Dear Rebecca,
               Sorry I haven't had time to post this past weekend. Even this post is going to be very short because we are all very busy today. You are eating some apple sauce now, so I have a few moments to post.
      We did all we had to this weekend and had a great time. I'll post more about all we have done, maybe tomorrow. Until then just know that I love you more everyday.

Dear Rebecca,
               Well, Howdy there little girl. Mamaw says that my blog posts are boring. What do you think of that, little girl? I think my blog posts are just chocked full of the hard hitting and relevant news items that one who wishes to be informed about craves. I know you care greatly about our trips to Wal-mart, our evening television programming choices and your father's latest new computer discovery.
      It's Friday here at the old Lanham home; the start of a very busy weekend. I went to work this morning but only stayed until nine. I then clocked out and drove home. I then took your mother to get her eyes checked. While we were at the eye doctor the lady's doctor called and cancelled because he had three babies to deliver. I was kinda peeved over that because I could have stayed at work a little longer. You will not often hear me complaining about not being able to work more but I want to save my time off. We had a pretty fun time though; we went to Lexington and your mother picked herself out some new frames to go with her new eyeglass prescription. We went to Red Lobster for lunch and I had coconut shrimp and your Mom had steak and fried shrimp. We made a quick stop at Wal-mart and spent a whole lot more cash than I had wanted to. You got some new clothes though. You've just about grown out of all the clothes that were given to us as gifts before you were born.
      We then went to your doctor's appointment. You saw a lady doctor named Dr. Bush. You liked her so I think we will make her your regular doctor. You were a perfect six month old little girl. Your Mother will give you more specifics concerning your visit, I'm sure. You had four shots which you did not care much for at all. I always wonder if it's harder on you to get those shots or your Mother. She hates to see you cry like that. You have a very good mother. You are a very lucky girl.
      Well, we have to make a trip to Hazard tomorrow and Harrodsburg on Sunday so I had better get off of the computer so I can relax a little with you and your Mom.

Dear Rebecca,
            Right now you are sleeping in your bouncy here in the living room. You had a bit of trouble going to sleep this time around. You wanted to stay up and play. After you wake up we are going to play with your new piano Santa brought you. You sure do love it.
   We've had a good day today. We've played with your crawling pooh, your plastic blocks, your plastic rings, and some other things I can't spit off the top of my head. We watched a couple videos & played ABC tickle in the floor. ABC tickle is a game I made up for us. I say "A B C D E F" then stop and blow on your belly. I proceed until O then blow on your belly again. Then on to U, where I stop and blow on your belly again. Then up to Y, where I blow on your belly once more. Then I say, in a sing-song voice, "Now I said my ABC's, except for G,P,V, and Z! Next time won't you laugh for me?!?!" You like it and I think it is lots of fun as well.
   We have a big weekend this weekend so I don't know when I am going to get to post again. Tomorrow at 10 am I have an eye doctor appointment and then at 11:30 I have an appointment with Dr. Youkilis. He was our doctor when I was pregnant with you. This is my yearly checkup. One day you will know all about those. Then at 2:30 you have an appointment to get your shots. I know you will not like that one bit. Neither will Mommy, as a matter of fact. But you need them. After all of that tomorrow, tomorrow night we are going to bed really early and getting up Saturday morning at the crack of dawn to go to Hazard and see your Aunt Carolyn, your cousins & your Aunt Mary & Papaw Lawrence. We have some presents to drop off to your cousins and Aunt Carolyn. We aren't spending the night so we will be back late Saturday evening. I don't know if we will go to church or not, it depends on how late it is, and we may or may not go see your Mamaw Blanche Sunday. That's Papaw's mother. Monday, hopefully, we will not do anything except sit on our tails & play with you & watch tv. That's what I am hoping. Soon Daddy and I are going to start going to the gym, it's been paid for since October and we haven't been once. I am letting my back heal a bit & then we're off. Well, I think you are waking up so I will let you go. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Hi my sweet little baby. You are so sleeping so quietly right now. Not even a peep. You must be worn out. You spent the day with Mamaw today. Mommy has done something to her back. I don't know what. I may have pulled a muscle or something. It certainly doesn't feel like a pulled muscle, though. It feels like something has happened to one of the fractures I got in the accident. I don't know. Time will tell. Maybe oseteoarthritis has set in deeper than I think. Anyway, Mommy was in a lot of pain and really was not able to function very well. I didn't think it would be fair to you to try and keep you all day when I really couldn't play with you and spend time with you the way I should. I called to see what Aunt Lynn was doing this afternoon but she was working at Butch's today. That's Uncle Rodney's father. So Mamaw said she would keep you. She came and got you and brought me two hydrocodone pills. After you left with Mamaw I took one and it instantly made me drowsy. I laid down on the couch and slept a long time. Every time I fluttered my eyes open though, I saw your picture and missed you. I know you were being well taken care of. In fact I only woke up to call Mamaw once.
   I sent some Jello with Mamaw so that she could give you some. It was your very first time having Jello. Mamaw doesn't get to see many firsts so I figured I would let her see that one. She said you loved the Jello. It was the Red Raspberry kind. She said she couldn't get it in your mouth fast enough to suit you. Jello is a fun food anyway. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Mamaw says that you were an excellent baby as always and she had a lot of fun with you.
   After Daddy got off of work he went to the bank to deposit his unemployment check and get some money from the bank. He went and got us a bucket of chicken because Mommy was not feeling well enough to cook. We really enjoyed the chicken but Mamaw also sent chili home with him. I wish I would have known she was making chili then we would not have gotten chicken. But we can eat the chili tomorrow I reckon. Mamaw makes good chili. She made Daddy what is called "White" chili. It has chicken and lots of beans in it. After he did that he stopped and got some gas at Speedway. He said the truck did not want to start when he got back in at Mamaws. He says he suspects he got some bad gas. He will get gas at Shell from now on unless we have to get it somewhere else in a pinch. After he got gas Daddy went to pick you up at Mamaws. He said you were very excited to see him but mostly you were playing with Papaw. You like your Papaw a whole lot and he likes you. I suspect you like his furry mustache.
   After Daddy got you home I rushed into the kitchen to see you but you were asleep. I was sad. I had missed you so very much today. We got finished with dinner and by the time I was trying to clean up a bit from it you woke up. I scooped you up out of your bouncy and took your fleece wrap off & squeezed you SO tightly. I played with you a bit then you started to fuss for a bottle. Mamaw had written me a paper to tell me when you were supposed to eat again but it fell out of your bag at her house. By now though I can tell when you are starting to get hungry. She called as I was getting ready to fix your bottle to tell me you had eaten at 3:50 and only took four ounces. It was almost 6:30 so you were definitely ready. You usually eat six ounces every three hours so when you eat a little less you get hungry a little earlier. I gave you a bottle while Daddy and I watched "Crossing Jordan". That's a television show we enjoy a lot. While you took a break from eating Daddy changed your diaper and heated the rest of your bottle a little bit. Then you proceeded to finish your warm bottle and dirty a brand new, clean diaper. I changed you again after your bottle and then took you into the kitchen and fed you some Bananas with Mixed Berries. That was supposed to be your lunch but Mamaw fed you so much Jello I don't think you were going to eat it then anyway. So it became dinner. Then you played a while on your Rock & Play piano Santa brought you for Christmas and you love it. It's a little old for you yet and you were in your sleeper bag so you fell over and konked your head on your walker when you were playing with it. I nearly flipped out but it didn't seem to phase you. You were getting tired so I took you upstairs and gave you your juice and rocked you and you fell asleep really quick. Now that's where you are and I am writing this blog. I am glad you had a good day with Mamaw but I sure did miss you. I love you, little girl! I am going to let you go for now. Sleep sweet, little Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
            Every night someone stops in front of our apartment building to pick someone up from a house across the road and they lay on the horn for so long that it's simply ridiculous. It drives your Mother insane in the brain. It kinda annoys me as well. Usually it's while you are trying to get to sleep so you don't like it much either. It was early tonight; that's why I'm mentioning it now.
      You're having turkey, vegetables and barley baby food this evening in addition to the five ounces of formula you had just a little while ago. Your parents had barbequed pork loin sandwiches and Kraft macaroni & cheese. It was all pretty good. The barbeque sauce was some that Aunt Linda gave us for Christmas. She makes some powerful good barbeque sauce. It's a little bit on the spicy side but I like a little spice and your Mother tolerates it. I washed mine down with a Pepsi and your Mother had a Diet Pepsi. The sodas made us belch. You thought the belching was very amusing so we kept right on belching. Your Mother can belch like no one I have ever seen before. She belched the alphabet, for crying out loud.
      Work today was work. I took the Explorer by Jeff's Car Wash after work and washed it up real good. After which, I came home. I was so glad to be home. Your Mom said you had been fussy today because you're sick but you got real happy when I came home. That made me happy. We played on the couch; I lifted you up in the air and turned you upside down. That was big fun for you. Daddy has a pulled muscle in his arm so it wasn't so fun for him. You would start to fuss until I did it again; so I did it again. It made you laugh and I would much rather you laugh than fuss. You, My Dear, are one spoiled little rat. You're probably wondering why your Daddy doesn't give into your every little whim these days. Well, you're older now and it's time you learned that people always don't get everything they ask for; but for now though, the hard lessons of life can wait. Now is the time for your Mom & Dad to spoil you.
      I'm gonna let you go for now. I'm tired and you just finished eating and your Mother is singing you an old Guns & Roses song by the title of "Sweet Child of Mine ". Your Mom & I are going to watch some television with you before you have to go to bed. I went to bed last night about the same time you did last night. I was very tired. Well, you are demanding some attention so I reckon I'll let you go for now. Love ya.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's Sunday afternoon here at the Lanham home. We went to King's Way Assembly of God this morning. I thought we would be meeting up with your cousin Allison, Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney but apparently there was some miscommunication somewhere because we ended up sitting downstairs and Lynn & Rodney sat in the balcony and Allison was in children's church. I wasn't real happy about the situation at all. It wasn't anybody's fault. I just didn't like the three of us sitting there all alone in a crowd of people I didn't know. That's just the way I am. I don't think your Mother was very pleased with the situation either. Well, it's over now and we're safe at home and all is right with the world. You were a big hit though, as you always are. Everybody thought you were so cute and I would have to agree with them; plus you were your typical good self.
      Your Mom just gave you some children's dimetapp for a little cold you have. The pediatrician said it was alright to give dimetapp to you because you are six months now. Your Mom doesn't like giving it to you to often because it's supposed to make you very sleepy and she just doesn't think that's the right thing to do. When you need it she'll give it to you but not a drop more than you need. You sound congested right now so that's why you get some medicine.
      You're lying on the floor just enjoying yourself. Kristie is eating some frozen pizza and watching an episode of American Justice with Bill Curtis. She enjoys that show; mainly because she can watch a little bit of it when you give her a second to herself and come back later to finish it up using the tivo and not feel like the narrative has been interrupted. I am setting here at the computer desk writing you this post. Your Mamaw just called between this sentence and the last wanting to know if we wanted to take a trip to Harrodsburg to see Mamaw Blanche, Papaw's mother. You two have never even met yet. We decided to go next Sunday. We're planning on going to Hazard next Saturday. After I get finished with this post we're going to set down and watch Lost, CSI and some other television shows that we recorded onto the tivo this week. I'm gonna have some pizza and a Pepsi and veg for the day. I woke up much to early this morning. I investigated new photo printers and digital camcorders. I think we need both of those because of you. We have an older printer but only the crispest sharpest printer will do for all of your pretty pictures and I really want a camcorder to record all of the cuteness that is Rebecca. I can take short videos using our digital still camera but only in three movies. With this new computer we got a DVD-RW which means we are able to burn our videos to DVD and personally, I think that would just about as cool as it can get. I can't wait to show you how pretty and sweet you are now when you are an obnoxious teeny bopper. Well, I am so very tired and I just want to relax and let the cool blue glow of our television transport me to a sweet cathode-ray induced oblivion. Love ya, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello my little baby bird. Right now you are upstairs snoozing soundly. I just went to check on you a moment ago. You look so sweet.
   You had trouble getting to sleep tonight. I think it's because you zonked out in your bouncer around six o'clock tonight and I woke you up to give you a bath & a bottle shortly thereafter. You always have trouble getting back to sleep when you are woken up or when you have a late nap. Tonight you had a double dose of trouble, because both of those things happened.
   Well, we have all had a pretty good day today. Daddy slept in while Mommy got up with you & you had breakfast. After breakfast you took a nap & after that we got you dressed in your 'First Kentucky T-shirt' & some little pink running pants. They have a matching jacket to go with them but I would only put that on if you were going out somewhere. Anyway, after Daddy got up he noticed you were running low on Nursery Water. He said we might have to use tap water toward the end of the day. I don't like using tap water in your bottles. I know it supposed to be safe and all but I just have a way I do things. I guess you could say I am set in my ways. Daddy said he needed dip too but he did not want to go to town (we were all going to go) so I said I would go & he could keep you. So I said I would go and I did. I went and got you three bottles of Nursery Water at K-Mart. I am going to wait until I can get to Wal-Mart before I get you any more because it's much cheaper there, by about thirty cents a gallon. Then off to McDonald's where I got dinner for Daddy & myself. I decided to go to Rite Aid to get his dip because it was right there but apparently that was a big mistake because the date was really really crappy. November 29 to be exact. You're supposed to use that stuff within two weeks. That stuff I bought is over a month and a half old. Mommy is really upset over it because she should have looked. Daddy might have to go buy more now & that puts us out nearly ten dollars. Most stores won't let you return tobacco products. Personally I think Daddy needs to quit anyway but you know how your father is. He never listens to me.
   After I got home Daddy said you had fussed a lot so he gave you a snack of 2 ounces & you ate it right down. We sat down to watch Law & Order and eat and you began to fuss again. I gave you another 2 ounces and you fell asleep. I took you in the kitchen to nap while we finished our show.
   After you woke up you played in your walker some and some on your mat. Daddy and I tried to watch another show but it took forever to get through. Mamaw & Papaw dropped by and Mamaw bought you a very cute turtle neck with hearts on it and a very cute Winnie The Pooh fleece wrap to wear outside because it's cold. I'm going to put it on you tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to church because Cousin Allison asked us to come. You had big fun with Mamaw and especially Papaw the way you always do. Then you got sleepy & shortly after they left you fell asleep in your bouncer. Daddy was falling asleep too so I went upstairs & got your room ready and drew your bath. I woke you up to give you your bath and that is probably what gave you such a hard time getting back to sleep. That and the fact you seemed to be quite hungry today. You had just had juice right before your nap & you had four ounces the first time I put you down and two the next. I had to rock you more than twice tonight because you were having such trouble. You're sleeping good now though so that's a big plus. The last time Mommy was rocking you and you finally went to sleep, Daddy was upstairs going to bed. Mommy was dizzy & hot and did not know why so she told Daddy she wasn't feeling well and she was sweating and her neck was hot. Daddy felt my neck and sure enough, it was hot. Mommy had taken some Tylenol Arthritis Pain earlier because as you know Mommy has bad bones from the wreck. It was helping the pain a little but not enough to take it on a regular basis, so I was only taking it when I really needed it. I had only taken it three times. Tonight being the third. I told Daddy I thought the medicine was making me feel badly. He said to see if it made me feel badly the next time and if it did to stop taking it. I came downstairs and looked on the label on the inside and discovered there is a preservative in it that I am highly allergic too. Luckily it was WAY WAY down on the list and there probably wasn't that much in the dose I took. So it made me uncomfortable but didn't send me into anaphylaxis - thankfully. I went upstairs and showed Daddy and he said I shouldn't take it anymore and the times before I took it, it didn't kill me. DUH! Just to be safe I came downstairs and drank a glass of milk hoping the chemicals would be absorbed faster. I think I am going to be alright but this is surely unpleasant.
   Well, I am going to let you go for now. Daddy is getting up with you in the morning so I could stay up and have some Mommy time tonight. I think I may go play THE SIMS 2. I already have your diaper bag packed for church and your bottle ready for in the morning. I love you, little girl!

Dear Rebecca,
               On this date last year you were only twelve weeks from conception. Babycenter.com said that you were flipping & fluttering. Well, you are doing a whole lot more than flipping and fluttering these days; you're rocking & rolling. Mostly though you're hollering your pretty little head off. You holler when you're happy and you holler when you're mad.
      It's Friday evening now. I consider evening to begin at six p.m. and that was just a few minutes ago so it's no longer afternoon. After work today I drove over to the Wal-mart on the north side of Lexington to take back the television stand we had purchased for you. As you recall it looked absolutely terrible. Your Papaw followed me over there so I wouldn't have to try to handle that heavy thing all on my own. That was very nice of him, don't you think? After Wal-mart I drove back to Versailles in the pouring rain. I dropped off the DVD of Dodgeball and picked up a few films for us to look at this weekend. I rented the remake of Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan, Two Brothers which is about two tiger cubs and a horror film for your mother called Ginger Snaps. Your Mother loves her horror films. After I rented the films I walked over to the Little Caesars next door to the video store and got a five dollar pepperoni for supper. Your Mom didn't feel like cooking this evening because she thinks she's coming down with the same little bug that you have. Then I went home and now here I set.
      You're having a bottle right now. A little earlier you had some green beans & potatoes baby food with tutti frutti baby food for desert. I reckon I'm gonna let you go for now. I'm gonna sign off in the same way that your Momma used to when we first began this blog. Love, Peace, & Chicken Grease!

Dear Rebecca,
                  You're having a tough time getting to sleep tonight. I here your Mommy upstairs now so maybe you're asleep. You might be getting a little cold. You ran a small temperature today. Your Mom says your appetite wasn't affected at all though. Your Mom & I went to the grocery store today; you stayed here with Mamaw & Papaw. You just love your papaw to death and the feeling is mutual, I know.
      It's Thursday night, kind late and we are just now getting settled in. I'm back to work now. I miss you something fierce while I am at work. I'm sure you miss me as well. I think we really bonded while I was off for the holidays. We had a great time together. You are getting so big and you are getting where you are curious about everything. Your Mommy plays with you for big chunks of the day. She is really a great mother, as I'm sure you know.
      Well, I just wanted to check in with you. I reckon I'll let you go for now. I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                           Hello my beautiful baby girl. Right now you are so tired. You are sitting in your bouncy watching a Sesame Street video called "Let's make music." It's the one where Telly loses his tuba & is supposed to play with a famous band called STOMP. They are a band who makes music without the use of musical instruments. Of course you know all this by now & wish I would just get on with it. You really like that video.
   We've had a pretty good day today. You woke up this morning at 2:30 am. Of course it was my fault for waking you up because I got nervous because you had rolled over on your belly and you were flat face down in your mattress. I tried to roll you over & you woke up. I know I should have just left well enough alone but things like that make me nervous. Though the risk of SIDS is way down it is still present until age 2. I would hate to lose the most important person in my life. You have made me a better person and you will never know how much I love you for it. Anyway. After you woke up I gave you a bottle & you still did not want to seem to go back to sleep. So, I brought you downstairs and put you in your bouncy and tried to "bounce" you to sleep. You finally gave in and I went to sleep on the love seat next to you. That was around ten after three. At five thirty Daddy got up fixing his coffee & along with slamming cabinets to get the things he needed to do it. Finally he came in and turned on the light & that woke Mommy all the way up. He talked to Mommy for a bit and it caused you to wake up. He was going to go to McDonald's because he couldn't watch the news but I told him that now he could & he might as well stay here & visit with you. He did and I am sure he enjoyed it. He always loves seeing you in the mornings. I love seeing you too but I wish I would have seen ya just a hair later this morning. Ha Ha, just kidding. You can wake Mommy up any time you want.
   After you woke up for the second time & Daddy left, around six thirty I gave you a bottle & you ate it all down. You had not been eating very good lately and it was starting to worry me. You've been eating fine today so I guess it was just a little pause in your schedule. I took you upstairs & got you dressed. You are wearing a "Dance" outfit we bought at the Family Dollar the other day. Daddy says it is ugly but I think it is cute. Even though I think it looks like pajamas. You watched a Baby Einstein video called "Baby Neptune" that is all about water the ocean laying on the floor in your room while I changed your sheets & made our beds. Then I brought you downstairs & you watched a little bit of "Baby Shakespeare" - all about language & poetry- before you fell asleep and took another nap around 7:45. I tried to sleep but didn't sleep very good and Daddy called us and woke us up. It seems he left his paper in his truck at work and now has nothing to do but call us and talk to us. That's OK because we like to hear from Daddy. Just not when we are napping, though. You woke up and had some cereal and a bottle. You're really eating good today. Now Mommy is not nearly as worried. You played in your walker for a while whilst I dusted, tidied up the living room, did a load of your laundry and emptied the diswahser. Then you started to fuss just as I finished up & I got you out of your walker and brought your toy blocks downstairs. We played together with them for a long time. I tried to show you where the shapes fit in but I think I was pushing you a bit too hard there so I took the lid off and we proceeded to throw the blocks into the wide mouth of the bucket. It was big fun to you. However, your favorite thing to do was to dump the bucket out. Then I tried once more to show you about the shapes. I was naming the shape and color as I was placing it in and you were watching intently. So intently in fact that you spit up in the triangle part of the bucket and it pooled mostly into a green square and some slid into the bottom of the bucket. Well shoot. I dumped the blocks out & cleaned them up as best I could at that time with a baby wipe because we were still playing and I did not want to stop. You were having fun. I washed the blocks with soap & water after we were done & put them in the sink to dry.
   Your next favorite thing to do other than dumping the blocks out was to shake the bucket and hear the noise. Then you got tired & started to fuss so I put you in your bouncy & turned on the movie you are watching now. And there you are. Laughing at Baby Bear blowing into a bottle to make music. I think I saw you making a # 2 in your pants a moment ago so I am going to go and check on that and then bouncy you to sleep for your nap. Then Mommy is going to rummage up something to eat for herself. I am hungry. I love you, little girl!

Dear Rebecca,
Today is your half birthday. Happy six months old birthday, little girl! You are doing everything a little six month old is supposed to do, like rolling over & as Daddy mentioned, blowing raspberries. It's so cute when you do that. I am sorry that I have not posted as much as Daddy but when Daddy is doing things like playing on the computer Mommy is doing things like taking care of you & Daddy. Just know that I will post when I can & when I can't I'm busy staring at your wonderful, beautiful baby face & playing with you. I'll post a longer blog later. We love you so very much. And I am so VERY proud of you. Stay sweet, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
               Happy New Year, Little Birdy! Your Mother & I had a really great time at the concert. I was kind of worried about things not working out right for us and us having a terrible time. That's who I am; I worry much to much. That's probably why I really don't like to go out very much. I would really rather stay home where it's relatively safe. Well, except for a couple of close calls, we had a fabulous time. I hadn't been to a concert since I saw Hank Williams, Jr. in the mid-eighties while I was in high school. I also saw Alabama in concert and another one that I really can't think of right now. I didn't go to many concerts as a teenager either. I don't know why; I just didn't. I suppose I could have. I had a few really good friends in school and we were all kind of different in the fact that we preferred country music to pop or rock music. We all liked the popular music of the era but we seemed to prefer country music. I remembered one time when I traded a friend of mine my Hank Williams Jr.'s Greatest Hits, Vol. One cassette for his copy of Micheal Jackson's Thriller cassette. We only traded for a week because neither one of us wanted to totally give up our original cassette.
      I think your Mother has probably been to more concerts than I have but I could be wrong. However, she had never once set foot inside Rupp Arena. I had been there a few times other than the concerts. I have attended a tractor pull, I'd been to the circus a few times and I went to see my High School basketball team play in the Sweet Sixteen there when I was a senior. But this was the first time for your Mother. That's probably why she got us upper arena seats. They set very far up and, as you know, I am not really fond of great heights or small heights for that matter. Next time we do something there we'll spring for the lower arena seats. Of course the next time we go it will probably be to see Sesame Street in concert. You certainly do love your Sesame Street.
      I know your Mother has told you already about most of the stuff that went on New Years Eve so I will just skim over the details and let you know about the night from my frame of mind. We left real early so we could get a decent parking space and we did. We parked in the lot directly in front of the arena. We had to pay seven dollars for parking but that was okay. We hung around for awhile and went to eat at DeSha's like your Mother said. It was a decent meal. I wouldn't say it was worth what we had to pay for it but it would have been great at a third of the price. We then got in line to present our tickets that your Mother bought online. We got to the door and realized we only had one ticket. We were just beginning to freak out when a lady walked up to us and asked if we had dropped the ticket she was holding in her hand; we had. That goodness the lady noticed and was a nice person. One tragedy averted.
      The concert was really good. Your Mother had a few beers and for your Mother a few beers is a few beers to many. She and a twenty year old gal that sat in front of us were dancing in the aisle. You would have giggled yourself silly if you could have seen her. You wouldn't even know her as your Mother. I enjoyed watching your Mom have a good time. The concert was nearly over so we left. We got out to the Explorer and I realized that I had left my keys in the cavernous 24,000 seat arena. We raced back to where we had been seated but no keys were found. Your Mother got a security guard who showed us where lost & found was located and she had our keys in her hands as we walked up. Second tragedy averted. We were very lucky.
      We stopped on the way home for some nasty White Castle burgers and then we returned. You had been here at your own home with Mamaw & Papaw. Your Mom went to bed because she was very tired. It was almost 2:30 in the morning so I decided to stay up so I could take care of you when you woke up a few hours later. When your Mother finally got up I was ready to fall out. You & I still had a fun morning together though.
      New Years Day we just stayed at the house and kind of chilled. I attempted to put together your television stand but it looked like crap so we're gonna take it back. We have your Disney Princess T.V. and DVD player setting on top of your Disney Princess toy chest. So now I suppose that you could now say that your room decor is Moon & Stars with Disney Princess highlights. Your room is gorgeous. Your Mother & I did a fabulous job of decorating it, if I do say so myself.
      We went down to Mamaw & Papaw's the next day. I had to set up the computer I gave them. There's had been fried in a thunder storm. I got the computer running pretty good. There's still a few things I have to contend with but all in all it's 95% done. Then we came home and watched some movies. That's mainly what we've been doing the last few days watching movies that have just came out on DVD. We've watched the remake of the Manchurian Candidate, White Chicks, Man On Fire, Collateral and a few more that I can't think of just right now. Tomorrow we're gonna watch Anchorman with Will Farrell. He's the same guy that starred as Buddy in Elf.
      Well, it's getting so late that it has become early and tomorrow is my last day off and I really don't want to sleep it away. That would make it hard to go to bed tomorrow night. I have had lots of fun setting up late playing and working on my computer but I suppose it's now back to the real world of a few minutes in the afternoon if I'm lucky and a few hours on the weekend. That's cool because I have you to keep me busy and you are so much more entertaining and fun than any old computer or television show. As a matter of a fact just this evening we watching you blow raspberries for an hour this afternoon. That's your new thing. You love to blow raspberries. You've just recently discovered that you can do that. You just absolutely love it when your Mother or I blow one at you. That's my stand-by trick to get you to smile. I blow raspberries at you. It seems to work 90% of the time, but of course you are a happy baby anyway. And why wouldn't you be with two great parents like your Mother & I. Well, your Mother anyway.
      Now I am going for real. By the time I proof read this and edit my mistakes or the mistakes that I am able to find it will be even later. Plus I have to post it so I will let you go. I don't know when I will be able to post again so in the meantime just know that I love you with every bit of my body and even more. Good night, or more properly, good morning, My sweet daughter. Your Daddy loves you very much.

Dear Rebecca,
                  Happy New Year, little girl. I am so glad that you are here with us to bring in the hope & promise of a brand new year. Here's the very first post of your first New Year on Earth. I know that we will know many more Happy New Years together.
   Daddy & I did go to the concert last night. We left very early & walked around the civic center shops & watched the pre-party for the concert a little & looked into some stores... very overpriced stores. We did, however, go into the Kentucky Korner store (Wildcats fans like us just love it) and buy you a "My First Kentucky Wildcats T-Shirt*. Its very cute & I know you will look very cute in it. For some reason we just cannot resist buying you something wherever we go. You already know this by now but you are one spoiled little girl.
   We did find a decent parking spot & Daddy was happy about that. So was I. After we walked around the shops at the civic center & had a cup of coffee at the Coffee Beanery there which was not very good at all ( We shoulda went to Starbucks across the street but they charge around 14 dollars for two cups of coffee! It sure is good though) we went to Desha's, a very nice restauraunt downtown & sat at the bar to wait for our table. We had an appletini (a drink) a piece & they cost us $16.00. I was horrified. Then I learned that they had already added a gratuity to our check & was even more horrified that I left that bartender two dollars. That will not happen again. That is really an unfair practice unless there is a large party involved because people should be able to choose how much they would like to tip based on service. We had an extremely overpriced dinner of Prime Rib for Daddy & Spicy Cheesy Chicken Fetticini Alfredo for Mommy. Now I wish we would got beer & hot dogs at the concert. It would have still cost an arm and a leg but It wouldn't have been no fifty dollars. Anywho. After dinner we walked on over to the concert & found our seats. Our seats were kinda crappy & scary too because they were way high up & right next to what appeared to be a very flimsy cable railing there in front of us. One man who had too much liquid courage almost fell over the cable. That would have been bad because that poor man & others would have gotten hurt. Plus they would not have finished the concert I am thinking. Next time I think I will spring for better seats & sit in the arena closer to the front. It would be worth the extra $40.00 not to have to take your life into your hands, as Daddy put it ever so eloquently.
   We enjoyed the concert immensely. It was a group called Blue Country to open. Then came out Trace Adkins, Mommy's absolute favorite. You will never know his music probably, unless I listen to it a lot. Then you will think it is stupid probably. I don't know. He sang his good-looking ever lovin' heart out & Mommy thought she would need smelling salts to wake her up from a fainting spell. Ha. Ha. Just kidding. Daddy laughed at Mommy for acting so silly over a singer. He was right to laugh because Trace Adkins does make me act silly. Then came out Montgomery Gentry. They sang up a storm. They are always good I have liked them ever since. Even in the early years. They brought out a surprise guest - Eddie Montgomery's brother John Micheal Montgomery -another famous country music singer & he sang a couple of his ballads & I enjoyed it but decided to get a beer & get Daddy some popcorn & a soda while he was singing his last one. Then Montgomery Gentry sangs some more & then we waited & waited during intermission for Lynard Skynard to come out and sing. They finally did and everyone was extremely excited. They sang and sang but everyone was just waiting for one thing. FREE BIRD! The whole crowd chanted Free Bird & when they finally played it they all went wild. Your old fuddy duddy of a Daddy even lit a lighter and swung it in the air to honor the band & the song. Yep. Your Daddy. He bought a lighter especially for it.
   We left right before Free Bird ended but Daddy discovered that he had lost his keys so we went back to get them & we went to the lost & found & the lady running it had them right in her hand. That was so lucky. We left without much of a problem with the traffic & Daddy & I decided to go to White Castle because the fifty dollar dinner we had wasn't worth fifteen cents. I had 2 chicken ring sandwiches & cheese fries & Daddy had a double hamburger & onion rings. I know you are mesmerized by all this. Then we came home & talked to Mamaw & Papaw a minute before they left & Mommy went to bed & Daddy stayed up to stay up with you this morning. Mommy went to sleep right off & slept & slept until almost nine fifteen this morning. Poor Daddy looked like someone beat the bag out of him when I finally came down to take over. You have a wonderful Daddy. Well, thats it for now little girl. I hear you trying to wake up. You are upstairs napping in your swing. Gotta go check on you. I love ya, little girl.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's really early in the morning on New Years Eve. I am staying up late tonight because I have to stay up late tomorrow night. We are going to that Montgomery Gentry / Lynard Skynard concert tomorrow night for New Years Eve. Your Mom is really looking forward to it. Your Mother & I have never really been out together on New Years Eve. We've had parties at our place, your Mother has gone out with her friends and we have just stayed home and ushered in the New Year by ourselves in the past. We have reservations at DeSha's restaurant at 5 o' clock and the concert starts at 7 o'clock. We're going to try to get there around 3:30 so we can try to get a decent parking spot. That's the big concern for me. I would absolutely hate to have to walk three miles to where we need to be. Well, we'll see how it goes. Plus when we head for the house there's going to be any number of drunks on the road and that can be dangerous. I also have a concern about the volume level in the concert. I have a constant headache the past few months. I suppose it's because I have a wisdom tooth coming in and it's destroyed one of my back molars. I'm sure we'll have a great time though. Like I say your Mother & I have never been out on New Years Eve.
      You are going to get to spend New Years Eve with Mamaw. She's coming here to babysit you while we are gone. She was going to keep you all night long at her house but they just painted the basement and the fumes wouldn't be good for you so you're just going to stay at your own place. You prefer that anyway.
      The unemployment got all messed up. I'm not even going to be able to file for this week until the tenth of January and I'm sure there will be a problem with filing so late after you have actually been off. It's been a royal pain in the back side. Also, the checks were late in coming so they had to reissue them through the office at work. I didn't get my check until Thursday. This whole holiday has been a royal pain. It was still the second best time of the year this year though; the first being your birth. That's the best ever. When your Mother & I became a couple is also high on the list but that happened one Holiday season so that one was especially nice.
      We bought your Mother a copy of the Sims 2 computer game. She loved the original Sims game. She played it for hours and hours and hours, just on the first day we had it. She would swill down her sugary sodas and smoke her menthol cigarettes. Yep, your Mother used to smoke cigarettes. I'm so proud of her for quitting. She quit when she had the accident. She was in a coma for all of her withdrawal time so she figured that was the time to give them up for good. I know she would have quit smoking when we found out about you anyway. That's when she gave up her soda habit. Now she just drinks diet pop. She says that the regular pop is much to sweet for her after so long drinking diet. You've only known your Mother since you were born but if you would have known her before you came you would not believe it was the same person. Since you came she has turned into Suzie Homemaker. I am so incredibly proud of your Mother.
      This will be the very last post of 2004. It's been a weird year. As Charles Dickens says in A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times". We had you and that of course was the best of times but we've also had very stressful things happen to us throughout the year as well. I won't say it's been the most stressful year we've ever had but it's certainly in the top three. Hopefully 2005 will not have any of the nasty surprises that the past three years have carried with them. I'm confident that 2005 is going to be a fabulous year for all of us. Well, for the last time in 2004 I will sign off here and tell you that I love you.

Dear Rebecca,
               Greetings and salutations to you, my dearest daughter. We went to file for unemployment yesterday. I wish I had known that they were going to be off on a holiday. Christmas fell on a Saturday so they took Monday off. That means that we all have to go back a later this morning. Your Mother had a pretty good time today. We went to Wal-mart and got a few odds & ends and we ate at Mi Mexico just like I said we had planned on. Your Mother decided to feed you at the restaurant so I decided to get a fried ice cream for desert. I fed you a few bites and you just loved it to no end. I'm afraid it may have upset your tummy a little though so no more ice cream for you for a little while.
      I finally got the very first picture ever taken of you scanned today. I will never forget it. You had just been born moments before. The nurses cleaned you up and handed you to me and I showed you to your mother, she cried, and I exited through some doors. Waiting on the other side of the doors was all of my family. I think it was your Mamaw took your picture and when the flash went off you jumped and turned into my chest. I thought that was the sweetest thing I had ever experienced. Anyway, I got it scanned into the computer today and posted on the website where this blog is located. I also updated my music pages on my website. I hadn't done that since the 20th of December of 2003. It really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I suppose I will hook up the old computer Wednesday and get some stuff off of there that I will need. Maybe Friday or Saturday I will do a complete & total reinstall of WindowsXP and then take the old computer down to Papaw's. That's right I am using XP right now. I know that may seem like an ancient operating system to you as you read this in the future but it's the latest thing here at the end of 2004.
      Well, it's late and I am tired. I don't want to go to bed just yet though. I bought a larger binder for your blog so I think maybe I'll take the blog out of the old binder and put it in the newer one as I watch a little television and then go to bed. I love you, Rebecca. (Why won't this blog publish? It published finally.) Night, baby.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's really early on a Monday morning and I still haven't gone to bed yet. I will be going as soon as I finish this blog post and have myself a Pepsi. I don't have to go work tomorrow but I do have to go to the unemployment office because they gave us our vacation earlier in the year so we are officially laid off this week so I have to draw unemployment. I will get a supplemental paycheck from General Electric so it will not be to much of a burden. I would much rather be off for work and draw unemployment than have to work this week. After I go the the unemployment office we plan on going to Mi Mexico for lunch. We really like their lunch chimichangas; they're yummy and cheap.
      We were just kind of lazy today. We really didn't do to much around here and we didn't go anywhere with the exception of my little trip over to Granny's place to change out her water filter on her faucet. I stayed and visited with her for awhile and then came home. We ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut for supper. They were not offering any specials so I went to PizzaHut.com and downloaded a coupon for two mediums for $15.99. I got a Cheese Lovers on thin crust and your Mother got a Meat Lovers on thin crust. She really didn't want thin crust but they were out of the crust she wanted. I suppose a whole lot of people ordered pizza yesterday. Nobody really wanted to cook the day after Christmas. We watched a movie called Walking Tall this afternoon. Not the old one with Joe Don Baker, but the new one with The Rock. You probably will have no idea who the Rock is when you are able to read and fully understand this. He's a professional wrestler who had a few minor film hits.
      As you can tell, there's really not a whole lot to tell you this morning. I really don't even know why I am posting. This post may win a price for most boring. Well, I'm almost done with my Pepsi and I am kinda tired so I shall let you go for now. I love ya, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Happy Boxing Day, little girl. Daddy says that a long time ago in England & other various parts of Europe, the servants had to work on Christmas day. So the day after Christmas the servants got the day off & a nice big box of gifts. Sounds nice and all but I believe I would rather be off on Christmas day. I suppose that there are still some poor souls out there that have to work on Christmas but thankfully Daddy is not one of them. I must say despite some pretty bizarre circumstances that I have had a wonderful Christmas with you this year. You are so sweet & loving & simply put the best baby on the planet. I know that every parent says that but I have babysat a few babies in my time and let me tell you, you are BY FAR the most agreeable, sweetest, funnest baby to be around ever. There are some babies that just fuss and cry all the time. You're not one of those. Even if you were one of those, you'd still be the best baby. If only to Daddy & I.
   You must have been an awful good girl this year because Santa brought you so many things I don't know what to do with them now. Hopefully tomorrow Daddy will put your toybox together & I can start getting your room back into shape. The Holidays are over & Mommy still has lots to do. We have to take the tree down & put the decorations away until next year & we have to clean up from the little party we had here the other night. It's pretty straight in here but Mommy wants to clean her sink & counters really good & clean her living room up (dust) & clean all the floors. I've been working on laundry that backed up on us over the holidays all day & I can tell you that I do not care if it is Easter or Christmas or the fourth of July I will never let it get that backed up again. I don't care much for laundry.
   I am glad that everyone that came to our little gathering enjoyed themselves. As always you were the star of the show and everyone just made over how pretty you are. Cousin Lucas really loves holding you & talking to you & you are quite fond of him as well. Cousin Leah opened all of her presents from us & exclaimed how very much she loved them all ...right down to the pencils she will take to school. Next year I think I'll wrap up a package of toilet paper & watch her go *OH MY GAWSH! I LOVE TOILET PAPER! I USE IT LIKE, EVERY DAY!* She is awfully sweet & we are both very fond of her.
   Mommy got a lot of nice things this Christmas. Mamaw bought Mommy a really nice Jewelry Armoire & a nice cookie jar with biscotti in it & she helped you pick out some nice gloves for me to wear with my jacket. I can't remember what else she got me right at this moment because I am very tired. Cousin Allison got me a babysitter checklist (wow, if that was not a hint) & a very pretty cookie jar with grapes on it as well. Your Auntie Lynn got me some nice Bib overalls and I wore them last night to our Christmas gathering. They were quite comfy & I like them, a lot. They have an American flag embroidered on the chest & red, white & blue stars embroidered around the legs. Granny did not have the time or energy to Christmas shop for anybody but just her being there was gift enough for all of us because we love Granny very much. Cousin Lynn also got Daddy & I some birds eye cloth diapers for droolie rags for you because you are teething. And even though you are teething you are still a fantastic baby. Daddy bought Mommy lots of nice things like a freestanding mixer, a blender, some earrings, perfume, gourmet cocoa, a fancy broom & dustpan set, a very nice coffee pot, socks, & other various things that I cannot recall at this point because again, I am very tired. He also took Mommy to see Southern Lights when she wanted to go. I pitched myself a little fit because I really wanted to go, I have not missed a year at Southern Lights since I moved here. I did not want your first Christmas to be the first year I miss. If you miss one year, then you miss another. Then soon it becomes a habit. We have decided to go a lot earlier next year so that we can go into the building and see the pretty animals at the petting zoo. The buildings are closed December the 23rd through January 1st so people can spend the Holidays with their families. Next year you will be big enough to enjoy the lights & the zoo. This year you just slept. All in all I had a pretty good Christmas & got some pretty cool presents. The best present of all this Holiday Season though was you being here to spend it with us. I love you so much, little girl. Now Mommy is going to go so I can either go to bed or watch some more of this movie with Daddy.

Merry Christmas for the Last Time in 2004, Rebecca,
                     It's nearly 11:30 on Christmas Evening. The pretty packages have all been opened and the stockings have now been emptied of their hidden treasures. Everyone is worn out from the happy jolly day that we have all known. Kristie has gone to bed and you are sound asleep. I want to spend the next half hour soaking in every last moment of Christmas magic that I can. I will begin changing my computer from my jolly Christmas theme back to the regular old blue theme that we use for ten months out of the year after midnight. It's always so much work to change it back; and not nearly as fun as setting up the Christmas theme.
      We did have Christmas night down here this year. It went over pretty well. It was very crowded here but we all had a swell time. Leah was as entertaining as always opening her gifts. She absolutely loves every single last thing that we get for her. I suppose that's why she gets so much from us. I love to give to people who truly appreciate it. The food was just as tasty as always. Your Mother made the mashed potatoes and they were very good, but she just needs to learn that people like a little salt on their potatoes. Your Mother does not like potatoes unless they are fried in the french style and she's not a huge fan of salt.
      There was a little tiff towards the end of the evening. Your Mother really really wanted to go to Southern Lights after the gathering dispersed. Aunt Lynn & her crew were also undecided. I really didn't want to drive to Lexington to see the lights so I was kind of rooting for not going. Your Mother just absolutely had to go though and she had been so great over the Holidays that I was going to take her if she really wanted to go. We went and so did the Hoard crew. It was a nice capper for a nice Holiday season. There were glitches this Holiday season. There wasn't any one really huge crisis that faced us as in years past; just a whole lot of little annoyances that threatened my good Holiday cheer. The magic of Christmas won out though and we all had a splendid time. I wish that my schedule would have been more concrete at work, I wish we hadn't been robbed of all of those presents, I wish I had gotten paid when I was supposed to be paid and I wish that Granny had felt better over the Holidays; but all in all I can't complain. I think your first Christmas was a rousing success. I know that we will share many more great Christmases together and because of that my heart sings out in joy. I love you, My Little Snow Bird and I love Christmas. As Scrooge's nephew Fred said in the Christmas Carol Christmas is 'a good time, a kind, forgiving charitable time - the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut up hearts freely. And therefore Uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good, and I say 'God bless It!" And I for one could not agree more whole heartedly with that sentiment. So, for the very last time I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and for the first time a most abundant and joyous New Year. I love you, Rebecca; even more than Christmas.

Merry Christmas yet once again, Rebecca.
               Maybe Christmas night will not be a total washout. Come to find out, there was a whole lot of the family that were not real excited about not having Christmas night. Your Aunt Lynn & I racked our brains for some way to save Christmas, mainly for us, but also for the family. She in an off hand kind of way asked why we didn't have a little thing here at our place. Well, I thought that was just grand. Not as grand as the church family gathering would have been but at least it would be something. I like to call it "Christmas Night Gathering Lite". The whole family will not be able to squeeze into this little apartment so we have invited a limited number of people. Your Mother always buys Leah lots of Christmas presents because she likes her an awful lot and Lucas has made special arrangements to get free from a previous commitment so we invited Linda and her tiny brood down and of course Aunt Lynn, Uncle Rodney & the gang, Mamaw & Papaw and of course the three of us will be here because we live here.
      Your Mother is going to a whole lot of extra work so Daddy can have Christmas the way he wants it and Daddy loves Mommy very much for it. I am helping as much as I can but I believe that I'm just getting in the way so she put me on mommy duty. You are sleeping right now. Mommy is upstairs taking a shower and I am typing out my third blog of the day to you.

Merry Christmas again, Rebecca,
               Here it is late Christmas morning. The presents have been opened and we're all feeling kind of sleepy eyed. You are snoring in your bouncy, Aunt Mary is taking a shower, your Mother is puttering around the house looking for something to clean. It would be a really nice moment if it wasn't for the fact that Christmas night has been cancelled. Granny is not feeling very well and that is terrible but I still don't think that Christmas night should be cancelled. Lots of people are upset about it. I know I am, Aunt Lynn and her kids, Linda and her kids and I'm sure we're not the only ones. I am sick to death over Christmas being cancelled. I kind of knew that the traditional Christmas night that I have always known has been dying for the last few years but I had hoped that it would have survived long enough for you to know at least one. I wanted to take lots of pictures of you Christmas night so you could see that you took part of a tradition that I have known since before I can remember. That hope is dashed. I am so very upset over this. It breaks my heart.
      I suppose the three of us are going to go to the Kentucky Horse Park to see Southern Lights tonight. We wanted to do something with Aunt Lynn and her family but there wouldn't be enough room for all of us in one vehicle; Plus I think they would rather go see a movie. I think they want to see Christmas with the Kranks. We would have to leave you with Mamaw and your Mother doesn't want to part with you on Christmas day. Yeah, I reckon we're going to go see the Christmas lights tonight. Your Mother just now told me that she wanted you to see the animals at the petting zoo and that will be closed because everyone else will be having Christmas their families. So I don't know if we'll do the lights or not. I just don't know what we are going to do tonight. Aunt Mary is getting ready to leave now. She's hugging and kissing you goodby right now. You're laughing up a storm at your Aunt Mary. You love your Aunt Mary very much. Everybody loves you so much; At least everyone who matters.Once again the powers that be have conspired to bring my Christmas down. We will find some kind of festive event to celebrate Christmas tonight; Even if we have to do something here with just the three of us. I am just sick over this whole thing. If it wasn't for you Christmas would have been kind of sorry, what with the scheduling mess at work, the robbery, no paychecks and now Christmas night being cancelled. It's still a very Merry Christmas because you are here.
      Santa brought you a pretty nice haul this year. You loved tearing the paper. You kept trying to put little pieces of Christmas wrapping paper in your mouth. We had to watch you very carefully. You got a bunch of rattles and teething toys, Rock & Play piano, a big tickle me Elmo, a Princess chair, Touch and Crawl Pooh, lots of books, an outdoor folding Disney Princess chair, a Disney Princess bank, tons of Sesame Street DVDs, a Disney Princess DVD player and a Disney Princess television. Mama got you a Disney Princess telephone and a couple of Baby Einstein videos. I got you Babie's first doll. Plus you got a few other little things from all of us. Even Mary got you some cool stuff. Daddy got a really cool atomic clock last night, a beautiful world globe, a super neat framed sketch of Pooh, a deep fryer, socks, fuzzy warm slippers, and some pajamas. I made it hard on your Mother and everyone else this year because your mother bought me every single thing I wanted over the past six months with the settlement money she got from the accident she was in. Your Mother got some really nice stuff too but I'll let her tell you about her haul.
      Well, I want to watch a movie or two before we decide what kind of second choice Christmas night we are going to have. Merry Christmas, Little Girl.

Merry Christmas, Rebecca.
                  Girl, you sure did clean up at Mamaw & Papaw's house last night. Well, really it was tonight because I haven't been to bed yet. I suppose I should go here shortly because I don't know if Santa will stop if he sees someone setting up. I sure would love to hang around and meet him. I think I should go to bed though. I'd absolutely hate for Santa not to visit you on your very first Christmas. Aunt Mary came up from Hazard and she's staying to see you open your booty from St. Nicholas later this morning. She's sleeping on the sofa right this very second. Papaw Lawrence didn't get to make the trip this year. We're still not sure why he didn't come up but I'm sure he has his own good reasons why he had to stay in Hazard.
      You're not going to get that white Christmas that the television weather people had promised. We had a little ice but very little snow. Louisville had a ton of snow but it just missed us here in Versailles. I would have wished that we could have had a very light dusting for Christmas morning but I certainly wouldn't have wanted a snow storm. Your Aunt Mary would not have been able to make the trip if it had been to snowy.
      You really had fun opening your presents. We know that you are still a little too young to understand what all this Christmas hoopla is about just yet; But you still had fun with the pretty wrapping paper. Allison helped you open your presents. You got a really huge stuffed horse from Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney, tons of Sesame Street & Baby Einstein DVDs from your Mother & I, a Disney Princess toy box & Disney Princess table and chairs from Mamaw & Papaw and a ton of other stuff from your cousins, Aunt Mary, Granny and everybody. You made out better than any of us; although the boys and Allison did pretty good for themselves too.
      I love having a child at Christmas. This has always been my dream and you are making it come true. Everything is right with the world tonight and I am the happiest man alive, if only for one brief day. I love you and hope that every Christmas you ever have is as happy and merry as you deserve. I love you and I love Christmas. I think I just heard sleigh bells outside so that can only mean one thing; Santa is in our neighborhood so I had better get to bed and as St. Nicholas himself once said, "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night".

Dear Rebecca,
               Once upon a time, in a garage about three feet away, Mommy & Daddy got burgaled. Yes, burgaled. As the nice lady at 911 pointed out to Daddy on the telephone, there is a difference in being *robbed* and *burgaled*. Robbed is when someone grabs it out of your imediate posession. Burgaled is when they sneak in and steal it. Daddy & I have decided that it was a Robbery after all, because when we got it and you take it, by golly, you robbed us. Daddy was right; I have been too busy to post in this here blog. It's not your fault, though. The Holidays have kept Mommy very busy with cleaning & baking & doing all of the things Mommies do in the Holiday season. One day when you are older you will understand just what being a Mommy entails. Sometimes it is very hard work. It's long hours and little to no pay, but the rewards of seeing your child grow up healthy & happy are tremendous. I must say it's the best job I have ever had.
   As Daddy stated earlier, he is gone to get the local paper. Your pretty little picture will be in there this time around. It's called Christmas Angels & they display the local cute lil' babies pictures all over the overpriced rag. This year, though, it will be worth every penny of the .80 cents per copy we pay for it. I'd pay $80.00 to get one if I had to. Really, I would. It means that much to me that Mamaw thought to put you in the paper for your very first Christmas. We are getting a few copies...two for us & one for my Dad & one for Mamaw..in case she gets out too late to get it. The Woodford Suns go very fast in this town because the crotchety little old ladies want to know all the gossip that is worth gabbing about before the next crotchety little old lady knows it so they can talk about it in church on Sunday morning. I had to pause this post to put you to bed & Daddy just got home with the newspapers & he brought Subway Sandwiches for us. I guess I'm going to let you go for now. By the way, your picture in the paper is the prettiest one. I love you, little girl!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Well, it's Wednesday afternoon. I am off for the year. As you may have surmised by that statement, I got the last week of the year off. I didn't really know whether or not I would until just this afternoon. I really hated that. I was supposed to get paid today. The paychecks didn't come in today. Management said they would mail them to us. Isn't that just lamentable circumstance. We will be okay; Not great because we had to replace all of the Christmas presents that had been stolen, but okay. What angers me is how the people that were depending on this check to finish up their Christmas shopping are being put in a terrible position. When I go back at the beginning of the year I'm going to get direct deposit set up for my paycheck. I used to have it but for certain reasons I discontinued it. This is another reason you must go to college. When you have the power of a great education you not only get to name your own salary but you get it when you are supposed to. People with great education do not get jerked around like your father has this holiday season.
      I'm so happy to be off for the year. I always consider this time of the year to be the goal of the year. There's so much joy in my heart during the holiday season. I'm just a big softie when it comes to the holidays. From Thanksgiving on to the New Year, I'm just a big kid. Circumstances have tried to ruin my jolly disposition; First by messing up my time off, then by getting our Christmas presents stolen and then by not getting paid when I am supposed to be; But the magic of Christmas will not let me get down over these trifleing events.The only important thing is that this is your first Christmas and that is enough to fill even old Ebenezer's heart with the warmth of the season.
      Speaking of your first Christmas; It looks like it will be a white one. There's supposed to be a huge winter storm coming tonight. We're supposed to have four inches or so and lots of ice. Your Mother is worried that your Papaw Lawrence and Aunt mary won't be able to make it up here for Christmas Eve. I hope that turns into a yearly tradition. Not the winter storm, but your Papaw Lawrence and Aunt Mary visiting over the holidays. When I was growing up Mamaw Blanche used to come up every year on Christmas Eve and spend the night and watch your Aunt Lynn and myself open our presents from Santa Clause.
      Speaking of Santa Clause. We have heard that you are a on the nice list. We knew that you would make it. You are such a great baby. I don't know how he knows about you but he does. I suppose Santa scours the birth announcements every year to find out about the new stops on his route. It's been many years since I had a visit from Santa and I am so excited about it. It's such a magical moment when you come down the stairs and see all of the stuff left under the tree by the jolly fat man himself. I can't wait for the years to come when you realize more & more just exactly what is going on at Christmas.
      You my little daughter have discovered that you can roll over and you also have discovered that you don't like being on your stomach. Well, you have always known that you don't like being on your tummy. It's just that you love to roll over onto your tummy but once there you make a fuss until one of us roll you back over onto your back. As soon as we put you on your back you start to roll back over to your tummy and then we do it all over again.
      I thought that your Mother would post something about the burgary but I suppose you have kept her to busy too post. Well, I am off until the new year. I want to get my website set up at my new address and get some more stuff set up on this new computer but I will of course keep you up to date on all of the big Holiday happenings. I have mommy duty in the morning which means that I am going to have to get up with you. I kinda like it when it's just you and me. You are such a great baby that you really aren't that hard to look after. Well, your Mamaw put your picture in the Woodford Sun because it is your first Christmas and they have pictures of babies in it. Well, I reckon I had better get going. The paper comes out at seven o'clock. I love ya, you little Christmas headed monkey girl.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's Friday evening. We had a very stressful today. You are set to make your television debut tonight. We are going to be on the eleven o'clock news. It seems that someone thought our Christmas was turning out to be just a little to jolly. We were robbed last night. The news just came on and we were the "Big Story" on channel 18. They took over half of our presents. We made a police report and then went shopping and tried to replace what we could. Your Mother & I both felt very violated. Who would steal someone's Christmas presents? Your Mother looked fine on the television and you were as pretty as a big ole' flower. Your father, however, looked like a very tubby scuzzy scrub. Your ole' Daddy-O really needs to get his sorry posterior in the gym. Anyway, you looked fabulous in your television debut. On television your mother was quoted as saying it has ruined our Christmas but you know that could never be true. As long as we have you for this Christmas we'll be fine.
      You stayed with Mamaw & Aunt Lynn while we spent the entire day shopping for Christmas presents that we had already bought once. Well, It was a pretty evenful day. Your Mother is most upest over the loss of your big stuffed Elmo. It was just a big stuffed furry red monster that didn't do anything but look cuddly and was squeezable and we only paid ten dollars for it in Hazard the day after Thanksgiving but your Mom was excited about it. We bought an even bigger "Tickle Me Elmo" for thirty-five dollars but she's still not happy about it. She wanted the one that was stolen. Your Momma is rewrapping the kid's presents. They are coming over tomorrow night while Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney finish up their Christmas shopping. Allison is going to help your mother wrap all of the other stuff tomorrow while the boys & I watch movies on DVD.
      Well, I'm sure your mother will have more to tell you about our little brush with crime in days to come so I'll let you go for now. I love ya, Hon!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Big news, little girl. Today you got a package in the mail from your big brother Dylan. I know you know all about Dylan by now & what went on & the circumstances behind it so I will just skip right to the goods. He sent you some very cute baby things. He sent you two binkys (pacifers) that you will never use, but I will put them up in your keepsakes just the same. He also sent you a stuffed unicorn & a bib that says "I love Mommy" and some Link-a-Doos, which is a linking toy that we use frequently to help you reach your toys on your mat. Also in your high chair and sometimes in the truck, depending on what we take with us. He also sent you a very cute little pair of baby sunglasses. I am going to take a picture of you wearing them & send it to him as soon as I can. You are a real cute baby & they are real cute sunglasses so I am going to bet my bottom dollar that it will be a real cute picture. Dylan also sent a letter saying that his sister was very jealous that he had a baby sister & she didn't. I thought that was real cute. He also asked if we were allowed to have pets here because he wasn't thinking of sending you one of his two dogs or six cats but you might want your own pet. He said if they were not allowed her maybe he could send you a big stuffed dog or cat. I thought that was very sweet. You have a very sweet big brother. But I am sure that by the time you read this you will already know that. Mommy was really happy to get the package from Dylan. We are supposed to be getting pictures too so hopefully they will be here soon.
   Well as Daddy mentioned earlier, he picked up your very first Christmas pictures today. They are fantastic. You are gorgeous in them! Daddy & I don't look too shabby either but we pale in comparison to your pretty little face. I am sure that Daddy is going to put one of them up here in the blog for the world to see. I am going to send some to your big brother Dylan as well so he can have some. I am sure he will appreciate having a pretty little Christmas picture of his baby sister to look at.
   Well little girl Daddy wants to watch some TV tonight & it is already very late so I will let you go for now. I love you so much, my sweet little girl. I hope this first Christmas will be a very Happy Holiday for you. It will indeed be a very Happy Holiday for me. I have two beautiful & sweet children that I love very much. Those are the best Christmas presents in the world.

Dear Rebecca
                  Good afternoon, Rebecca. It's Tuesday afternoon to be exact. Well, once again not much happened between last post and this one. I went to work today and had to work a half an hour of overtime, but I did the exact same thing yesterday. You and your Mother went the Hamburg Pavilion with your Mamaw and Aunt Lynn this morning. She bought you a new snow suit. It's really cute and it appears to be very warm. You are growing out of your other one. She purchased a few more Christmas presents for a few more people. I don't know what all y'all did because I was at work. She told me that you started stage two food today. You had almost an entire jar of oatmeal with bananas and apples. You don't care much for oatmeal out of a box; you prefer rice from a box; but you really liked it out of a jar. She said she knew that you were ready for stage two because you didn't get sick last night when you had bananas after you had chicken. I suppose your digestive system is developing.
      You and I had big fun last night. I was changing your diaper and making noises and faces at you and you got so excited and tickled. The more excited and tickled you got the more excited and tickled I got. We had a grand old time. This was right before your bedtime and your Mother said you were all riled up and didn't want to sleep right away. You are napping in your bouncy right now. You are such a cutie when you sleep. Well, I wanna play on the computer while you sleep because your Mom won't let me watch television. So I suppose I will let you go for now. I have to go pick up your very first Christmas pictures tomorrow. They also serve double duty as our very first family portrait. I sure hope they are good. Love ya, Little One.

Dear Rebecca
               Monday afternoon. I reckon Monday afternoon is better than Monday morning. You just finished nearly a half a jar of chicken in chicken broth. You like the chicken, however you did not like the turkey in turkey broth. I thought they both smelled incredibly nasty. Now you are gonna have some bananas for desert. You really like bananas a lot. Mama just said that if you can go through life just eating chicken, green beans and bananas you certainly will be skinny. You wouldn't be very healthy but you would be skinny.
      I just finished changing you. You laughed at me big today. That made me very happy. That's really the first time that I've been able to make you laugh when you weren't laughing before. I made you laugh before, but you were already in a big time laughy mood.
      We all have been listening to Christmas music when we go out together. They are playing nonstop Christmas music on Mix 94.5 and Kiss 96.9. They are calling themselves Mixmas and Kissmas. That's real cute, I think. You know your father loves his Christmas music.
      Well, today was kin of a silly post. Nothing went on yesterday to mention. We just hung out at the house and looked at some television. I got up with you at 3:30 in the morning. Your mother told me to feed you in your room and you would go back to sleep. I didn't think I would be able to stay awake feeding you in your room so I took you downstairs and we looked at some Spongebob Squarepants while I fed you. I laid you down on your mat. You went to sleep but by that time I was into a movie. So while you slept for two hours on your mat I watched the movie 3. It was about the race car driver Dale Earnhart. I rather enjoyed it. Eventually your Mom got up and I went to sleep. I slept for 3 hours and then I got up and we all watched television.
      Now I'm gonna let you go. I think I might eat some supper. Your mother made me some chili Sunday and we still have some left. I think I'll have some of that. Love ya, Little Girl.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hey Sweetheart.. How are you? I can tell you what you are doing at this very moment. You are sleeping up a storm. You were very tired from our
shopping trip today. The neighbors little grandson is going nuts next door & he is about to disturb you because I can hear you grunting. I can not really complain because he is just a little baby like you & he doesn't know any better.
   As Daddy told you earlier today, you got your photo taken with the Wal-Mart Santa Claus. That will be something to look back on and remember. It was fun even though the Santa was the WORST Santa I had ever seen. Hey, What do you expect from Wal-Mart? The Santa was TOO skinny. They had a butt-load of pillows at Wal-Mart. He could have borrowed one & stuffed it under his shirt or something. People just have no creative thinking these days. The neighbor lady's outside decorations are now slamming up against the pole of her porch. The wind is blowing them really hard and now that is disturbing you. All in all they are good neighbors but I must say it was much quieter when we first moved in here. Nonetheless, I like it a lot better than I liked our old place & you have a beautiful room to sleep in each night. Daddy & I made sure of that. I think one day Daddy is going to take a picture of it for your blog. Anyway...
   Cousin Allison came over tonight. She played with you some & helped me get your ready for bed. Well, she packed you up the stairs & proceeded to talk our ears off & make fun of me for you peeing all over me. You had a bath & you were naked and the cold air made you have to tinkle. Anyway we had all tried to watch Peter Pan earlier but you were fussy because now you are getting two beautiful teeth..another one has popped through at the bottom right next to the first one. You are getting to be such a big girl now. I think you need to slow down because you are growing up way too fast for Mommy's taste. One of Mommy's books said to start assisting you with a two handled sippy cup. Sigh. You are still so little, though. Mommy is so glad that she has you. As I was saying... Allison mostly played on the computer & listened to music and talked our ears right off while she was hear. Cousin Allison is a good girl and if you are half as good & sweet as she is when you grow up we will be very lucky. She talks a lot though. I mean a lot. I know she is reading this that is why I must say once again that she talks a lot. A LOT!
   Well little girl it's about time for Mommy to hit the hay. She finished wrapping some presents we already had today & wrapped a couple of new ones we got while we were out. Then I cleaned up from that and ran & emptied the dishwasher & did a load of laundry for you because you were nearly out of bibs downstairs. Needless to say after all Mommy did today, she is very wore out. I think Daddy is getting up with you in the morning so I will let you go for now. I am going to go crawl under the sheets & slip off to dreamland. I love you. little girl!

Dear Rebecca
                  Happy Saturday afternoon, Becca. I don't hardly ever call you that. I like Rebecca. Aunt Lynn calls you Becca Boo. Well, anyway, we just got back from Walmart in Nicholasville. We went to get your Aunt Mary an Ottoman to go with her chair. We ended up spending way to much cash. It was all your fault. Why was it your fault, you may ask. Well, it is very fitting that the first picture you've ever taken with Santa was at Walmart of all places. Well, he showed up in front of the seafood and we zipped over there. Well, we don't usually go to the Walmart in Nicholasville so we went in the wrong direction. Kristie asked, in desperation, where the seafood was. A lady heard her and told her where it was. I kinda always thought that seafood was in the sea. Oh, am I ever so clever?
      Well, that's it for today. Allison is coming over this afternoon. So I am gonna let you go for now. Love ya.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hi there, you pretty little thing. Right now we are in the living room and you are watching a Baby Einstein video. I believe this one is Baby Shakespeare. You like it quite well. I think you like Sesame Street better than Baby Einstein, but I think that Baby Einstein is a bit more educational for you at this point. You like the Baby Einstein puppets, but lets face it, they are no Bert & Ernie or Elmo.
   We have had a good day today. This morning you got up shortly before Daddy left & he got to see you. He loves that. You are always all smiles in the morning. I gave you a bottle that you didn't finish & we played on the floor a while after Daddy left. Then I put you in your Bouncy and got you off to sleep for your morning nap. I layed on the Love Seat next to you & did not think that I would go to sleep but I did. You & I slept to almost 9:00 a.m. Thats a big deal for the both of us, that was nearly a two hour nap. Then we got up & I went to change your diaper because you had a big number 2 (I know you love hearing about this) and when I got you all cleaned up & the diaper off you peed everywhere. So needless to say I had to give you a bath & clean that mess up. Ok, you got your bath, which you loved as always and a nice fresh new suit of clothes on. I put you in your crib while I cleaned up our earlier mess & you played with the mirror Daddy bought you for your bed. You really love it. You like looking at yourself. I think you are struck on yourself. But I don't blame you. You are so very pretty that I am struck on you too. After I cleaned up and washed my hands I brushed your pretty little hair and brought you downstairs for your second feeding. It was a little late due to the earlier chaos but you did not fuss at all. You ate it all up & then had some oatmeal with apples. I don't think you care much for the oatmeal or the apples. You prefer rice & bananas. And I discovered today that you do not like your Turkey at all. Actually I discovered it yesterday but you made it known to me today by not eating any of it at all.
   Anyway. After your second feeding you sat in your high chair while I emptied the diswasher & then I took you to watch Kids Favorite Songs while you played on your Mat some. You were getting tired so I picked you up & got you off to sleep for your second nap. You napped a little while & then Aunt Lynn called asking if we could baby sit your cousins next Saturday & I said yes. They have to finish their Christmas shopping. Daddy & I are very nearly done. I have ordered a few more things that we needed off of the internet today (including gates for the stairs & into the kitchen-Mommy does not want you to get hurt) & tonight Daddy is going shopping for Mommy to get her some things for Christmas. Santa Claus is bringing you a lot of the things you need because you have been a very good girl. What Santa does not get I am sure Mommy & Daddy & Lynn & Rodney & Mamaw & Papaw will take care of. And all of your cousins, of course. Well little one I just bounced you to sleep for your afternoon nap & I do not want to disturb you so I will let you go for now. I Love You!

Dear Rebecca
                  Hey, Little Girl. Well, they changed my work schedule. As of this moment I don't get off until the 22nd of this month. According to the new post we are supposed to be off the week after Christmas but I wouldn't bet the farm on it. I heard that if we can get parts to run that we will and I am just assuming that we will get the parts. I'm real bummed out over this whole situation. We had planned on taking a day trip down to Hazard on the 18th but I reckon that's out now. I'm just a little sad right now but I will be fine. When I'm sad your mother is sad and when she's not happy no one is happy. Well, with the exception of you. You are always happy. You are a happy baby.
      Well, we got your brother's presents mailed today. It cost us 60 some dollars just to mail all his stuff. Your mother was real glad to get that done. Your mother just informed me that we have got to get some freezer bags. This is all important stuff that you'll want to know about when you grow up. That's why I'm telling you about it. I will be sure and let you know what happens with the freezer bag dilemma. Well, I'm gonna let you go for now. Love ya!

Dear Rebecca
                  Hey, Little Girl. I just got done changing the address of your baby blog on the internet. I had a free website when I was with the internet service provider, Mikrotec. Now I am with Adelphia. I now have cable internet as you well know. Anyway I have to move my entire website and since these pages are the most important to us I decided to do that first.
      You had your first meat tonight; turkey in turkey broth. Your Mommy says that you are not sure whether you like it or not. She says we can't really tell if you like something or not until the second time you try it. You also started on oatmeal today. You're getting so big. And Daddy is so proud of your pretty tooth.
      I think that the 17th of this month is my last day of the year. I sure hope so. that's what the board says. I reckon it's true. I am gonna read it again tomorrow just to make sure. I don't wanna get to excited. Just a short one tonight. I love ya, Hon.

Dear Rebecca,
                        Right now you are having your Daddy tend to you because you are fussy because you are tired. He is going to put you in your Bouncy & *Bounce* you to sleep. You laughed at Daddy for the first time tonight, That made him feel very good. Your Daddy loves you very much there, little one. Daddy is now looking at pictures of Thanksgiving Day dinner and talking about how hungry it makes him. He just ate, the silly man. Of course fish sticks and french fries is no comparison to a nice big Turkey Dinner. You had your very first green beans on Thanksgiving day. Your very first big people food, other than cereal, ever, as a matter of fact. As Daddy said before you prefer the green veggies like green beans and peas other than the fruits. You did not care much for squash or peaches at all. I mix bananas and pears in your cereal but you won't eat the pears by themselves.
   One of your little teeth has popped through. Now we are just waiting for it to grow bigger and you will officially have one beautiful tooth. I am going to record that it came in tonight in your Baby Book. I am trying to keep that up for you too. I want you to have lots of things to remember your childhood when you grow up. Mommy does not & that pains her. Most of Mommy's childhood pictures & keepsakes burned up in a fire. Daddy has lots of his pictures and keepsakes and Mommy is glad of that. Someday I am sure he will show them all to you.
   Well, you've been quite the little spitter-upper today and I am going to wager that you will need a bath tonight. So I am going to let you go for now and spend a few minutes with Daddy before I have to go and get you all ready for bed. I love you so much, little girl!

Dear Rebecca
                  Hello, Little Girl. It's Monday afternoon here at the old Lanham household. Your mother got me a new computer over the Thanksgiving weekend. I forgot to mention that. Well, not really a new computer. It's about two months old. She bought it off of one of her relatives in Hazard. It's much newer than our old one though.
      You had some peaches this evening. You didn't like them. You didn't like pears either. However, you did like peas. It seams that you prefer vegetables to fruits. That's cool with Daddy. You are a big fan of fruit juices though. Mommy says that your favorite is Banana-Strawberry and your least favorite is White Grape. You're doing great with your eating.
      I heard from a pretty good source that we will not have to work the week after Christmas. I won't believe it until I see it posted on the board. It should be posted tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you know how this turns out.
      Well, I want to watch some television with your Mommy before I have to take a shower and go to bed. You'll watch television with us. You like television. Your Mommy says we look exactly alike when we watch television. We've both got our leg cocked up and have the same blank stare on our faces. Like Daddy, like daughter. Guess what, Little One. Your Daddy loves you. I reckon you already know that.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hey there little one. Right now you are sitting in Daddy's lap. You are very sleepy because you have not your afternoon nap. You are now tapping on Daddy's face. You are so sweet. Daddy is glad to be home and be with you. He won't let me concentrate on this because he wants me to look at this crazy man that has horns implanted in his head on the Maury Povich show.
   You had sweet peas for lunch today. I must say you did not care much for them. You ate them a lot better than you ate squash, but not as well as you ate the green beans. So far green beans are your favorite. You are one odd little munchkin. You didn't care for pears either but I am able to sneak those in on you in your cereal. You eat fruit mixed in with that awfully bland stuff they claim is cereal. So far it has been pears or bananas. I don't think you have a preference as long as the cereal tastes a little better than it does by itself. You are getting to be such a big girl now. And you have really been enjoying the Christmas tree Daddy & I put up for you. You like the colors and all of the sparkly lights. You are such a wonderful and sweet baby. Today you laughed and laughed while I tickled your belly & shook your arms back and forth.
   Now you are fussy so I am going to let you go and *bounce* you in your bouncy so that Daddy can play on the computer. I love you, little one.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Thursday afternoon and you are sound asleep. Thursday afternoon is not as nice as Friday afternoon but at least it's not Monday morning. You & Mommy went shopping this morning with Mamaw and Aunt Lynn. You never sleep really well when you go out so you are making up for it now.
      Your mother has been so busy wrapping presents the past week. She's wrapped right at 130 presents. We always go just a little overboard with Christmas. As you know, it is my favorite time of the year. We don't have room enough here to store all of the presents we have purchased so we took the majority down to Mamaw & Papaw's. Most of the ones we took down there are for your cousins anyway.
      We went to Sears and had holiday portraits made last night. You were dressed in the most darling little red dress with white fur trim and matching booties. I wore a blue shirt and my snowmen tie. I thought it was a black shirt but apparently I'm color blind. I didn't want to wear it because it wasn't what I thought it was. Your mamaw was over here and heard me complaining about the shirt and she went and told Papaaw and that got me in trouble with him. I'm beginning to suspect that my parents like your Mother more than me. Just kidding there, little girl.
      Well, I will find out officially Monday whether or not I have to work the week after Christmas. Just so you won't have to wait until then to find out i will go on and tell you that I am as sure that we are going to work as I am that I am sitting here right now. Gonna let you go. Love ya, Little one.