that cut his hair. You kept asking him "Whatchu doin' Da-da?". He told you he was getting a haircut and then you said you wanted one. You really kicked up a fuss wanting a haircut so I pretended to cut it in the Wal-Mart parking lot. You thanked me like the extremely polite little girl you are. Right before we went to pick up Daddy we stopped at Big Lots so I could look at some make up and you carried on a conversation with a man that came in. You told him that you had better get home when we got ready to leave. You are a funny little monkey.
        In Wal-Mart you got some sugar-free double bubble for when you go to the potty and you also got some brand new pajamas. Daddy let you pick them out all by yourself. You picked out purple ones with a horse and carriage on the front. They are very cute. We payed on our layaway and Daddy got a few things he needed & so did I. Then we headed for the house where we all went in Mommy & Daddy's bedroom and watched the tail end of an episode of "Trick My Truck" sitting in the floor and the beginning of "Dukes of Hazard". You had your bath and I made popcorn for a snack and you and Daddy are in there watching little bear and eating it now. All in all I think we had a pretty good day together. This has been a hard month for Mommy and Daddy and for you in some ways, too. But you make life so much fun and you are so full of joy and happiness that it rubs off on everyone around you. I am so glad that God sent you to me. I love you beyond measure.
        Before I close I want to tell you about something you did last night. You put your bath towel on your head and hopped around in the floor and informed us that you were a Rooster Bunny. Daddy thought you meant Easter Bunny but no. You meant that were, indeed, a Rooster Bunny. Then you informed us that you were Rooster Bunny Foo Foo. You are so funny, little girl. You make me laugh at every turn. Well, it's time for you to be in bed so after this excerpt of little bear we'll brush your choppers once again and get you there. Mommy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Right now Daddy is giving you a shower/bath. You love to take a shower and then soak in the bathtub a while. Sometimes you will say "This feels good Da-da" or "This feels so good Momma". You definitely are a talker.
                  As Daddy told you earlier, I had to go into the hospital and have some surgery. It took them less than an hour to do what used to take all day. Modern medicine certainly has made some advances. I am very sore and unable to pick you up which makes me sad because I love holding and snuggling and playing with you. At least though now I know I will get better. The surgery took care of the whole problem so maybe now in a week or so I'll be feeling next to normal. Mommy had been feeling bad all for weeks and weeks.
         You just informed Daddy that you were a mermaid. You are so funny. We all went down to Mamaw's for a cookout today because today was labor day and we had a good time. The men all worked on the deck going around the new pool Mamaw and Aunt Lynn purchased and you played and ran and picked yourself a squash and made Mamaw cook it. Mommy didn't do much but sit around and watch you because after I walked down to the garden with you I was in some pretty bad pain. You took a nap late this afternoon and I slept in the relciner at Mamaw's while you did. I am so glad to have you for my little girl because I have so much fun with you. You are a good little girl and If I never have another baby that will be alright because I already have the best little girl in the wolrd.
      Well, I need to take a shoreclinerwer and change my bandages so I am going to let you go. Remember, Mommy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               Well, your Mom had a turn for the worse last night. We ended up having to drag you out of bed at 3:30 in the morning and taking you with us to the hospital here in Woodford County. We don't normally use that hospital because we feel that it is a woefully inferior hospital but your Mom was in so much pain that we had to get her somewhere fast. They decided that they couldn't handle her problem there, no big surprise there, so they transferred her to Central Baptist in Lexington. While she was being taken to Central Baptist I took you to Thortons to get you that doughnut I promised you and I also purchased a baker's dozen for Aunt Lynn and her brood because I was going to take you to Aunt Lynn's. I usually call Mamaw in situations like that but she wouldn't wake up so I called Aunt Lynn. Luckily she was there because her brood had gone to Uncle Rodney's family's hometown in West Virginia and she had almost decided to go with them. Her brood didn't get the doughnuts but I'm sure Mamaw & Papaw enjoyed them with Aunt Lynn later that morning.
      We really didn't have to wait too long to get taken care of at Central Baptist because they are a very good hospital and she was in need of immediate attention. She ended up having surgery this morning at ten o'clock. They ended up having to remove her left fallopian tube but they were able to save her ovary. We still want to have another child but I think that this reduces our chances somewhat but if we never have another we have you and you are more than enough to fill our lives with joy.
      It's amazing what modern medicine can do these days. Your Mom had major surgery this morning at ten o'clock and by two this afternoon she was home. She's sleeping in my recliner because her tummy hurts her where they fiddled with her insides. I don't suppose she will be posting a blog today because the medical professionals informed us that she would be sleeping most of the day. I certainly am glad of that because your dear old Mother just doesn't take pain very well at all.
      Maybe after she heals up from this we can get past this terrible blip in our otherwise happy life. I'm going to close out this post now. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               It's been a whole week since anyone has posted in this blog. Your Mom said that if she gets a chance she will post Sunday afternoon.
      Your Mom still is in pain but I really don't think it's near as bad as it was last week. She is still extremely sad and sometimes she sheds some tears for our lost child. She went back to work Wednesday. She really enjoys her job and I think maybe it's good for her to get out of the house some.
      Papaw & Mamaw and Uncle Rodney & Aunt Lynn went in together and bought a huge pool for Papaw's back yard. It's over twenty feet in circumference and four feet deep. It cost a pretty penny. It's almost too cold to use it much now but we'll have it for next summer. When I jokingly told your Mom we were going to have to go down there in the middle of the night for some skinny dipping she informed me that if we would not be doing any skinny dipping; instead we would be chunky dunking. I thought that was extremely hilarious. Your Mom is a funny lady.
      We purchased a new bedroom suite at ValueCity Furniture Thursday evening. It's a nice four poster bed, a dresser with a pretty triple pained mirror; we also purchased the matching chester drawers. We are supposed to pick the bed, dresser and mirror up Wednesday and we still haven't finished paying for the chest yet so we will get that when we have paid for it. I've never had a brand new bedroom suite before. I've always taken hand me downs from Mamaw & Papaw.
      You had a big day yesterday. Mom had a lot to do this morning. She had to fill my crazy pill prescription, buy a few groceries and get a part for her car that's broken down again so she dropped you off at daycare yesterday morning at 9:30. She said you were a little upset when you found out you were going but when you got there you saw some maracas, tambourines and drums and you settled right into playing. When I arrived to get you at around 5:30 that afternoon you were as happy as a clam. You informed me that you wanted to come back and that this was your daycare. The teachers at the daycare also said that you made some friends. I'm glad about that. I want you to have lots of friends.
      After we got home we went outside to pass the time until we had to pick your Mom up from work. You rode your tricycle that Aunt Mary got you for your birthday. You are really getting the hang of riding a tricycle. You played in your house, played with Idgy, the dog next door, through the fence, swung, went down the slide, and played basketball. We both had a grand old time. When it was time to go get your Mom you didn't want to come to me so I started counting to three. You know by now that when I start counting that you had better be moving by three or you get a little spanking. You started moving when I said one but you stopped halfway to me so I said two and you started moving again. When you got to me you looked up at me and said, "Don't hit my tail".
      You've said the same thing to Mom before too, only you asked her not to hit your bum-bum. You are such a smart little girl. You mind us pretty good too. Mamaw told us the other day that when Sadie wouldn't come to you when you called her that you started counting in your sternest voice just like your dear old dad.
      We picked up Mom from work and drove to Lexington. We had supper at Burger King on Clay's Mill Road and then went to Meijers to grocery shop. We don't normally go to Meijer but they had some pretty good sales so we decided to give it a shot. You and I went and looked at the fish and birds while your Mom shopped for groceries. You even got to help feed the fishies. I was so proud of you when you thanked the lady for allowing you to help her. You were very tired but you were extremely well behaved. We went and looked at the toys after they closed down the pet area. You got a brand new ball because you were so good after such a big day.
      We got home around eleven o'clock and gave you a quick shower and put you down for the night. You were more than ready for bed.
      Last month was a hard month for your Mom & I and by extension for you but I hope things have settled down a bit. I have to get up with you later this morning so I had better close this post out. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Your Mother came home from the hospital Wednesday afternoon. She's still in a lot of pain and she's still very sad over us losing the baby, but the physical pain will eventually subside and we will learn to deal with the emotional pain of our loss.
      At this moment you are in bed, either asleep or watching Teletubbies on video. We don't normally turn on the television when you lay down because we feel like that is an incredibly bad habit to get into but tonight you were especially upset when you had to go to bed because we have visitors, Papaw Lawrence and Aunt Mary. Papaw Lawrence got out of the hospital his self and instead of heading straight back to Hazard Aunt Mary and Papaw Lawrence decided to spend the night and we are all going to go to Golden Corral for breakfast in the morning. I'm glad that Mama is getting to visit with her family because this is something she probably needs right now.
      I haven't been able to work on my yard like I would have liked since we found out about your Mama's pregnancy. It's been a nightmare. I was finally able to get it mowed Thursday but the grass clippings were all over the yard. Mom said it looked like the yard had fur. This afternoon I went down and borrowed Papaw's trailer and bagged the yard. It took me all day and was hard work. The yard looks much better now though. It's supposed to rain tonight. I hope it does because I could use the water on my poor yellow yard.
      I got up with you this morning because I didn't think your Mom was up to it this morning. When I got up I thought to myself that since it was Friday morning you could watch cartoons and then I realized that you can watch cartoons any time you want because we have cable and TiVo. When I was a wee lad all I had was three network channels and a kid only got to watch cartoons on Saturday morning. At that time and even up till today but only on a limited basis the networks aired cartoons every Saturday morning. My sister, Aunt Lynn and I would get up early and get us a big bowl of Honey Combs or Golden Grahms and settle in for a morning of Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny/ Road Runner Hour, The Pink Panther, Thundar the Barbarian, The Hanna Barbera Laugh-o-lympic, The Smurfs, Speed Buggy, Land of the Lost and a whole bunch more over the years that I can't think of right now. You live in a great time to be a kid when it comes to cartoons.
      Before I let you go I'm going to give you one little news story that came out this week. When I was growing up and going to school in the seventies and eighties we learned about the solar system and we learned that there was nine planets but this week scientists demoted every child's second favorite planet, behind Earth, to a dwarf planet. Poor old Pluto is no longer a planet and the solar system that you will some day learn about now only has eight planets. I don't know why but that made me kind of sad.
      Well, I'm gonna close out this blog. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               Mama is still in the hospital but I think they are going to let her go home tomorrow. Dr. Youkilis told her she could go home tonight but we both thought that she might be better off spending another night in the hospital because she still has tons of pain. I still haven't mowed my yard. I really must do that tomorrow.
      This is the first day ever in your life that you haven't seen your Mother at all during the day. You seem to be taking it great though because I got to see you for a few moments in front of the house and when you thought I was going to take you out of your car seat you told me you didn't want to go with me. I know you are having a ball with Mamaw & Papaw, Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney and all of your cousins. I'm very grateful that we have someone we absolutely totally trust with you like Mamaw & Papaw.
      I'm closing this post now. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  As I'm sure you know from your Mom's previous posts, we lost our new little baby. The last week has been such a struggle for all of us. We had become so excited about the prospect of having another fuzzy headed little baby and then we found out that it wasn't to be so. I think that the only thing that has made this nightmare bearable is your presence. I don't think any of us really understand just what an incredible miracle you are. You may be the only child we ever have and you know what? That is perfectly okay with both your Mom and myself. Of course we would love to be able to give you a little brother or sister but if that is not in the cards then that is just fine with us because we have you.
      The nightmare still isn't over yet either. Friday your Mom had some methotrexate shots to clear out her tubes from the ectopic pregnancy which is actually a pregnancy in the tube. She was supposed to have a little pain and some bleeding but last night her pain became so sever that we had to go to the emergency room at Central Baptist. They admitted her to the hospital that night and she is having to stay for yet another night. I hope she will be able to come home tomorrow because we both miss her. Mamaw is watching you right now because I have to get up in the morning and go to work; I missed work today and stayed with your Mom in the hospital. There is a slight chance that they might have to do surgery on her and that would possibly damage her fertility and we do want to try one more time before we call it quits regarding having another child.
      Your Mom has been through so much in her short life. First of all she was raised dirt poor in one of the poorest counties in the country, there was the thing with her mother that maybe you know about, her father really couldn't be the kind of father that she really deserved after that, she had to make her way through a corrupt and uncaring foster care system, she was raped at such a young age and became pregnant with your brother, Dylan as a result of that rape; then the system took her first born child away from her at birth, she has had six pregnancies, yours and your brother, two miscarriages and now two ectopic pregnancies not to mention the things that we have been through. Your Mom has lived a hard life and you should at all times show her the proper respect due her.
      Today wasn't all bad though. We found out some great news. Aunt Mary is pregnant! I really didn't think she was ever going to get pregnant but she sure enough has. Both your Mom and myself are both so excited for her. It's also a little sad because we figured that her due date was almost exactly the same as the due date for the precious child that we have just lost. It would have been so neat for Aunt Mary and your Mom to have been pregnant together. I suppose that just means that we will love her baby just all that much more. Your Mom will have to help Aunt Mary in a lot of ways because if you don't mind my saying this, Aunt Mary seems to me to be kind of naive about the whole miracle of life concept. You may not be a big sister, yet but you are going to be a big cousin.
      Well, I'm gonna close out this post. Thank you, Rebecca for being who you are. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  From now on, at least for a little while, this blog will only be to you. As I am sure you gather from my previous post, we have not yet been blessed with the miracle of another birth. Your brother or sister was growing up in the wrong place inside Mommy's tummy. It would have gotten too big to survive and caused Mommy's tummy bad troubles and that would have been the end of both of us. So unfortunately the doctors had to stop the baby from growing any more. Mommy is very sad but you brighten her day every time I look at you.
                  Tonight we rented a movie called 'Hoodwinked' and watched it. It was a modern funny spin/spoof about Little Red Riding Hood. We really enjoyed that movie while we all ate 'Nese' (Chinese) as you call it and laughed. Then I was going to share an ice cream bar with you but you decided you wanted to eat all of it yourself. So I had to get my own. They are low carb ice cream bars and I have to say they are pretty good. Even Daddy liked them.
                    I was crying a bit in the truck today after we picked you up from Mamaw's and you piped up and said "No Cryin' Momma!" Daddy and I both thought that was the cutest thing. I know that you are too young to understand any of this but it's funny how you seem to be the only one who knows what to do or say. I know that I am blessed beyond all measure to have you in my life. I love you more than words can say; God gave me an angel the day he gave you to me. I know that I am so very, very lucky to have recieved such a gift. I never thought I would have any kids; then I got you. Someday perhaps God will send us another one.
                  It is time for you to go to bed so I will cut this short.. Remember now and Always, Mommy loves Rebecca! You have my heart, little girl. You always will.

Dear Unnamed Child,
                                          It seems that we will indeed, never know you. The doctors confirmed that you are a tubal pregnancy and had to administer methotrexate injections to us today. You don't have enough room to grow up in my tubes and eventually the tube would have ruptured and killed us both. I can't begin to describe how very sad I am about never meeting you. Your father and I were so excited about having another little baby in the house. I know that we will never know each other in this lifetime but I want you to know that you were loved beyond measure from the minute we found out you were there. And if God had seen fit to send you along you would have been loved and cherished beyond imagination. It feels so cold to have to say good-bye to my little baby that I will never know. I know that Rebecca would have loved you and treasured you just as much as we would have. I will never, ever forget about you. You will always have a place in my heart. I love you.

Dear Children,
                  We have had a scare today and we are still very scared. Mom has been having some pain on her left side. She has had an ectopic pregnancy before and she just wanted some reassurance that this pregnancy isn't ectopic as well. An ectopic pregnancy is when the egg is fertilized not in the uterus but in the fallopian tube. We went to see the doctor today and he told us that it did indeed sound like an ectopic pregnancy. There was no way for him to be able to tell for sure so early in the pregnancy so he told us to consider this as an ectopic pregnancy until we find out different. That's a hard thing to do. He's asking us to assume that we will never know our child. That is a hard pill to swallow. We are trying to stay positive about the whole situation but the fear is still great. We will not know anything until later this week or early next week, hopefully.
      Well, this was just a short note to update y'all on how things are progressing to this point. I'll close out this post now. Daddy loves Rebecca and his unnamed child!

Dear Children,
               Yesterday Mom, Dad & Rebecca went to Cici's Pizza for lunch. We had planned on going straight over to the UK Medical Center to see Papaw Lawrence but it was about an hour too early. We decided to take a little drive through downtown Lexington. We came to Triangle Park and Rebecca hollered out "Waterfall!" when she saw the fountains at the park; so we stopped to let her see them. There's a fountain right on the corner of Main & Broadway; a few little girls were splashing in it in their bathing suits and Rebecca wanted to splash too. Rebecca is spoiled so she got to splash in the fountain with her clothes on. Momma went across the street to the Civic Center Shops to buy you a wildcat outfit to wear to go see Papaw Lawrence. She bought an outfit and we put it on you after we were finished at the park and it was the crappiest piece of clothing we have ever purchased. It was stained and the silk screen writing was all screwed up. We would have taken it back but you spilled soda all over it later that day when we went to Wal-Mart where we put a hundred dollars worth of fall/winter clothes on layaway for Rebecca. We had a pretty good day yesterday.
      Momma's appointment with her baby doctor has been moved up to tomorrow. I can't say I am sorry to see that happen because I would like to see a doctor so he can tell us that everything is as it should be.
      Well, Rebecca is with Mamaw right now at the store. I went to pick her up at Granny's but she wanted to go with Mamaw. Rebecca, you should be back any minute now so I will close out this post and start fixing you some supper. You are having a hot dog, a few chips, a cheese slice, pickles, ketchup and a clementine orange. We both love those little expensive clementines. Daddy loves Rebecca and the unnamed child!

Dear Rebecca,
               Well, what do you think of your Mom's big news? Pretty exciting, huh? This was not the big announcement that I have been promising you for a little while though. That may be postponed for a year or maybe two. But hey this is even better. Wow, a second child. I am amazed. I thought we had been struck by lightening when you came because to tell you the truth I had kind of given up on being a father by the time we found out about you and now we might have a second child. That is beyond my wildest dreams.
      Like I said before, I went back to work this past week. Monday we did something we have never done before. I took you swimming at Falling Springs on a Monday after I got home from work and we both had a ball, especially me. It was hot at work Monday and I was all sticky and miserable and while the water in the pool was surprisingly warm it was such a refreshing experience. I tried to take you back Thursday. We went out there and I paid my money; you are still free until you are three, and we both got in the pool. Ten minutes later they blew the whistle for everyone to get out of the pool because a storm was coming. I should have checked the weather before heading out to the pool with you. We were both extremely disappointed. You cried on your way out of the pool and I felt like crying. We'll try to get a few more days in before the pool closes down for the summer and even after that we might go to the indoor pool. It won't be near as much fun because in the outdoor pool you can wade around and play on the jungle gym type thing they have in the pool and go down the children's slide.
      Monday you went down the slide and some little girl who was maybe four or so was trying to climb up the slide. You bumped into her good and got a fat lip out of the deal. You cried so hard and I felt so bad. That little girls mother didn't make her apologize or anything. I was livid. Eventually you cried your self out as I held you in the deeper end of the pool and you went down the slide again. I know you had to have gone down the slide twenty times at least. I was so very proud of you.

Dear Unnamed Child,
               I am your father. I can't wait to meet you. We found out about you this Wednesday. Your Mom had originally taken a test just a little while back but it was negative but she still felt she was pregnant. She paid a dollar for the original test. Just recently we have had some issues with your Mother paying a dollar for things that really should cost more, like batteries for my digital camera that last all of seven pictures. She decided to go out and spend a whole whopping five dollars on a real test and there you were on the test in all of your plus sign glory.
      Your Mother has been pregnant six times and she has two living children at this point. So, as you can see she has had a few heart breaks so if she doesn't post as much to you in the beginning it will be because she is afraid. She was the same way when we began this blog for your sister back in December of 2003. I am nervous as well. I have my hopes up and have already made a page for you on babycenter.com so we can track your development.

Dear Children,
               I'll be addressing you like this from here on out I suppose. I barely post enough now as it is; Lord knows I can't address individual posts to each of you so I reckon y'all will just have to share. Unnamed Child, your hard copy will be much thinner than Becca's and that is because she takes up so much of our time so we can't post like we did when it was just Momma & Daddy; So blame her.
      It feels kind of impersonal to address my child as Unnamed Child but we really don't know if you are going to be a girl or a boy. If you are a girl your name will be Rachel Marie Lanham and if you are a boy we are leaning to Ryan Marlin Lanham. The girls name is set in stone and has been since before your sister was born but we have always been undecided about a boys name. I like Ethan but your Mom doesn't care much for it and she likes Benjamin but I can't see you as a Ben. Your Mom initially didn't care for Ryan at first because there's a restaurant in Lexington called Ryan's but I think it's grown on her. Anyway, though it may sound impersonal I will be closing out my posts with the following salutation, at least until we know more about a name or a gender; Daddy loves Rebecca and his Unnamed Child!

Dear Rebecca,
                        Hello my little sweetie bird. Right now you are taking a nap. I want to be taking a nap but I also wanted to write you this blog before I lay down for a snooze.
                        There is big news, little girl. We may be having a baby brother or baby sister for you to play with and help take care of. Daddy and are pretty excited but we aren't trying to get our hopes up too much. We've had bad luck before, but then again we've had wonderful luck with you, my little sweetie pie. We are so proud of you, you make us so happy, and it would only make us happier to see you having fun with a little sibling of your own. We were worried about you growing up all alone and hopefully now, you don't have to.
                     You and I have had a wonderful day together so far. We got up and had some cereal and watched an episode of Max & Ruby and then we got dressed and went to K-Mart where we filled Daddy's prescription and we picked out a brand new nightgown for you with a puppy dog on it. We also looked at some baby stuff and some toddler beds and almost bought the newest baby a little giraffe sleeper but we decided we didn't want to jinx it, even though the little sleeper was super cute and only five dollars. It looked like the little giraffe sleeper we bought for you not so long ago when you were just a little bitty thing. You held your new nightgown all the way home and you called it your "Favorite Dress". You are the sweetest little thing and I love you more than words can say. I know we've done a lot of things that were fun together these last few weeks and you've said and done a million cute little things but I am so tired right now that I can't think of a single one of them. Mostly what I want to say to you is that you are still my best girl and my best friend and you always will be. You are the light of my life and watching you and your brother grow up together will be the most rewarding thing that God could have ever given me. I thank him for you every day... I love you, Rebecca. I promise to write more soon.

Dear Rebecca,
               Well, I have to go back to work tomorrow. I'm really not looking forward to it. I guess that the best way to look at it is that the sooner I get back to work the sooner Christmas will be here and the sooner something else your Mother & I have planned might happen. I have had a great time with you the past three weeks. You have been an absolute joy to be around.
      You are still an excellently behaved little girl but you are developing a stubborn streak. It used to be that when I told you to come to me in a stern voice you would obey right away; now we seem to have minor productions out of situations like that. You usually eventually do come to me but a time or two or maybe three or four I have had to run you down. I think I'm doing an okay job of disciplining you though. I have learned that your Mother is a bit more lenient with you than I am. I'll tell you to do something three times and if it's not done on the third time something will happen that neither of us like. We do use spankings but we also use time outs and we deprive you of privileges if the offense has to do with the abuse of the privilege. Your Mom will beg and plead with you to obey her because she hates to punish you. She eventually does punish you if you remain stubborn but she hates to see that bottom lip poke out so much. I can see where she is coming from because I hate seeing that poked out lip as well but maybe eventually you will learn to jump as high as I did when I was a wee lad. I think that all in all I was a pretty well behaved kid growing up. There were maybe a few hiccups in high school but I was never into drugs or anything destructive like that. High school kids are going to be stupid and make some mistakes along the way but I had enough decent raising that I didn't get too stupid.
      I didn't take you to daycare Friday because I wanted to spend my last day of vacation with you. We had a grand time. We spent all day Saturday together as well because your Mom had to work.
      My camera is not dead you will be happy to know. It's just that your Mom has been purchasing our batteries at the Dollar Tree and you are not going to get a decent set of batteries for a dollar. I was so glad that the camera isn't busted. I was super bummed out over that. I would have loved to have had a brand new camera but we have so many other items on our plate right now that we would have been lucky to get a new camera by Christmas, if then.
      Mamaw & Papaw, Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney and the kids left for Florida last night shortly after midnight and got into Orlando around 4:30 or so that afternoon. They are in Orlando and have no plans to go to any of the Disney parks. I just can't fathom that. I would have to go to see Mickey Mouse. Papaw says it's because I am a big kid and in a lot of ways he is correct. I do love Disney World. We hope to take you some day. I went when I was a child and I went quite a bit when I was dating my ex-wife, Christy Hess, because she lived in Florida but the best visit I have ever had was the most recent one. Your Mother & I went in 2000. It was her very first time in the Magic Kingdom and to see the look on her face when we stepped through the gate and she saw Cinderella's castle for the first time was priceless. I hope to one day have that experience with you. Anyway, everyone will be back next Sunday. We were going to look after Sadie but Mamaw & Papaw decided that Ruffie would be too lonely without her so they left her down there. I think Butch, Uncle Rodney's dad, will be looking after the dogs this year. As you will recall we looked after them last year.
      Your Mom bought a bicycle for herself Friday morning at Wal-Mart in Frankfort. We didn't really intend on purchasing one when we left the house so we took the car and it was not a fun ride back home for either you or your Mom because you two were made quite uncomfortable by the bike we had wedged into the car. I dropped her and her bike off at work Friday afternoon and she rode it home. She said it nearly killed her. She wants to ride it a bit on the bike path before she begins using it as transportation to and from work because she says she needs to get used to riding again. Aunt Mary had a bike down there in Hazard that her ex-husband, Kelly Sacra, bought before he found himself another lady to put up with his incredibly low intellect. He never had any money but it never stopped him from buying the best of whatever he wanted so I'm sure the bike is top of the line. I just hope it hasn't been stolen yet. There are some unsavory characters down there in Hazard, Becca.
      I'm going to close for now. I probably won't post again until next weekend. I know I am going to be flat dead this coming week after being off for so long. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               This is the last day of my three week vacation. Actually I only had two weeks of vacation and the last week of layoff. I am a little worried because I haven't received my unemployment card yet and I usually get that early in the week that I am laid off. I suppose it will all work out though.
      We had some bad news earlier this week. Your great-great Aunt Lila passed away. She was such a card. She danced the chicken dance in an actual chicken suit at Aunt Louise & Uncle Tommy's 50th wedding anniversary party earlier this year or maybe it was last year, I am not sure. You just looked at her like she had lost her ever loving mind. I have some pictures of her at the baby shower your Mom had shortly before you were born of her in a big old pair of panties. I also have one of Aunt Lila and Aunt Lynn in the panties together. If you want to know what Aunt Lila was like then just imagine her a whole lot like Aunt Lynn.
      The visitation was Wednesday. Your Mom had to work Wednesday so you and I went to the big outdoor pool at Falling Springs. I think I screwed up a bit while we were there. There has been an oppressive heat wave in the country for the past week so I thought it would be a nice way to keep cool by going to the pool. The water was bath water warm but you certainly did enjoy playing in the water. We got there at 1:20 that afternoon and didn't leave until 5:20. I kept you well protected with regular sunblock applications but you still got a little burn. I on the other hand didn't use any sunblock on myself and I ended up with a mild case of sun poison. My burn isn't as bad as it could have been because I already had a little tan to begin with.
      I just realized that our digital camera is screwed up. You can only take a half dozen or so pictures with the camera on a set of brand new batteries. I hate having to purchase another camera especially since there are so many other things that our money could be going for. There may not be as many pictures of you in the coming months because of the faulty camera but eventually we'll get another one.
      Well, I'll close out this post now. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               We had a pretty good time yesterday. The three of us went to the Cracker Barrel for lunch. You had a scrambled egg and orange juice; Momma had the Sunrise sampler platter which includes two eggs which she had scrambled, biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns, baked apples, country ham, sausage, bacon and grits; I forgot what my breakfast was called but it included two eggs which I had over medium, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, bacon and grits. I ate your Mom's grits because she doesn't care much for them. Your Mom and I also had a large orange juice and coffee.
      After lunch we went to the children's museum in the Victorian Square. It's called the Explorium now I do believe. You had a real good time. You got to sit on a statue of Barbaros, the horse that won the derby a few months back, you got to play in some water, crawl through a model of a human heart, sit on a big molar inside a huge mouth and a whole bunch of other fun things that you seemed to enjoy. Your Mom says that your favorite part was climbing inside a cave that was set up as a geology exhibit. You just liked climbing around inside the cave.
      After that we went and had some ice cream and rented a few movies. We got Final Destination 3, Sin City and March of the Penguins. You watched the penguin movie with us and you seemed to like it a lot. You wanted to kiss the baby penguins on the screen. You had to get the penguin that we got you at the aquarium last week. I'm glad we rented that movie.
      Well, I'm gonna close out for now. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               Yesterday was your Mom's birthday as you already know. Your Mother & I had a very nice time. This morning when you saw your Mother's cake you were convinced that it was your birthday again and you kept pointing to yourself and telling yourself happy birthday. We told you that it was your Mom's birthday but you would have none of that nonsense. A little later we took you to Mamaw & Papaw's for the day so we could go out together and have some adult time together. We missed you as soon as we pulled away. We like getting time to ourselves but we hate not having you with us. You are such a part of who we are that we kind of feel incomplete if you are not around.
      Your Mom & I went to Logan's Steakhouse for lunch and then we went and saw a movie at the new Cinemark Theatre at the Fayette Mall. We saw M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie Lady in the Water. The critics have been vicious in their opinions of the film. We really don't pay much attention to critics because they are oftentimes wrong. We both enjoyed the movie. We then went to Wal-Mart and bought a whole bunch of art supplies and some Flintstone gummie vitamins for you; we also purchased a necklace and a Dean Koontz paperback for your Mom for her birthday. We then went to get you from Mamaw & Papaw's. We enjoyed watching you play in the tent we got you for your first birthday that I just got around to setting up this week.
      You do love tents. Every night recently after you give your good-night kisses you tell us you are going under your tent now and then you pull the blanket over your head. It drives your Mother crazy because she still has it in her mind that you will suffocate under your blankets. I tell her that you are old enough now that you can simply remove your blankets at any time you wish. If you can root your Momma & Daddy around in our big old bed like you do whenever we let you lay with us then you would have no trouble at all with a blanket.
      The three of us went to the Kroger store after we got back to Versailles from Mamaw & Papaw's and bought some groceries and then we came home. Your Mom fixed you a supper of pizza poppers and an orange and after you ate we all had some of your Mom's birthday cake. I got up super early yesterday morning and baked her a cake for her birthday because she has always harped on the fact that I had never made her a birthday cake. Anyway after the cake I gave your Mother a Harry Potter book that she has been wanting. Your Mom gave you a bath and then we all watched some Little Bear and then you went to bed. Your Mom & I stayed up and watched a couple of episodes of House and an episode of a new show we enjoy on the USA network called Psych. Your Mom went to bed after that and I watched a professional wrestling show called TNA Impact. I know wrestling is absolutely fake and kind of white trash but I think it's funny.
      Like your Mom said we went to the Newport Aquarium this past weekend. We all had a grand time. You even got to pet a real live shark. There was one place in the aquarium where there was glass floors with water underneath where you could look down and see the fish. When we cam up to it you just stopped in your tracks. You really weren't too sure about stepping on it. It looked just like a big pool of water. You looked down at it and up at me while I was standing on the glass and you took one hesitant step forward and then another and you smiled up at me like you thought it was all such a neat trick. You also enjoyed looking at the baby gators but as your Mom said your favorites were the otters and penguins. My favorite was the huge tanks with all the big sharks.
      Like your Mom said, you took your first out of state trip that day as well. We had a fabulous adventure in Ohio. The last sentence is a reference to a line from Duck in one of your Little Bear episodes. We all stopped at Frisch's Big Boy in Georgetown and had almost comically bad service. Your Mom, Mamaw and Aunt Linda all had a go round with the night manager.
      I have enjoyed spending these last two weeks with you. You are even becoming a little bit of a Daddy's girl which I love. We are both going to hate it when I go back to work the week after next. You have come to expect me to be asleep in the bedroom when you wake up in the mornings and when I go back to work I will be long gone by the time you raise your pretty head off of your pillow.
      Well, it's getting late and I really should think about going to bed soon so I will close out this post for now. I will get your Mom to tell you in her next post about how you are becoming a little hypochondriac. Your knee hurts, your heart hurts, your head hurts, your toe hurts and even your nuffin hurts from time to time. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Hello my sweet. As you know by now, tomorrow is Mommy's birthday. I will be 29 tomorrow. In all my twenty nine years I have never loved anything or anyone as much as I love you. You are the light of my life in every way and this year on my birthday I give thanks for everything I had to endure to get to you and Daddy. I have the best husband a woman could ask for and the sweetest little girl on the face of the planet. I have people who care about me and a decent job that helps pay the bills. Today someone asked me what my biggest birthday wish was and I honestly couldn't give them one. All of my dreams have come true and all of the wishes I ever wished for are right here at my finger tips. No one is as lucky as I am.
            Well as you know we went to the Newport Aquarium. You were the best little girl and behaved so well that I almost forgot you were two. You only got aggravated and pitched a little fit toward the end when you were getting sleepy. We went with Mamaw & Papaw, Aunt Linda and Granny and of course You, Me, and your Dear Old Dad. It was a nice trip up there and we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way and had a big breakfast. You mostly ate oranges off of everyone's plate so we could have ordered you a drink and let you share in the biscuits and gravy and that would have been great. When we got there you saw the river and were in awe. You said "See Water Da-da?" and he informed you that he did indeed. The line was sort of long for the Aquarium and when we got there the place was jam packed. You stopped and admired everything for a good long while and I think some people were a tad impatient with us because we took extra long because of you and Granny. In fact I can't recall one person that was nice to us on that trip. Except for maybe the lady you met at the otter exhibit. She said you were the most polite two year old she ever met, according to Daddy. Daddy is so proud of you he could bust at the seams. Your particular favorite exhibits at the Aquarium were the Penguins, and the Otters. Although you enjoyed all the fishies, snakes, turtles, birds of prey and things of that nature, you were enthralled with these fuzzy and feathery creatures that you so often see on cartoons that you enjoy. You got scared of a man in a scuba diving suit feeding the fish when he waved and made silly faces at you only trying to be nice. Ever since then you have let it be known that "Man care me" and you were "Cyin" and of course, that he " Got Helmet". You remember that stuff 'until this day. I am unsure if you will ever forget it. I hate to think that your foremost memory of that trip was being scared.
               After the trip Papoo drove over the bridge into Ohio just so that we could say we all went out of state. It was your very first time in a state other than Kentucky and like the rednecks we all are we made a big deal of it. I don't think you thought too much of it because the road was the same road we had traveled the whole way there. However, as Duck would say, we did have a fabulous adventure to Ohio. Or at least almost in Ohio. You even got to get a Penguin and some Candy at the Candy store and Gift Shoppe at Newport Aquarium. Then we made our way home and stopped in Georgetown for something to eat. We stopped in at Frisch's and had a fiasco that I would rather not tell you about because Mommy and Mamaw almost tackled a waitress (and I use the term loosely) and her manager (also used loosely) because they felt the need to make a scene over three dollars.You did get to have a yummy hot fudge cake however and that was a sight to see because you had your whole face covered in fudge. You're so cute.
                  Mommy has had to work a lot since Daddy has been off but it has really been a blessing for us that I have this job because now we don't have to stretch out money out so tight week to week. We've always had what we need and the basic comforts of life but Mommy's job allows us to do things like go to the Aquarium and take you out to eat from time to time and just have a good time in general. Soon Mommy's money will be saved so that she can go to school and further her education so our little family will be even better off later on down the road. I want to do whatever I can for you but always remember that I will spend every spare second with you my sweet because there's nothing better than being with my little baby and her Daddy.
                  You had a terrible night last night and got up on several occasions, Daddy said. You didn't get much sleep and I am hoping that you do better tonight, I really am. You've got to be a big girl and sleep in your own room. On that note I am going to let you go and put out the office light, finish my soda and lay down on the couch. I don't want to disturb Daddy and the couch would feel better on my back tonight anyway. I love you, my sweet little baby bird. Sleep tight!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Yesterday was your very first day of day care. From what we heard from the staff at Haley's Way Day Care you did okay considering this was your very first time for any extended period without someone you have known all your life. You would get interested in whatever was going on there and then you would go to the door and look out and cry a bit and then you were okay again for a few minutes. When I asked you if you wanted to go back you told me "Go back. Later."
       Both your Mother & I are very proud of you. Your Mother shed some tears over leaving you but everyone concerned feels like this will do you great good. You will still be going down to Mamaw's two days a week but Fridays will be your day care day. We want to socialize you with children of your own age. Gymboree was okay for that but you always had Mama there and at this point in your life you would rather hang out with Mama or Daddy than play with the other children. We want you to learn to interact with your peers. I never had that opportunity when I was a child and I think I have suffered as a result. I don't think I socialize very well.
      We dropped by Taylor Manor Nursing Home where your Mother works for a few minutes because I thought that your Mother would enjoy seeing you after you got out of day care and I was correct. After that we went over to Granny's and visited with her and Mamaw for a few hours. You & I went upstairs where you banged on Aunt Linda's piano for a good long while. We got home about the same time your Mom got off from work and then we hung out for awhile. You watched The Doodlebops and an episode of Little Bear and then you went to bed.
      We're all going to The Newport Aquarium tomorrow. I think you might really enjoy that. You do so love to see fishes swimming about. Mamaw & Papaw are coming with us and I think maybe Aunt Linda will be joining us as well. I have never been myself and am looking forward to it. I asked you today if you were excited about going to see the fishes; you didn't answer me. A little later you asked me if I was excited. You asked, "Dadda Cited?"
      I said I was excited and then you informed me that you were also excited. The exact words you used were "Becca too".
      I've had a pretty pleasurable week with you this week. I have loved being woken up by you all week. I hate being woken up but being woken up by you does take a bit of the sting out of it. It's been unseasonably warm this past week so we haven't spent a whole lot of time outdoors where you would prefer to be but a cold front moved in today so next week should be much cooler and we will spend a whole lot more time outdoors.
      My 20 year high school reunion is tonight but I am afraid I will not be attending. I would have liked to attend but there are some personal issues that kept me from going. A guy I graduated with is a stand up comedian who played the local comedy club last night and there were supposed to be a bunch of people from my class go to the show but I also decided not to attend that. I reckon I'm just an old fuddy-duddy.
      I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday and your Mother was called today about an appointment that she will be scheduling. I know that information seems like a silly and useless piece of information to record for posterity but hey, they might be important appointments or maybe not.
      Your mom works later today from seven in the morning until seven this evening so I will be getting up with you in the morning so I had better hit the proverbial hay; plus I am kind of tired. Daddy loves Rebecca!