Dear Becca & Grant,
            We all had another big day yesterday. Your Mom woke me up at around noon and told me that she wanted to take you to Kid's Place right next to the Lexington Athletic Club, one of the few gyms in Lexington that I haven't had a membership to. I got right out of bed and took a shower and then we headed towards Lexington. We forgot to get any cash in Versailles so we stopped at Wal-Mart and your Mom ran inside and got some money from the cash machine there. We then went to Kid's Place. It was like a McDonald's playland with an extremely serious problem with Steroid abuse. This place was huge and the slides had to be forty feet long and just as high. They had bouncing areas, rope bridges, slides designed to be crawled up, fireman polls and tons of other cool stuff. The thing you enjoyed most was the ball pit. You spent probably seventy percent of your time there in the ball pit. We played some games with the tokens your Mom got by going online and finding a coupon and I think we all had fun playing the games. You won enough tickets to get a tiny toy skateboard, some play money and a single purple crayon. You told us you like that place better than the McDonald's playland. You have to pay an admission price to get in to play at Kid's Place though so McDonald's playland will still be our primary destination for indoor fun.
      After you were done playing we went to Cracker Barrel were we had an early supper. Your Mom had the sunrise sampler, I had the country boy breakfast with steak and you had chicken tenders with carrots. You ate your Mom's apples and you and I shared a great big bowl of grits. You & I like grits but Mom doesn't care much for them. As always when we go to Cracker Barrel you had to play with the Jack in the Box before we ate. You always have to play with that Jack in the Box. You also associate Cracker Barrel with Pop Rocks candy. You have to have a bag of Pop Rocks, which you call Tooth Poppers every time we go there. I don't know if they still make Pop Rocks when you read this or not. They first came out when I was a kid and then they quit making it for decades and just in the last five or so years they started putting it back on shelves. Pop Rocks are a carbonated candy that literally explodes in your mouth. The candy is yummy and it's fun to eat.
      After Cracker barrel we went to Babies R Us and bought a few items for Grant and we got you three outfits for when cooler weather hits. We all enjoy browsing around Babies R Us. It's especially fun when we are about to have a baby. I can't wait for you to get here, Grant.
      We then finished off the night by going to Wal-Mart. We bought a few more cool weather clothes for you, Becca and three cans of Barbasol shaving cream for you to play with in the tub. Barbasol is the cheapest shaving cream. We also got a can of good shaving cream for me, a bottle of Listerine, bubble bath, toiletries for your Mom's hospital bag for when she delivers Grant and assorted other sundries. We left Wal-Mart when it was good and dark. You were so tired you asked if we could go home, Becca and you never want to go home.
      We got home and put you straight to bed after you watched a few minutes of a show. Your Mom and I stayed up for awhile watching Mommy's tummy jerk about as Grant kicked her from the inside. We got your diaper bag ready Grant and Mom prepared her hospital bag. Grant, we are ready for you, little boy.
      It's late as it always is when I post a blog. I am going to hit the proverbial hay now. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
            Well, we've all had a pretty good week together. Especially just you & I. Saturday I took Jacob & Jon to see Transformers at the nice new theatre in Jessamine County. You and your Mother joined us at the theatre but y'all saw Ratatouille, a Pixar/Disney movie about a rat who was also a French chef. After the movies we all went to Red Robin for burgers and chicken. After Red Robin Mom went home to rest while you & I along with Jon & Jake went to McDonalds so you could play at their playland. You and Jon had fun but poor Jacob was bored out of his mind.
      Monday your Mom & I decided to have a day to ourselves. We won't have much of that when Grant gets here so we took you to daycare and fixed us some breakfast and watched movies all day long. We watched a horror movie called Dead Silence, a sci-fi type movie called Children of Men and an action movie called Crank. We had a great time. You also had a good time at daycare. I like to take you to daycare occasionally because it develops your socialization skills. We don't know anybody with children your age.
      Tuesday you had to have a cavity filled. Your Mom had a doctor's appointment at around the same time that you did so I took you there by myself. Auntie Lynn was there with her kids at the same time. You did so great at the dentist office. You had been dreading it all along but I was so proud of the way you handled it. After you finished we took Jon to McDonald's with us so you could play at their playland again. We brought Jon home with us and you and Jon watched professional wrestling and he threw you all over the living room in a wrestling match of your own. Your Mom doesn't like you to watch wrestling but you weren't really watching wrestling; you were playing wrestling with Jon. Auntie Lynn wanted me to have a look at a problem she was having with her computer so you & I took Jon home and you got in the pool for a little while but it was cold. You ended up playing with Jon until almost eleven that evening. I fixed Auntie Lynn's problem and we went home and you went straight to bed.
      Wednesday I took you to the playland at McDonalds again. We don't always get something to eat so that's why we can go there so much. Sometimes we just get sodas or an ice cream. You played for quite awhile. We then went to Lowes to look for a spark plug. We browsed awhile and you enjoy looking at the toilets with no water in them. You really seemed to enjoy looking at the large home appliances for some reason. We then went to Home Depot because we couldn't find the spark plug at Lowes. You saw Chick-fil-a and wanted to go to their playplace as well. We went into Home Depot and didn't find the plug there either and then since we didn't have anywhere we needed to be we went to Chick-fil-a for sodas and some play time. We stopped at an ice cream parlor for sundaes and we browsed around in the Dollar General Store for awhile and then we went home.
      I have no idea what we did Thursday but on Friday we went to the Newport Aquarium. You had a really nice time.We saw piranhas, electric eels, poisonous frogs, poisonous snakes, exotic birds, otters, penguins, an alligator you called Aluitious after an alligator on Pinky Dinky Doo, fish of all sorts and of course we saw sharks. They have an exhibit where you can touch a shark and you wanted to touch one but when we got there you spent all of your time getting up your courage to actually do and ended up not even getting close. You put your fingers inside the shark tank a time or two but you would not touch one of those things for love or money. Both your Mom & I touched a shark. We bought you a small stuffed shark in the gift shop that you named Sharky. We then went to eat at a 50s themed restaurant called Johnny Rockets there at the Newport on the Levee shopping and entertainment complex. It had some really great food but the service was terrible and what ticked both your Mother & I off most was that the tip was included in the price of the meal. I don't mind tipping but I like to decide on what I will tip and this waitress who was ironically enough named Patience, did not deserve a tip as large as the one we were forced into giving her. Needless to say, we didn't add anything else on. We will not be returning to that place. After our early supper we came back home.
      You've been doing great on your potty training. You poop in the potty every other day now and you go pee-pee in the potty more and more every day. You're finally getting this potty business down.
      Well, I've been sitting up all night and if I want to spend any time with you today I had better hit the proverbial hay. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca and Grant.
                        Well, today your old Mom turns 30. I know it's been a while since I posted and I apologize. Grant, I've been having to go to the doctor two or three times a week so that they can check on you. You're going to be born less than a month from now. We're very excited. The driving and getting ready and lack of sleep at night has me really worn out. Yesterday I came home from the doctor and slept three hours. Becca, you weren't nearly this hard. And every one I have asked says that boys are harder than girls. I believe them, Grant. It's really not anything major but it's just been how much worse I feel. Of course, that could have something to do with being thirty as well.
                        Grant, you will be our last baby. I'm getting too old and fat to carry any more, haha. Daddy and I always wanted two kids, and that is what we have been blessed with. I am really happy to have you and Becca in my life. I never thought we'd have any kids. I especially didn't think we'd have any more after Becca, and then we got pregnant with a baby before you. We were super excited but very let down when we found out the baby was in the wrong place. My heart was still breaking over that situation when I found out that you were on the way. I was very happy but needless to say also very scared. I was worried that you would be in the wrong place as well. But, you were not. Thank God! We've got us a set now, a boy and a girl. You two are all we ever wanted or needed.
                       Becca, we are going to the Aquarium today. It looks like a good day for it, it is overcast and it is supposed to be rainy. So an indoor activity is just the ticket. We always try to do something with you that allows you to burn your energy out. I imagine we will find somewhere with a playland to eat a late lunch/early supper afterward and then head on our way home. You've been real excited about going to the Aquarium but now that I told you we are going today you are very worried about the sharks. I told you that they were in a big tank and could not get to you. You still remember the man in the scuba gear scaring you by waving at you the last time we were there. I felt terrible about that but you seem to have gotten over it and made it a very fond memory. The last time that we went Granny and Aunt Linda and Mamaw and Papaw went with us. This time, though, it's just going to be the three of us. Jacob and Jon wanted to go but it's gotten to be quite a bit more expensive and we are going to be leaving here very shortly. I'd say they are still in bed. In addition to that we want these last few weeks before Grant gets here to belong all to you. We want to make you feel as special as possible because I know that you are going to be the best big sister in the world. But I want you to remember something, little girl. You are my ONLY little girl and I will love you forever and always, and you will always be precious in my sight. And Grant, you are my ONLY little boy and I will love you forever and always and you will always be precious in my sight.
            Yesterday I had to go to the doctor and get a NST on your heart, Grant. That's just where they hook me up to a monitor and listen to your heart rate. You do NOT like that machine so you scoot away from it as much as you can. You scooted and moved so much they could get NO trace at all and had to send me for a BPP ultrasound. That means a Biophysical Profile. They do four tests, your heart rate, fetal breathing, movement, and amniotic fluid. You passed all four with flying colors. However, they could not see your face anymore because you are so squished up and dropped so far down in my pelvis. You are about all cooked, you little turkey.
             Well. I am gonna let you guys go because it is starting to thunder outside and Becca, you are putting on a big show over being scared of it. We need to get dressed, anyway. Remember, Mommy loves Becca and Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
                  I know it's been awhile since I last posted to your blog. I usually try to fill you in all all the news that is news and a lot of stuff that isn't news every weekend but for some reason I just haven't been all that motivated as of late. I still love working on the blog and since I last posted I have done a semi-major overhaul of y'all's online photo album. I added references to you, Grant. I also reversed the order of the pictures. Since I first started the online photo album the first page has always been of the day Rebecca was born. Now when I update the photo album the newer pictures will be on the first pages. I don't know why I haven't done that earlier.
      I have also been working on the hard copy version of y'all's blog. Since Becca just had a birthday recently I had to begin volume five of her hard copy. I really don't know what I am going to do about your hard copy, Grant. You are on volume one right now because you are in your gestational period. When you are born you will begin volume two. That's why even though Becca only just turned three she is on volume five. Anyway Grant, I really don't know where to start your first volume. Should I start it when we found out about the baby we lost very shortly before we were blessed with you or should I begin when we found out about you. If I start when we found out about you I feel like it would be beginning in the middle of the story. We were still grieving over the loss of the previous baby and our nerves were frazzled to no end when we found out about you. So I don't know what I'm going to do about your hard copy. I thought about merging both of y'all's hard copy and starting and stopping it in between your birthdays but then that kind of confuses what I have going on regarding the pictures I include in the hard copy. I need to make a new cover for you, Grant because Becca's is so girly. Maybe I need to revise Becca's cover as well because the cover of her hard copy blog is a picture of the stork with an "It's a Girl" sign and a pink baby bundle. That was great when she was a baby but she's no longer a baby anymore.
      Your Mom put that little video clip of her trying to get you to say that you were good when you were just a few months old on YouTube.com, Becca. I thought that was a fabulous idea so I uploaded 86 more clips to the site and put a link to our YouTube channel page on y'all's online blog. All but two of the clips are with you in them, Becca. There's one of Granny saying the blessing before an Easter dinner and a funny one of your Mom & I fighting over what to name one of your stuffed bears. I embedded the clip of Granny saying grace on the blog above the poem that your Mom wrote in honor of that fabulous woman. I'm sure that soon enough you'll be making your video clip debut on the internet, Grant. I fiddled with the colors and layout of our channel page to make it more in tune with the design of the blog. The blog design will never change. I started designing it before I knew if Becca was going to be Rebecca Lynn or if she was going to be Caleb Marlin. That was going to be Becca's name if she had have been a boy and your name was going to be Rachel Marie if you had have been a girl.
      So these are all the reasons I haven't been posting like I should; that and the fact that it's much too easy to get distracted by the television when you have the laptop laying on your lap trying to do more important stuff.
      As for what has gone on since my last post; well, the very first day back to work after I had a few days off for Granny's funeral, for the first time ever in twenty years I showed up at work and was sent home before I got inside the building because there were power issues inside the plant. I rode in with Papaw and he never gets to go home early so I called your Mom at 6:45 in the morning and was asking her to get out of bed and wake you up so y'all could come and get me. Your Mom wasn't too happy about that. Luckily a nice woman I work with named Lillie Lord offered to drive me home. It was really very nice of her because she wasn't going anywhere near Versailles. She's the same lady that made you the stuffed bear that your Mom & I were trying to name in the above mentioned video clip. Anyway I got to come home and your Mom got to take a nap and then I got to take a nap and then we went and had your third birthday pictures taken eight days after your third birthday. We went to a restaurant with a play place over in Hamburg and then came home and went to bed. I had to work the next day but I got sick and had to take the day after that off so I only worked one day that week.
      I also had a short week this past week. I only had to work four days this week because they did inventory yesterday because the plant is shut down for vacation for the next two weeks. So yesterday was the beginning of two weeks and a day off. I am excited about being off from work. Of course Papaw isn't off for vacation. He works in the shop and the shop uses the down time to work on machines that are usually running. Papaw never catches a break, does he?
      While I'm off I want to put up a gate on the right side of our house so I can get the lawn mower I bought from Uncle Rodney into the back yard without having to take the fence apart. We also plan on going back to the Newport Aquarium because you've been talking about wanting to go back for a few months now, Becca. I can't believe you remember when we went before. You did love it though, all except the diver who was feeding the fish in the giant tank. He waved at you and scared you. I hope to burn to DVD a lot of movies I have downloaded off of the internet. Your Mom is entering her nesting phase right about now so I am sure she will have a few items on her honey-do list for me.
      Yesterday your Mom had an appointment with the Stanley Steemer people to come out to the house and clean the carpets. We figured that it would be better if you were out of their way so you and I went to Lexington. We first went to Goodyear Tire over on Southland Drive to get a new tire for your Mom's dented up Taurus. I think the accident she was in screwed one of her tires up and we had to get a new one. I took your portable DVD player into the waiting area and you watched Dora and drank my coke while I read the paper. You were very good and very patient. I used to hate doing stuff like that when I was a child.
      We then went to CVS drugstore in the same strip mall as the tire place because you had pooped in your pull-up and all we had to put you into was a swimmer pull-up and they do not work at all when you are not in water so we went and bought you some pull-ups and we changed you out of your swimmer and into the regular pull-up in the parking lot of CVS. We also bought some wipes and you got a Ratatouille painting book.
      We then went to the McDonalds in the Wal-Mart parking lot on the corner of Nicholasville Rd. and Man-O-War. They have a very nice play place over there. You played forever. Eventually your Mom came and joined us when the Stanley Steemer people were done with the carpets. You played for almost three hours and you got plumb tuckered out by it. There was one little girl there who was maybe half your size and maybe a little younger than you who was yelling at all of the other kids and pointing her finger. She had most of the other kids cowed down but when she told you to do something you didn't want to do you just said no and when she yelled at you and pointed that finger at you you just returned her loud yelling with a little bit of loud yelling yourself. Your Mom called you away from the situation but we were both very proud of you because you wouldn't allow yourself to be bullied like that. Way to go, Becca!
      We then went over to Wal-Mart where we bought some big rugs for your room, Becca and the living room. We bought a whole bunch of stuff that we needed and I really can't recall what half of it was. We bought shampoo, deodorant, mouth wash, band aids, night time pull-ups, paper towels, toilet paper, vitamins, laundry detergent, dryer sheets and since it's back to school time we got you a dozen pads of paper for twenty cents apiece, three pencil boxes for crayons and forty-eight boxes of twenty-four crayola crayons to put in those pencil boxes. I know that sounds like way too many crayons but I hope it will be a long time until we have to buy you anymore. We only spent ten dollars on all of those crayons. The lady who checked us out had the most sour look on her face. She was making me sad just looking at her. I told her to smile and she cracked the weakest shortest lived smile I have ever seen in my life.
      We got home and you were a super grump. We washed you down real quick and you had a banana and then you went to bed. Your Mom and I paid bills online and then she went to bed. I noticed that my check wasn't credited on the bank website and that made me nervous but we have enough money to get us by until my money comes in. We won't starve or bounce any checks but I really like my money to be there when it is supposed to be there.
      I have to go to bed now because I have to get up early and go down to Uncle Rodney's and help him pour the last bit of his new concrete driveway and after that I am taking the boys to see Transformers and you and Mom are going to see Ratatouille. They are playing at the same theater on Nicholasville Road over the county line in Jessamine County. Well, I had better finish this up. Your Mom called me on the phone from the bedroom a minute ago to tell me to come to bed so I had better listen to what she says because she is the boss, Apple Sauce. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

For Granny It's hard to say all you were to me, I could name so many things, A quiet prayer for my serenity, A breath of hope on Angel's wings. You were a hug on Christmas Eve, And a Christmas morning wish, And you were, I believe, My favorite Christmas Gift. You were the faith I couldn't find, When life would get too tough, Your prayers a comfort to my mind, When just words weren't enough. Of all the things you were to me- And there are so very many, There's one thing you'll always be. You'll always be my Granny. We love and miss you dearly Granny. Thank you for everything you gave to us. We'll see you in Heaven.

Dear Becca & Grant,
                  We buried Granny yesterday. It's been a long time since I've known such sadness. Granny has always been in my life and here we were putting her into the ground. I know she's enjoying her vast rewards that she has laid up in heaven but still I wish she could have always been in all of our lives. The funeral was at eleven o'clock in the morning. I was a pallbearer as was Chris Robinson, Seth Robinson, Clinton Brown, Uncle Rodney and Lucas Tenorio was supposed to be the third but because of some personal problems he is having right now he wasn't in attendance at the funeral; Derrick Darnell, Aunt Louise's grandson and by extension Granny's oldest great-grandchild took his place. I was Granny's oldest grandson and third oldest grandchild. I was real proud of the turn out at the funeral. Granny has touched so many lives through her journey through this life here on earth. The great grandchildren all released balloons in her honor. Becca, we put you in daycare today so you weren't at the funeral and you, Grant, are still safely inside your Mommy's tummy so she released two balloons on your behalf. After the funeral most of the family and friends went to New Hope Baptist Church on Tyrone Pike to celebrate Granny's life with food and fellowship. I hate to see her go.
      When we got home we decided to leave you in daycare so we could relax a bit. We watched a movie on DVD called Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage. Your Mom & I both enjoyed the movie and the time we got to spend by ourselves. I was worn out by the stress of the past few days so I took a nap while your Mom went to pick you up at daycare. You asked to go to eat somewhere where you could play so she took you to a Chick-fil-a with a play area next to the Turfland Mall. You played for hours and had a ball.
      The day before yesterday was Granny's visitation. We had planned on taking you out there for a little while and then having your Mom taking you back home so we took both vehicles. You found a friend in one of your distant cousins and the two of you were having so much fun that your Mom decided to keep you there. I was glad that you stayed because there were a lot of family members there that had never seen you and I got to show you off. We talked to you about how Granny has gone to be with Jesus and that we won't be able to see her anymore and you got a little sad.
      I've been off of work the past few days because of Granny. I have to go back Wednesday. I need to get in bed so I will close out this post. Becca, I hope you remember your dear Granny. She loved you so much and you gave her so much joy in the last stages of her life. Grant, I really wish you could have known her. I know I've said it before but you really missed out on knowing a great gal. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
            This is the post that I have been dreading for the longest time. Yesterday morning, July 5^th, our beloved Granny, Annetta Robinson went to claim her reward with Jesus. I've known and loved Granny all of my life. I love her like the two of you love your dear Mamaw. It's a truly sad time for all of us. Granny is now enjoying the vast treasures she most assuredly amassed in heaven. Catching up with her Mom & Dad who are my own Mamaw & Papaw, her first husband Harry Bowman, her second husband who was the man named Bambi Dee in the stories I relate to y'all on occasion, and all of her brothers and sisters who have one on ahead of her.
      Becca, we haven't told you yet that Granny has passed. We thought we would do it after you get up later this morning. I don't know if you're really truly going to understand that you will never see your Granny Grunt, as you call her ever again. I know it would break my heart if you was to ask to go see Granny. I truly do hope you are able to remember your dear old Granny. She dearly loved you. I know for a fact that toward the end of her earthly journey you were the light of her life.
      Grant, I really feel sorry for you because you will never know the sweetest woman God ever deemed fit to put upon this earth. I have never heard her mention a negative word about anyone ever. You will no doubt hear wonderful stories about this saint we refer to as Granny and you will wonder if ever a creature so gentle and kind could ever have existed. I want you to know that she was every bit as wonderful as the stories you hear reflect.
      To write about your birthday party seems kind of frivolous in light of Granny passing yesterday but you did indeed have a little party the day before Granny passed so I will fill you in on some of the events of that party. You and I left early for Mamaw & Papaw's to give your Mom a chance to bake a birthday cake for you and one for Jacob. Jacob's birthday is very close to yours so we have been celebrating them together. You and I swam for a little while but you haven't been feeling all that well since you went to the dentist. It seems that while your mouth was numb you ended up chewing on your tongue and it is hurting you something fierce. You crawled out of the pool and played with Jake & Jon for awhile. You helped me shuck some corn for the party and then we watched as Papaw boiled the corn in his big turkey fryer down in his garage. Sissy came up the hill and you asked her to swim with you so she did. You swam awhile longer while I loaded up your piñata with candy. Mom came with the cakes and Papaw began to grill the hot dogs. As he did it began to sprinkle a little. Auntie Lynn and I moved the table with all of the food to the garage in front of the house. We all gathered in there as it began to pour the rain; so much for a pool party. As we were getting ready to eat Mamaw received a phone call from Mike stating that Granny was coughing up blood. Mamaw became very upset and Mamaw & Papaw headed up to Granny's. We all stayed at the party. We ate hot dogs and all of the things that go with it on the 4th of July. You sat right in front of Uncle Rodney and ate. You have such a toddler crush on your Uncle Rodney. All Auntie Lynn has to say about it is that you have great taste in men and I have to agree. If you wind up with a fellow anything like Uncle Rodney I will be happy. Eventually Mamaw & Papaw returned. It was thought that it was an old ulcer bleeding and not life threatening at the moment. I am glad she didn't pass on the 4th because that would have cast a shadow over the holiday for a long long time. Mamaw & Papaw ate while everyone sat around and waited.
      Eventually they finished and it was time to beat the living snot out of your Dora the Explorer piñata. You beat and beat that thing but nothing happened. Eventually you enlisted the aid of Jake & Jon who were all too happy to help you whack away at poor Dora. Papaw had hung Dora from the garage door and as y'all were beating her she decided it was time to get away. The garage door slammed shut and took Dora with it. It was initially kind of scary but funny afterward. Y'all eventually got the piñata open and all of her candy spilled onto the floor. You really enjoyed your piñata.
      Now it was time for presents. Auntie Lynn & Uncle Rodney got you some cute outfits. Sissy got you a christian toddler book. Mamaw & Papaw got you one of those balls with a handle that you jump with, Jon & Jake got you a toy golf set, Auntie Mary sent you some more side walk chalk and your Mom & Dad got you a little pink scooter, a new helmet for when you ride your scooter or your tricycle or whatever, a Disney princess baseball and bat, and an electric scooter. I think you had a pretty great birthday party as far as your presents are concerned. You played golf with the boys for the longest time. We saw a frog hopping along and I picked him up and you touched him. I didn't think you would but you did. I was so proud of my fearless little girl. On the way home I asked you what your favorite part of the party was and you said that playing golf with Jake & Jon was your favorite. Your Mom has noticed that when you are with a bunch of kids you would much rather play with the boys of the group and we attribute that to the fact that your primary playmates since birth have been Jake & Jon. You do love them silly boys.
      When we got home we watched the fireworks as we drove through the neighborhood. When we got home you didn't want to stay outside because all of the noise of the fireworks kind of frightened you and I was so proud of my frightened little girl. You heard a rocket go off and you told us you heard a scary bird. We went inside and Mom opened the shades and the two of you watched fireworks from the safety of the sofa while I went to bed because I had to be at work early the next morning.
      Work was incredibly crappy after I found out about Granny. You and your Mom picked me up because she had a doctor's appointment close to where I work. I walked into the cafeteria and there you were bouncing on the ball Mamaw & Papaw got for you. That was your favorite gift of your birthday I do believe. We went to Mom's doctor and you and I stayed out in the waiting area where you looked at fish in an aquarium and told the office workers all about your birthday party. You informed me you wanted to go back to the aquarium and see a shark. You were referring to the Newport Aquarium and I want to go back as well because I think sharks are cool too.
      We then planned on going to CiCi's but I knew the only reason you wanted to go was to play and I knew you would have more fun at the McDonald's Playland so we went there instead. You did indeed have a wonderful time.
      Well, that's my post for today. By the way, today is your Mom & Dad's 9th Wedding anniversary. Your Mom has another doctor's appointment tomorrow and since I am off work for bereavement leave due to Granny's passing I am going with y'all. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Rebecca,
          Happy birthday. You are the big THREE YEARS OLD today! Yayyyyyyy. Mommy's heart breaks that you are growing so very fast. Just the other day we were watching videos of you as a baby and I must say, you are a big girl now. But, you will ALWAYS be my baby girl.
     We're having your party at Mamaw's tomorrow. Jake is having his with you and I believe that you two will have a grand old time. There's going to be tons of things to do tomorrow and I just know you'll get yourself all worn out. I am up so early because I thought I'd get up, have some coffee, and get a little housework done before anyone started stirring. Plus I want to make you some kind of special breakfast for your birthday (something you wouldn't normally get!) and then I thought we might get dressed and go see Rattatouille. I don't know if that's how you spell it or not. There are all kinds of fun things we can do together today, even if it's just going out in the backyard and swimming, spraying each other down with the waterhose - YOU GOT ME GOOD YESTERDAY! We were playing with the hose outside and I was spraying you and you asked, "Mommy, can you play with me?" Of course I said yes, and of course at that very time you SPRAYED ME! You were laughing and giggling so hard that I let you keep doing it. Then we had Daddy go in and get us a towel and some shampoo and you took your shower outside. You thought it was indeed, big fun.
     You had a dentist appointment yesterday. I must say you did suprisingly well - for not even being three yet. Your dentist and your hygenist were both named Rebecca. You thought that was funny. They gave you laughing gas and you did very well with it, however it did make you a bit fidgety. You kept playing with your feet, rolling from side to side on the tabe, and taking your shoes off. You let them do all the work they had to on your mouth, but when they tried to put the big ring around your tooth with a green rubber blocker to take the taste away, you pitched a bit of a fit. They took it off and you calmed back down and let them finish fixing your tooth. You are one amazing little girl. And because it was so close to your birthday, you got TWO prizes.
     When we got done at the dentist, you stumbled onto the Elevator and were quite disoriented for a bit. It was a little funny but no so much because I knew it would soon wear off and you would be hurting. Sure enough, shortly after we got in the truck you started to fuss. You bit your tongue while it was numb and rubbed the skin off of it, so you really weren't able to eat much of anything yesterday. Except we took you to chinese and let you have all the ice cream you could eat. You also had a bowl of Wanton soup with your ever-requested chopsticks. When we got there you asked me where the Chinese music was. You are SO FUNNY!
     After Chinese we stopped at Kroger and got some things for your birthday party. Hot Dogs, Chips, Corn on the cob, Chili. etc. It's going to shape up to be a big fun day fior you, I hope. I just hope Mamaw can get everything worked out with her brothers and sisters so she can be there for most of the day. Well, little girl, I better utilize my time now that my coffee is gone. Remember, MOIMMY LOVES REBECCA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! (Insert balloons here)

Dear Becca & Grant,
            Becca, today you and I went swimming. We spent almost three and a half hours in Mamaw's pool despite the fact that there was really no sun out and the wind kept blowing. I wasn't really feeling like going anywhere and had been hoping that Daddy would take you to get your energy out instead. I popped another vein in my stomach early this morning and it was really hurting. Daddy was not done sleeping, however, and it was nearly noon and you were ready to go. We were going to go to Falling Springs and let you swim for a while there but you decided Mamaw's would be better, and you were right. I just thought maybe you'd like to play with the kids at Falling Springs because I knew Jacob & Jon would be gone to baseball today but it all worked out in the end.
We had a big time in the pool. Mamaw sat and watched us play for the longest time. Papaw came and watched us play, too. You rode around on me in the pool and we played all kinds of fun games. We raced and you won two out of three times. You're really a good swimmer. You are getting better and better every time we go.
    I was posting this blog and you came in here and decided that you were going to get up in my lap and look at 'talking pictures'. We looked at a ton of movies of you when you were a tiny little baby and on up. You were such a sweet, happy, cute little baby. Now you are such a mean, bratty, cute little toddler. No, really, you are not that bad. You are a sweet girl.
    I reckon Granny is still hanging on. Your Granny is one strong lady.She is one of the best people I have ever known. I am really glad that she got to be my Grandma for a while. You are lucky that you got to know her, little girl. She loves you dearly.
    Daddy just gave you the crappy toy from your old Lunchable. It is rinky dinky. You like it, though, so that's all that matters. You have a dentist appointment tomorrow, I hope that you do well enough to get all your teeth fixed with just the Gas. I really hate that you have to get any cavities filled at all. But we're taking care of that, now. We brush and floss your teeth every morning and every evening. And you no longer have chocolate milk at bedtime, only water. You've done just fine without it, too.
    Well, I am going to go and watch King Of The Hill with you and Daddy. Grant, it won't be long until you're here, and I can't wait to see your precious face. Remember, Mommy loves Rebecca and Grant!