Dear Rebecca,
               Happy first April Fool's Day, Rebecca! No one played any practical jokes on you today, little girl. However, we did take a trip yesterday into a surreal place known as Fork's Branch or some such name, in Perry County. I'll tell you more about that in a little bit.
      Thursday morning we all woke up early because we had gone to bed early on account of us all being very tired from detailing your Mother's Taurus. You took a nap shortly after you awoke and your Mother & I finished watching Ladder 49; we were too tired to finish it the night before. Then we kind of hung around and waited until it was time to go get my check from work. We decided to eat first and then go pick up the check. We ate at The Cracker barrel. I had breakfast, your Mother had chicken fingers and you had a grilled cheese sandwich which is what you always have. You got a side order of carrots but you didn't care much for them. I gave you a few bites of my grits and you seemed to love them, of course I dress up my grits with salt, butter and sugar. I have always thought they are yummy and apparently you do too, but your Mother hates them.
      We then picked up my check, filled up with gasoline, got us a few bottles of water and set out on your fifth trip to Hazard. It was a beautiful day for a drive and we all had a splendid time. You slept all the way down and your Mother & I listened to a cassette tape that we made using the Tivo, our stereo and our computer. We arrived but no one was around. We let ourselves in Aunt Mary's trailer and she had a dog inside that she had assured us was an outside dog. His name was Little Bear and he was a very sweet dog and you liked him a whole lot but he was a bit hyper so we decided that we would get a hotel room instead of staying at Mary's. We called the Super 8 where we usually stay but they were booked up so we had to stay at the Day's Inn. We really didn't care much for the Day's Inn. Next time we'll just book ahead with the Super 8. Aunt Mary was at work and Papaw Lawrence hadn't expected us so early so we just watched some television in the hotel room until Aunt Mary got off from work at the vet clinic where she works. Finally she arrived at the hotel.
      She had to take a friend home who is the brother of her teenaged boyfriend. She wanted to show you off to his family. She wanted to drive you there herself; your Mother would have none of that. Aunt Mary is not the best driver in the world. I wanted to keep you and your Mother at the hotel room and wait for Mary to return but I was outvoted so I drove you & your Mother while Aunt Mary drove her friend. We had considered all going in our car but they absolutely had to smoke on the way and we do not allow anyone to smoke around you. We drove and drove along the curviest road I had ever driven in my entire life. It looked as if big chunks of the road had broken off and fell into the creek that ran below the road. As we drove the road became narrower and narrower. Your Mother's heart was in her chest. We began to see houses the likes of which I didn't think still existed in the year 2005. Nothing more but ramshackle shacks with outhouses and satellite dishes. I know that you know what country is, but what you know is country charm. What we experienced yesterday was nothing more than country squalor. I was blown away by what I witnessed yesterday. It looked like a third world country. I half expected the Feed the Children host to walk out and tell me that for the cost of a cup of coffee a day I could help one of these impoverished families get food and decent medical care and that the number was at the bottom of my screen.
      After we got back from the year 1897 we had to have a taste of civilization and what could be more civilized than Wal-mart; so off we went. We bought you your very first swimming suit and some disposable swimming diapers. We found a good deal on pampers so we bought some of those and a few other odds & ends that added up to much more money than I thought it would. We stopped at Taco Bell and got something to eat and went back to the hotel room. You had a bath and we laid you down in the vanity area of the bathroom. Aunt Mary and her teenaged boyfriend came over to the hotel room and we all played Scattergories until midnight. After they left your Mother & I chatted for a few minutes and then we went to bed. Last night was a first for you in the fact that you slept between us for the very first time in your life. Your Mother wasn't very happy with you being in the bathroom so she took you to bed with us. Every time I stirred she told me not to roll over on you. I would never roll over on you. She was just being her silly overprotective Mommy self. I really enjoyed you sleeping with us.
      We all woke up around seven o'clock this morning. Your Mother had purchased some doughnuts and milk for breakfast. You decided you wanted my milk so I ended up giving you most of my milk out of a big persons cup. You can drink very good out of a big persons cup. We then loaded up and left the hotel only to have to go back after we realized that we hadn't checked out. We eventually made it to your Aunt Mary's. Aunt Mary had bought you a whole bunch of toys and you played with those for awhile then you & Aunt Mary took a nap while your Mother unsuccessfully tried to take one. Your Papaw Lawrence & I watched the news. We then all went with Papaw Lawrence to pick up his goverment check. We looked in some shops in the shopping center where Papaw Lawrence does his banking and we had a quick lunch at McDonald's. We returned to your Aunt Mary's for a little while and then we took her to her work so she could show you off to her colleagues. We then took her grocery shopping at Wal-mart and then we went back to the trailer to pick up your Papaw Lawrence because we were going to take them out to eat. We went to Applebee's. I had a glazed orange chicken dish of some kind, your Mother had a steak and you had a grilled cheese sandwich, of course. The waiter was terrible so I didn't tip him at all; your Mother wasn't very happy about me not tipping but what is tipping if not an evaluation of the services rendered and I evaluated his service as very poor, ergo no tip.
      We then headed home just as it was getting dark and rainy. It was a very harrowing trip home. You & your Mother slept most of the way home and it certainly was a good thing your Mother slept because she would have been a nervous wreck. We came upon two accidents along the way home. I knew that if I was careful and didn't go very fast on the unfamiliar roads we would be just fine. The trip usually takes us two hours but it took us two and a half hours tonight. We all made it home safe and that is what is important.
      We gave you a bath because you were a sticky mess from a watermelon-blue rasberry push-up lollipop. We got unpacked from our little trip. Your Mother read a chapter in the book she is reading now, The Purpose Driven Life and drank a diet Dr. Pepper then she went to bed. I sat up and spent an hour writing this blog out. I am going to play around a little bit here on this computer and then go to bed. Remember, little girl, Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
               We all had another very busy day today. As you know, I am still on vacation; to be exact this week I am laid off and next week I am on vacation; so we were all able to go to the court house to take care of the registration on the Explorer. We stopped off at the bank next to the court house and cashed a huge check of nine whole dollars that we got as a rebate for some blank DVDs I had purchased from Staples. We used that money to get me a can of Copenhagen and an Ale-8-1 from the little convenience store across the road from the apartment. Your Mother had washed her car today after I got out of bed. She had been cleaning the house all morning so she was already very tired when we left for the court house. After we returned I pulled the Explorer out front and pulled the Taurus into the garage and I waxed it while your Mother cleaned the inside and the windows. You sat in the garage in your walker and your portable swing. You got your socks so dirty that we had to throw them away. The Taurus looked fabulous when we had finished. I am very proud of the job we did on it. I washed my truck out front while your Mother did something in here, laundry I think. After that we cooked steaks out on the grill and you sat out there with us. We ate and then you had your bath and you went to sleep very quickly because you hadn't had your last nap of the day. So here we are all very tired. Your Mother & I are going to watch a movie, Ladder 49 so we can return it tomorrow before we head down to Hazard.
      We have to pick my check up from work and deposit it before we leave. I certainly hope we don't have a repeat of the debacle that happened at Christmas when the checks didn't come in. I'm sure it will be fine. Well, I reckon I will let you go for now. Remember, Daddy loves Rebecca!

P.S. You'll be very sorry to hear that Kentucky got beat Sunday night in the elite eight by Michigan State in double overtime. I am incredibly bummed out over that fact. I just hope Louisville or North Carolina, who both made it into the final four, do not win the national championship. That would really break your Father's heart.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello there my beautiful little girl. We have had such a big day today. Today you went swimming in the swimming pool for the very first time ever at the Falling Springs Arts & Recreation Center. We have a membership there until October. We were going to leave you in the day care facility they have at the gym and go swimming by ourselves but it was closed until four o'clock. We thought maybe Daddy would swim some then I would swim some but at the spur of the moment we decided to strip you down into your onesie and your diaper and get you right in the pool with us. You loved it so much! You splashed and splashed around in that big pool. I wonder what went through your mind while you were in that pool. You really love the water and you love your bath so I was thinking maybe you thought "SCORE! The world's biggest bathtub." It was big fun for all of us and all of the people at Falling Springs thought you were so cute and adorable. They are right, I must agree.
   After we went swimming we stopped off at McDonald's for a happy meal which we ate at the park where you went for a swing. We saw another little baby there, a little black girl they were calling "Ray Ray", her name was Rayshawn, and I let her hold the bubble wand Mamaw and Papaw bought for you and I don't think you were real fond of that idea. However, you did like seeing the baby and interacting with her. After we finished eating and we made a few attempts at the bubble wand which were next to fruitless because of the lack of wind, we let you swing on the swing a little while but you were getting so tired that we took you off and put you in the stroller and walked around the walking trail they have there. On several occasions you threatened to fall asleep but I do believe that nature was keeping you awake. We finally got you into your natural habitat in the car and took a drive to Lawrenceburg and you had a good nap there and back. We spilled some of your bubble solution in the car though so when we got home I had to wet-vac that out. We invited Mamaw & Papaw, Lynn, Rodney & The Kids over the phone to come and cook out brats, hot dogs, and sweet apple sausages with us. Mamaw & Papaw came and so did the kids but Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rodney had to do paperwork at Rodney's dad's house. You had big fun playing with the kids and Mamaw and Papaw and Mamaw and Jacob and Allison took you on a walk up the street and back. After we ate and everyone left Daddy and I tried to clean up the kitchen a bit while you were watching one of your movies but you were so very tired that I came in to get you ready to put you to bed. You had your teeth brushed as usual and your nightly bath and seven ounces of formula with cereal and then you fell fast asleep on my shoulder. Daddy finished cleaning up the kitchen while I tended to you and now we are going to watch a little TV and then I am going to bed because I have to clean up the house tomorrow because we are going on a Hazard trip Thursday. We are so impressed with you little girl and so very, very proud of you. You are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us and we thank God every day that we have you. WE love you so much. And I love you more than a monkey loves barrels. Goodnight, my pretty one.

Dear Rebecca,
                  Happy Easter Morning Rebecca; at least it's still morning as a write this little blog post. We are between churches right now so we were confronted with a small quandary; what church should we attend for Easter services.
      Our first option was the church that we had recently left, Mortonsville Assembly of God. Well, maybe we didn't recently leave but we left all the same. You've only attended one service there, your first ever church service. The congregation only runs maybe a dozen people and most of them are older people. Our next option was to attend a church that your Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney go to and the same one that Cousin Allison is really into. She's the one that asked us to come to the one service that we did attend. King's Way Assembly of God is the name of this church. I have a long history with King's Way. That is the church I attended from my birth. I grew up in King's Way Assembly of God. Of course it wasn't always called King's Way; it used to be Versailles Assembly of God until the built a new church on Kingsway Drive near the Merewood subdivision, then they changed the name to Kingsway. After they built an even newer church on Versailles Road across from the castle they changed the name once again to King's Way. Same name different spelling. The one service we attended was nice but Kristie thought that everyone was just a smidge to fancy for her so we decided that we would look elsewhere. Aunt Lynn told us about Woodford Community Christian Church and had mentioned that she had heard great things about that church and that she herself would like to try it out but since Allison is so heavily into the youth group at King's Way she would stay there. For some reason I thought we should find out more about the church before we attended.
      Eventually, we made our final decision; King's Way would be the church we would attend for Easter services. They were having a sunrise service at seven Easter Morning. When we got there we realized that the service was to be outside. We had not prepared for that. You weren't nearly bundled up enough and I didn't even have a jacket or anything so we went home. It was important that we all attend Easter Morning services somewhere. Your Mother & I decided we would just jump in and try Woodford Community Christian Church. They had an early service at nine that morning so we went there.
      You behaved like an angel. You were as good as gold and you enjoyed the music and looking all of the people, of course the people all enjoyed looking at you as well. You had the cutest little Easter dress on. It was a little sleeveless blue dress with a big flower on it. You also wore little white stockings and white sandals. You were such a cutie. Your Mother seemed to enjoy Woodford Community and I liked it a bit better than King's Way. Your Mother is a people person and having lots of friends is important to her, I however really don't care if I get to know anyone or not. I have you and your Mother and our whole extended family and that's all I need. I would prefer that you be more like your Mother than myself. I want you to have lots and lots of friends and you can't do that if you never see anyone. There's lots of other babies at Woodford Community. You love interacting with other babies. I hate it that you don't have any other children to play with. We hope that attending a decent sized church will solve that quandary.
      We're going to try Woodford Community again next Sunday. We should have been in church since you came home. I know this is not an excuse but when you first came home from the hospital your Mother wanted to rest and the only day that I could get up with you and play Mommy was on Sunday mornings so that eventually became her day to sleep in. Granny isn't to happy about our decision to attend a church that isn't pentecostal in nature but I have never really been comfortable with some of the spiritual theatrics that goes on in a pentecostal church. I believe in the dogma and doctrines of the more sensible pentecostal churches such as the Assembly of God denomination. There's some crazy snake handling, no pants or makeup for women, no dancing or movies believing pentecostal churches in the mountains where your Mother comes from. She's even attended such churches in her childhood. As I said, I do believe in pentecostal dogma, I'm just not personally comfortable with it. Maybe that's wrong but I have always felt that way, even as a child. I'm more of a reserved person and pentecostal services are about being very demonstrative in your worship. Nope, that kind of thing just isn't my cup of tea.
      The Easter Bunny came last night. He brought you a Dora the Explorer basket. Your Mom won't let you at it until this afternoon when we go down to Mamaw & Papaw's place for our family Easter celebration. It's raining today, but it always rains on Easter, so the Easter Egg hunt may be a sloppy wet encounter. I'm just glad you are still yet a little too young to get into that kind of muddy mess.
      You went out with Mamaw & Papaw Friday night. We stayed here and watched Ray that I had taped on the Tivo. You had a fine time. They took you to Captain D's and had two french fries from there and you had some ham & apples baby food. Then you all went to Sam's Club and Wal-mart. At Wal-mart your grandparents bought you some pretty summer clothes and a bubble wand that your Mother & I think is real fun. You also enjoy looking at the huge bubbles. This thing makes the biggest bubbles I have ever seen.
      Kentucky defeated Utah Friday night and they will play Michigan State tonight for the regional championship and a trip to the final four. I sure hope we win. Well, I'm gonna let you go for now and relax a little before you wake up from your nap. Maybe I'll get this thing posted on Easter morning after all. Remember, Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Greetings & salutations, little girl. Well, I'm off from work for the seventeen days. I'm real excited about being able to spend a whole lot more time with you and your mother. Your mother & I had a little spat this afternoon; it was over nothing. She was just very tired from getting up with you in the middle of the night and I have been over sensitive to any little slight for the longest time. Everything is fine now, of course, it never wasn't fine. When people live together there is eventually going to be spats.
      We rented Ray on pay-per-view this evening. I wasn't real sure that we had done it correctly. This makes only the second movie we had ever rented pay-per-view from cable. We did it wrong; we bought the showing before the one we wanted. I really want to see the movie so I purchased it again for the time I wanted. I am going to Tivo it and burn it so we can watch it at our leisure. Ray is the life story of Ray Charles who died shortly after you were born or maybe shortly before, I just can't recall at the moment. He was a very talented musician who had to overcome not only racial prejudice but also blindness. Both your Mother & I enjoy his music very much.
      I am going to burn some westerns to DVD now and watch some television. I really don't want to be up to awfully late but I want to be able to enjoy some alone time as well. And as always, Daddy loves Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello my little pretty piggy. Right now you are watching Grover talk about going to Australia and pretending to be a sheep. Grover says he knows that sounds kind of nutty but he has nothing better to do. Boy, Grover must live the life of Riley. You really enjoy your Sesame Street. I just paused this post to put you down for a nap. That was nearly twenty minutes ago. You didn't seem to want to go. Now you are watching Sesame Street again. Elmo is singing the Up and Down Song. It eerily resembles Jingle Bells. Now he's singing Elmo's world with his special guest the yo-yo. Anyway, on with the post.
   So far we have had a pretty good day together. You woke up last night at two fourty five and I got up with you, gave you a bottle, and rocked you back to sleep. Three times I might add. You kept waking up. I finally got desperate around four a.m. and put you in your swing. By that time, however, your dear Mommy was wide awake. So I got up and took a nice long shower while you slept the rest of the night in your swing. I do believe I am going to have to pause this to feed you now. My goodness, you are an eating machine.
   Well, here I am again. It is almost one o'clock now. I started this post a few minutes after noon. But, baby Becca bird always comes first. You just ate a four ounce bottle really quick and then we played for a minute in the chair. You were rubbing your eyes and I could tell you were tired so I took you back upstairs to put you down for a nap. First the bouncy, and you kicked like a mad child. So I switched you to your swing. You fussed and cried and arched your back but I am an insistent Mommy with nothing better to do than write here in this blog thingy and put you down for a nap.
   Anyway, this morning after you woke up we read a book that has a squeaking fish on it. The book is called "Look Around With Little Fish". You really enjoyed it so we read it again. Then I changed your diaper and gave you a morning bottle. Then we commenced to come downstairs, still in our jammies I might add, and have some oatmeal with bananas for breakfast. Well, you did anyway. This morning Mommy fixed Daddy a special breakfast of biscuits and gravy and sausage. I ate some of that with him before you woke up. After your cereal we began to play in the floor a while then you got tired so I put you down for your first nap. You didn't sleep very long but while you did I made the bed and emptied the dishwasher and played my game The Sims 2 for a little bit. When you woke up you were hungry so I gave you a three ounce bottle and then you had spaghettios for lunch. My did you ever make a mess with those spaghettios! It was so fun to watch you eat them that I took a whole bunch of pictures and a movie of you doing it. You really are a sight to see.
   After you "ate" your lunch, I decided to clean you up real good with a quick bath in the sink. I know you are too big for it, but you always seemed to enjoy it and I already had the stuff down here. Besides, it was just a quick clean up. You enjoyed it and I took a couple of pictures but you really are too big for it because you didn't have any room to play. You didn't even have any room to slip and bonk your head. You were all cramped up in that old sink. Not to worry though; you had already had your head bonk for the day. You tried to pull one of your toys off the shelf and it hit you right smack in the noggin. Mommy's poor baby. I could barely console you but when I took you to see yourself in the mirror those tears dried right up and out popped your sunny smile. Speaking of sunny, after your bath I put one of your 'new' outfits on. It's one of the outfits we bought at a store called "Once Upon A Child". They sell gently used baby clothing. Some really nice stuff, too. The little outfit you are wearing is really a Spring/Summer outfit and it's a bit early for it, but I figured since we were not going anywhere today and we were just hanging out at home, it would not hurt for you to wear it. And my, don't you look smashing. It's orange and pink and yellow with a picture of a sun on it. It just screams the fact that you are my sunshine. After I put your outfit on you and took some rather darling photos if I do say so myself, we went back to watching Sesame Street. I told Daddy over the phone that it was Aretha Franklin singing but I do believe I was mistaken. It was Patty Labelle that you were getting so tickled at singing the alphabet song with all those puppets. Patty Labelle is a very famous and a very good, I might add, lady rythym & blues singer. When you are older you won't appreciate her in the least. You'll be fond of whatever music is popular at the time. Which is the way it should be, I reckon. And now we are right back around to the point where you are down for your second to last nap of the day. You are snoring peacefully but I am here to tell you you did not go gently into that good nap. Hee, Hee,.
   Aunt Lynn called earlier and said that she has to change the date of cousin Jon's party because his three very best friends are going to be on vacation in Florida at the time. My, that must be nice. I'd like to jaunt to Florida on any given random day. Really I would. Of course I'd have to take you and Daddy with me. It just wouldn't be any fun without the two of you. Daddy is going to be off for two whole weeks and I am very excited about that. We hardly ever get to spend a whole lot of time with Daddy and now we will. I am sure we will think of some very fun activities for you to do while he is off too. Like taking you to the park. My how you loved swinging on that swing! I know for fact that we are going to Hazard one day and maybe spending the night, depending on how warm it is. Who knows, maybe we will and maybe we won't.
   I keep thinking of things to mention in this post. Two more things and then my rambling will end, I swear. You have a new pet. It's a Betta fish named Spike. He's purple and pink and really pretty with lots of wavy fins. The next thing is - you have a new jig. Seriously. You have this little thing you do when you are propped up on your hands where you rock from side to side real fast. This is your new jig. I hope to get a video of it before you get bored and move on to something else. Well little girl, I will let you go for now. I love you baby bird!

Dear Rebecca,
               Happy first day of spring, Baby Girl. It was a great day for the start of spring. It's a Sunday, of course, so we all went to Big Spring Park. You swung on the baby swings and loved it. We also all took a walk along the path at the park. There was a bunch of children there and they were picking up little garter snakes that they found along the path. Your Mother didn't like that at all. I am not real fond of snakes either, as you may well know. The kids were real nice about it though. They could tell that your Mommy wasn't a big fan of the snakes so they kept their distance from her. I was quite impressed with the consideration that the boys displayed.
      You are feeling much better after your recent bout with a cold. You still have a stopped up nose and you are still taking your antibiotics for your ear infection but you feel much better. Your Mother & I both have been very worried about you while you were sick. We hated hearing you all stuffed up and miserable as you were trying to get to sleep. You woke yourself up in the night coughing and you never got enough sleep. We are so glad that you are better.
      You spent a large part of yesterday with Mamaw & Papaw. Papaw picked you up on his way home from work. You kissed him as big as the world. You have only kissed Papaw; you won't even kiss your Mother or me. You sure do love Papaw. They say you had a grand time down there yesterday. They both love you very much. I just this moment had to change one of your poopy diapers, ewww, you can be a stinky little girl.
      You still haven't begun crawling yet. I wish you would but I here that sometimes babies sometimes do not even crawl; they just begin walking earlier. That would be fine as well. You get around very well though; you roll over and over to get exactly where you want to be. You also have begun getting into a setting position from lying on your back. You are developing very nicely and I am so very proud of you. You are going to be a very special human no matter how fast you develop. It is said that Albert Einstein didn't even begin talking until he was two years old.
      I have to work four days this week and then I will be off for two weeks and a day. I am excited about spending time with you while I am off. I miss you terribly while I am at work. We are planning on taking our fifth trip down to Hazard with you. We are just taking a day trip down to visit with your Aunt Mary & Papaw Lawrence. They love seeing you. It's a shame they don't live closer so they could see you more often.
      You wore your first Kentucky Wildcat T-shirt again yesterday. Kentucky played Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament. I wasn't very confident in our chances in the game because we had nearly been beaten by Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the tournament. I really wasn't to sure whether or not I wanted you to wear the T-shirt or not because the first time you wore that T-shirt Kentucky lost. I decided to take a chance that it wasn't you and your T-shirt that caused Kentucky to lose and we put it on you with a pair of jeans and a denim jacket. It wasn't your T-shirt that caused Kentucky to lose the first game because we won against Cincinnati. Kentucky next plays Utah in the sweet 16 next week. I'll have your Mother put you back in your T-shirt.
      I know it's been a long time since I posted but I suppose as you get older we will begin to post less and less. It just seems that there is never enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do. I suppose I will let you go for now and remember, Daddy loves Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca
                  Hello there my little baby bird. One year ago today we found out you were a girl. Yep. I remember it well. I was SO excited that day. I woke up early and waited and waited for the time to go to the doctor to come around. They whispered to your cousin Allison what you were. She knew before anyone that you were a girl. When they told me you were a girl I was so very very happy. At first Daddy wanted a boy but he says now he couldn't imagine having anything but a girl - or any girl but you. Your Daddy and I both love you so very much. This was just a short blog to tell you about finding out you were a girl. Right now I have to tend to you because you are rolling away from me! I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello there my little sweet baby bird. Right now you are upstairs sleeping in your swing. You are sick so you seem to want some way to recline so that your nose will drain a little better. It was just you and Daddy for your bedtime routine tonight; I went to see a movie called Million Dollar Baby with your great aunt Linda. It was a really good but sad movie and we had a really good time. It was all about a female boxer. I won't tell you anymore because the whole family reads this blog and I don't want to give anything away. It's not that I think you'll watch it someday or anything; just don't want to ruin the movie for the rest of your family. Daddy said you did very well with going to bed for him; of course I did not expect anything less with you. You are such a wonderful baby, even when you are sick. We are so lucky to have you.
         We had a good day together before Daddy got up. He slept in this morning. You seem to be doing a little better with your cold so this morning after your first bottle you had some oatmeal, strawberry yogurt and toast for breakfast. I was so proud of you for eating; you hand't been wanting to do it since you got sick. After your first nap in your bouncer down here where I slept next to you in your love seat, I got your tub seat out and stuck you in it and let the bath fill up enough to where you could reach your toys. I proceeded to take a shower while you were in your tub seat. You thought playing with your toys and watching me shower was big fun. After I was all clean I sat down and cleaned you up real good, then we played with your toys some more. I bought you a new bath scrubbie with a hippo on the end of it; you kept giving me a "bite" of it. I would make a gnawing sound and you laughed and laughed. After that Daddy got up and I got you dressed and put you down for a nap and he was here with you while I went to mail your brother's stuff for his birthday and get my hair cut a little. By the tine I got home you had woken up so I gave you a bottle and put you in your high chair to eat some fruit puffs Daddy bought you while I cooked our lunch/dinner of BLT's and Chips.You fussed the whole time I cooked and the whole time we ate so I put you back down to finish out your nap. When you woke up the second time you seemed to be in a much better mood. Thats when Aunt Linda stopped by and we decided on the spur of the moment to go to a movie. It was a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again real soon. Well little girl, I am tired and I want to do a thing or two on the computer here while Daddy is asleep. I love you, baby bird.

Dear Rebecca,
               You have a cold and the cold has prevented your inner ear from draining so you also have an ear infection. We took you to the doctor today. You were up all night long because you felt so bad. Your Mother stayed up with you the whole time and I was up quite a bit as well. I went on to work this morning but your Mother called and told Me to come on home at lunch so we could take you to the doctor's office. The doctor gave us some antibiotic for you that you were supposed to like because it tastes like bubble gum; you absolutely hated it. We wasted more than we were able to give you. We sure hope you are feeling better real soon. We hate to see you feeling poorly.
      We spent the evening over at Granny's place. You got to see Papaw while you were there. Granny got a new chair that lifts her in and out of it. She has been having a hard time getting up and down, ergo her back has been bothering her. We all hope that the new chair eases some of her discomfort. I sure hope you will be able to remember Granny. She has always been such a very special person to me. It's a shame you didn't know my grandfather, Granny's husband, Bambi Dee. His name was Willie Dee or maybe Willy Dee, but I couldn't say Papaw so I ended up calling him Bambi Dee. I don't know how I came up with that but he was always Bambi Dee to me and he will always be Bambi Dee to me.
      Well, you are asleep for now and I want to set down and relax with your Mother for a little bit so I will let you go. I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
               Hello little girl. I here you upstairs cooing as your Mother rocks you to sleep for the night. You don't feel very well this evening. You had an appointment for the doctor's office but a scheduling snafu prevented you from going; the doctor's snafu. I think you will be fine though. No one really believes you are very sick because you are such a sweet natured child. You always laugh and smile; even when you have a terrible bug. Your mother suctioned out your nostrils tonight and you did not enjoy that experience at all. You didn't smile through that. You screamed for all you are worth. I had to hold your little head steady as your mother suctioned and I hated it so much, as did your Mother.
      You and your Mommy had an adventure last Thursday. I doubt if she was ever going to mention it. As you know, she recently got her drivers license and has been doing a wonderful job about driving around Versailles. She got just a little too brave the other day and decided that she could make it up to General Electric where I work. She started out and got the both of you so lost. She eventually had to stop at a shopping center on South Broadway and borrow a cell phone and call me to come and get the two of you. I was very upset with Mommy but when I saw your smiling face my heart just melted. Your Mother will be a great driver one day.
      What else has happened in the last week? We gave the old Escort station wagon to your Aunt Mary this Friday afternoon. You got to visit with your Papaw Lawrence and Aunt Mary. They were both very excited to see you. We left you down at Mamaw & Papaw's when Aunt Mary left with the car; we had been keeping the old car down there. Your Mother & I came home because we wanted to watch a movie in peace for a change. It was very nice but we missed you something terrible. After the movie, The Notebook, we went down and got you. You are giving kisses now but only to Papaw. You won't even give your Mother or I a kiss. It seems that Papaw is your favorite.
      Well, your Mother is downstairs now and you are quiet so I must assume that you are asleep. Your Mother is pouring herself a diet Pepsi and I am closing out this post. We are gonna watch some television. I love you, little girl.

Dear Rebecca,
                  I know I haven't been posting here as much as I would like but I have a new toy to play with on the computer so I don't get around to everything I need to do. I have been burning children's movies onto DVD that I have recorded and transferred using Tivo. I hope you will like the films. I've burned Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Brave little Toaster, Brother Bear and many others. I think you will enjoy them in years to come.
      You scratched your face today with your fingernail. Your Mother has been trying to trim them for the last few days but you just don't seem to want to let her do that. After you scratched yourself however, she trimmed them no matter what you thought of the situation.
      You will be eight months old tomorrow. I took a few pictures of you today and you were so pretty that I decided to use one of those as your eight month picture on the web blog. You are such a pretty little girl.
      Well, I reckon I'll let you go for now. I'm sure I will post a longer entry this weekend. I hope so anyway. I love you, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
               Hello there, my pretty baby bird. Right now you are upstairs sleeping in your bouncer. You've had a big day today. This morning you & I went to Standish Motors, where Mommy bought the car, so that Mommy could get her car inspected by the Sherriff because it had an out of state title, or some such nonsense. I don't know why; I just know it had to be done. When we first got there, no one was around. So I parked and got your stroller out and we went across the way to Dairy Queen for some lunch. You had a grilled cheese sandwich and I had a double cheeseburger & fries. We both enjoyed our lunch very much. After lunch we shared dessert, a butterscotch sundae with whipped cream. You enjoyed it immensely; you love whipped cream, like ice cream alright, and you absolutely love butterscotch. I like butterscotch too so we were both extremely happy campers while we shared such a yummy treat. Everyone at Dairy Queen made a big fuss over how incredibly pretty you are. I just beam with pride & joy every time someone says that. I am so very very proud of you.
   We were so full that we only finished about half of our ice cream treat. Then I cleaned up the table & floor around you and got you all cleaned up and put you back in your stroller and rolled you over to Standish Motors. They were there this time and we went in and waited for the man who sold us the car to get off the phone. I was unsure of all the rigamoro that I had to go through to get this done but luckily for me it was really easy; I just handed him my keys and he took the car to the sherriff to get inspected. While we waited his son came in and he made a big fuss over how cute you were; He said your hair reminded him of Bam Bam on The Flinstones because it was so blonde and it was sticking straight up. I thought that was cute. You do look a little like Bam Bam. That'd be a cute nickname but for me you'll always be my Baby Bird. Or My Pretty Piggy. Whichever mood I am in at that particular moment. Daddy calls you "Little'un". After the man who sold us the car came back we loaded up and were headed home. I decided that I would drive you a bit and because it was so nice outside and that's when I saw a friend of mine, a nice man named Tommy. He was putting a little boy on the bus to kindergarten. Someday you will go to kindergarten too. I decided to stop, go in and say hello. I really hand't planned on staying that long but Tommy's mother, Bobbie, has a tendency to keep you visiting once you drop in. I know a few people like that. I also saw Roxie, who is also a friend of Mommy's. These are all family members of Mommy's friend Nancy, who passed away a few years before you were born. She was a very good friend of mine, and I am sure you will hear a lot about her in the days to come. Roxie has a little dog named Hope; it's a little poodle that's very old and not very patient with kids. You tried to pet her and play with her like she was Sadie or Ruffy and Hope snapped at you. She's really a very sweet dog but just old and can't see well but when she snapped at you Bobby smacked the fire out of her. I was glad she did too, because I was ready to kill that dog. I'd hate to hit someone else's dog, but if that dog would have bit you I don't think it would have lived another day of it's old tired little life. We were up at Roxie's place when the dog snapped; we went back down to Bobby's place after that when Roxie left for work. Bobbie has a big dog named Poncho. Poncho is very gentle and he let you play with him; I was glad that the little incident with Hope snarling and snapping did not 'scar' you. You still love puppy dogs. One day we will get you one, I promise. Right now I have to devote all of my time to taking care of you, so you'll just have to be pleased with playing with Ruffy and Sadie on visits to Mamaw & Papaw's & of course Aunt Lynn's. As usual everyone that stopped by to visit Bobbie and Tommy and Bobbie and Tommy themselves made a big fuss over just how beautiful you were, and again you were extremely entertained by Roxie's little boy, Cody. He jumps up and down to make you laugh. We really are going to have to find some more kids your age for you to play with. As usual, again. you were your excellent, friendly, happy little self. If I never say it again, Rebecca, I'll say it now; Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you, my little baby bird. You are such a pretty piggy.

Dear Rebecca,
                  I suppose I told you something that turned out not to be true in my last post; I said I was going to post a longer blog later in the week but I let the week expire without posting at all. This is the beginning of a brand new week. Well, anyway, I am posting now.
      Yesterday your Mother took you down to Aunt Lynn's to visit. She drove you down there all by herself. I am very proud of how your Mother's driving skills have been progressing. I drove down there after I rolled out of bed. I visited with my sister for awhile and then your Mother drove you back home in her Taurus while I followed her in the Explorer. We got home and then we took the Taurus for a trip to McDonalds for lunch. We decided to go to Lexington for lunch at the Cracker Barrel. I had the Sampler platter; it had chicken & dumplings, meatloaf and country ham with three vegetables. The veggies I chose were carrots, green beans and mashed potatoes. Your Mother had Chicken strips with fried apples, mac & cheese and steak fries. You shared your Mother's mac & cheese and my mashed potatoes. While we were there your Mother purchased a Yankee Candle Car Jar. The scent was "Touch of Rain". After Cracker Barrel we headed back home but the day was so nice we decided to have a little drive. We drove through downtown Lexington and all over Woodford County before coming home. You had a really great nap in the car. We got back home and we watched an episode of Las Vegas and then you went to bed. Then your Mother & I watched an episode of Investigative Reports on A&E and then I went to bed early at eight. I was very tired. Your Mother stayed up and played her computer game, Sims 2. That's what yesterday was like.
      The rest of the week was pretty much like any other week. We all woke up early and I went to work while you and your Mother stayed here. I get home from work and your Mother and I watch you play in the floor and try to watch a little television as we eat a little bite of supper. You go to bed and we watch one more television show and then your Mother and I go to bed. The next morning we all get up early and it all starts again.
      Well, you probably will be waking up here in a little bit so I will sign off of here and play around a little before you wake up. I love you very much, Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
                  Good morning? It's almost eleven o'clock, and it's still the a.m., but since you and I get up at five o'clock or five thirty, it hardly seems like morning nearly six hours later. Right now you are upstairs napping in your bouncer. I really don't like using it; you are getting a little too big for it, but since you refuse to nap in your crib, I have no choice it seems. We'll have to figure out something real soon, though. You're getting quite big; at the doctor they said you weighed in at 20 lbs... and 14 oz. Wow! You really are getting to be a big bird.
   We've had a pretty good morning together so far, save the fact you almost gave me a heart attack by making me think you had swallowed your hairbow. I called Aunt Lynn in a frenzy and she said not to worry about it, that I would get it back later. She didn't reccomend me using it, though. Ha, Ha. She said the only danger from you swallowing something like a hairbow would be that you would choke. You weren't choking but I continued to look for the hairbow anyway; I am a crazy Mama. It seemed you hand't swallowed it after all; youre nimble little fingers pulled it out and threw it behind your crib. I guess that tells me what you think about hairbows. You won't be wearing too many of them anymore, I am afraid. I don't want to risk you choking or swallowing them. Anyway, all was well except now your hair is sticking straight up. But that's usual. You need a haircut really bad but we have to wait until your first birthday. I don't know why. It's bad luck or something or damaging to your hair. Anyway, we are waiting. For one reason or another.
   This morning when you got up you ate a little and played a while in the floor then I took you upstairs to your bouncer for your first nap. I turned the monitor on and layed down in my room and drifted off to sleep, too. that was around 6:55 a.m. You slept until a little after eight o'clock; that means I did too. I got up to check on you once but you were just fine so I went on back to sleep. I heard you wake up just as I was waking up and when I went in to get you, you were sitting straight up messing with your bouncer belt. You shined a big smile at me and got all excited when I came to scoop you up. My bones were still lazy, so we went and climbed up into my bed, where you played with the teddy bear I keep there to decorate it, and well mostly for you to play with, and we played peep-eye with my blanket. We layed there and watched an episode of "Dragon Tales" and you really enjoyed it. So did I. After Dragon Tales I put you in your crib and came downstairs to fix you a bottle. You ate on it, I won't say you ate it. You had about four of six ounces and the bottle had cereal in it. Babycenter says now is a good time to start you on things like cut up grilled cheese, cheese cubes, cereal-o's, fresh ripe fruits peeled and seeded, among other many things you can grasp with your little hands and feed yourself with. I found out you weren't supposed to give eggs until twelve months, but you had them quite late, near seven months, and you've had them more than once so I think you're ok there. It seems they need to keep people a little better informed; one article I read said to start giving you scrambled eggs - the other said wait until twelve months. I guess it's just up to Mommies and Daddies to decide what they want to do in the end. Anyway, today for lunch when you wake up, we are going to have some grilled cheese together. I have you a "Gerber Graduate" chicken stew that you can "eat" - you'll spoon at it, and make a mess, but that's what babies do - what they NEED to do- and you can grab at your grilled cheese pieces and eat up good. I hope you enjoy it; grilled cheese as a child is a wonderful thing.
   Well I am going to let you go for now, I have to use the restroom and it sounds like the dishwasher is finished running. I want to empty it before you wake up. I love you, my little baby bird! Or, should I say, my BIG BECCA BIRD!

Dear Rebecca,
               We just now got back from the doctor's office. You have a little virus. You haven't been feeling very well and you have been rubbing your ear so Mommy called the pediatrician and they said to bring you on in. You will be fine but you are a little uncomfortable. We had supper at Cici's Pizza Buffet before we went to the doctor. We used your portable booster chair today for the first time. We all really liked it.
      Sorry I haven't posted lately. I have been doing things after work to get the Taurus in good working order. It works great but I just want to make it as safe and dependable as possible for Mommy & you. Plus I have been playing with my new feature on Tivo called Tivo ToGo. I can burn television shows to DVD. If you're like Mommy you couldn't care less but if you're like Daddy you're probably wondering why I am so excited about such ancient technology. Well, it's new to me.
      I'm gonna let you go for now, Hon. I love you. I will post a longer blog post later in the week.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Little girl, you sure are expensive! Yesterday, which was Friday, we went shopping while Mamaw kept you. We like taking you with us and seeing people make a big fuss over you because you are so pretty and sweet, but getting our shopping done takes a lot less time when we have a babysitter. First we went to Sam's Club, where we bought things like huge boxes of oatmeal and granola bars for Daddy's breakfast and snacks, and toothbrush heads for our one hundred dollar toothbrush. Daddy and I need a really good toothbrush because we both have what is called Periodontal disease. It's a disease which causes your gums to pull away from your teeth. You may never need a toothbrush like that if you continue to take really good care of yours. Of course when you are old enough you will have your own very nice electric toothbrush. We also bought you a "My First Colors" book at Sams Club; it will teach you all about the pretty colors you see and play with around you every day. I can't wait to see how you like it. We've been doing My First Animal flash cards and board books; I still think you might be a little young for that, but it's interactive between the two of us and you seem to enjoy it. I hope you will enjoy this new book as well. We saw some old neighbors of ours at Sam's Club. They are moving away from this neighborhood, so you may never know them.
   After we went to Sam's Club, we went to Babies R Us, where we traded in your booster seat that I so stupidly purchased four months ago. I thought it was a car seat; I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I just wasn't paying enough attention to the specifications. I am going to have to learn to do that more often. It's important that you are always safe and secure in the car, along with everywhere else. We've gotten started on a few things as far as baby proofing; Daddy and Papaw are going to have to put up your baby gates very soon. You are so close to crawling that you, and Daddy and I, can taste it. It won't be long before you are zooming all around the house on all fours. I am so proud of you. You are growing up so big and strong.
   We bought a car seat in exchange for the booster; the car seat was much more expensive but I would imagine that would be the case. There are more safety features for little tiny babies in a car seat. We look at one that cost nearly $140.00 but realized the one that was twenty dollars cheaper was the same car seat without all the hooplah. Let's face it, quite frankly, a seven month old does not need a cup holder. They just don't. We also bought you another case of milk; this may very well be the last one. Of course I said that four cases ago, and now it's come down to the fact that we have spent almost $2000.00 on cases of formula. That's not even counting the can or two we have bought here and there. We also bought you a tubside seat to make bathtime safer for the both of us. You are getting to where you want to try and crawl in the water and you are too big for the sink now so you often fall and konk your noggin. That upsets you so much so in turn, upsets me, and causes me to yell at Daddy to call the Pediatricians, which are by no means needed. We tried the seat out tonight and it worked just fine; you liked bathtime just as much as you did before, if not more, because you bounced up and down in your seat and made the water slosh all around. You think sloshing water is big fun. We also bought some more doorknob covers, to keep you in safe places and out of dangerous ones, and a Fold-N-Go booster seat made by Fisher Price. It's just like your high chair, only it's portable. It's a fantastic piece of equipment, and you enjoyed just sitting in it and playing with your toys. It will be very handy at restaurants, where their high chairs are never clean and always germy, and it will be especially handy for Mamaw's and Aunt Lynn's whenever you are down there. We bought a few more toys and a car mirror with Elmo and Cookie Monster on it so that I will be able to check on you while I am driving. We're going to have to do some figuring as to where to place it. As it is right now I can't see it or you because your car seat sits so high. The car seat works right nice as well; It has a five point harness on it, which I like A LOT. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable than just an over-the-shoulder strap. That might have been OK when you were tiny, but now you are big enough to move about and wiggle right out of that getup. All in all at Babies R Us, we spent over three hundred dollars. But, like Mamaw said, and like Daddy and I firmly believe, you are the best investment we have ever made. I would spend my last dime on you and then some. Anything to keep you healthy and happy.
   After we picked you up at Mamaw and Papaw's, (little girl, you got Papaw wrapped around your pinky finger. He drove you home with him the other day) we came home and you were so sleepy that you went right to sleep. You must have had a big day of fun and play there with all of them. I was tired myself so I wandered into the bedroom and went to Pogo land. Daddy stayed up and played on the computer and you woke up in the night for a feeding. He fed you but he said you were bright eyed and bushy tailed and that you wanted to play and you just did NOT want to go back to sleep. He finally got you back to sleep and made it to bed late. That's why he's in bed now and I get to stay up tonight. I am going to play The SIMS 2 and fiddle about; but I would wager I will be heading to bed myself quite shortly. I love you little girl, and I am not complaining about spending all of our money on you. Not at ALL. You are the one who deserves it the most. You're an angel who has blessed our lives in a way we never thought possible and we will try to give you everything we ever had and then some.
   Today we went to get Daddy's haircut and he got butchered by the serial barber. That's a running joke we have because there are tons of little boys wandering about with bad haircuts in this town. I am afraid Daddy and I finally found out who she was today. She is some lady who works at Great Clips. I was going to get my hair trimmed too, but I decided against it because by the time they got around to me everyone was busy except for her and if she had messed up my hair well quite frankly, I would have had to kill her. Really. It has taken me over a year to get my hair back in decent condition. I don't want anyone flubbing it up. You don't get to have a haircut until you are one. I am wanting to do it now because you have little mini-wings... Like Daddy gets. Daddy doesn't want to though and I really don't want to either so we are going to wait. You have pretty, thick , blonde hair. Everyone at the haircut place made a big fuss over you and how good natured and pretty and sweet you were. One lady held you for a while and talked to us. She told us she and her husband never had any children because he did not want any. That made me sad for her because Daddy and I just don't know what we would do without you. We'd take three or four more just like you. Ok maybe one more just like you. Three or four I would wager we would go broke. After we got Daddy's haircut we went to Kroger and picked up hamburger buns and an onion and tomato so I could fix bacon cheeseburgers tonight on the George Foreman for dinner. Daddy and I watched you play in the floor and play in your new booster seat and in your walker. You took a nap and I started working on supper about the time you woke up. Daddy fed you your bottle and after Daddy and I ate I fed you a number 3 baby food that was Turkey Rice and Garden Veggies. You really like the chunks that you can chew with your big and pretty teeth. We watched some Tv and then you got to try out your new tub seat. As I mentioned earlier, you liked it. Daddy got you dressed after your bath and did a fine job of it, even though I complained about the way he snapped your diaper. I guess I am just picky. I hear you stirring in your room. Your ear has been bothering you lately; If its not better by Monday I will call the pediatrician. After your bath I fed you a nice warm bottle of milk with rice baby cereal in it and rocked you a bit to get you to sleep. You fell asleep but you woke up as I lay you in your crib and I came downstairs anyway. I want you to learn to get to sleep by yourself; one day you will be too big for me to rock you. And the way you keep gaining weight, well sweetie, that day is soon. You didn't go to sleep again and eventually I had to rock you a bit to get you that way. But you are doing better and going longer and longer each time and easing you into it is the way to go - not just shocking you with it all at once. Daddy and I watched a couple more shows after you went to sleep and now he is in bed. That puts me at the end of my post for now. I will write you another nice long post as soon as I can. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello there, little girl. Did you know that you have seven big and beautiful teeth? Yep, you sure do. That's a tooth for each month you've been here with us. I won't say alive because you were alive from the moment of conception, so that would make you being alive 17 months, and you do not have seventeen teeth yet. I am so proud of you! Your teeth are in great shape. Now just STOP grinding them! You have a terrible habit of that. Anyway!
      As your Daddy stated before we did buy the 99 Ford Taurus and I am enjoying it.Tuesday I took you to the park in it after we went to get the tire leak fixed at S&S tire. Everyone at S&S tire thought you were very cute and made a big fuss over you like people always do (you really are a beautiful baby) but I was glad to get out of there because you were tired and starting to fuss and it was quite stinky what with all the rubber tires being worked on. We finally left there and by the time we got to the park you were sound asleep. I let you doze for a minute then I woke you up. I gave you a few bites of your lunch there, which was Apples with Sweet Potatoes, but you really weren't interested so I got you out of your seat. I was excited to see you swing in the baby swing at the park for the very first time. You seemed to like it but were still too sleepy to enjoy it so I got you out of the swing and brought you on home. When we got here your Aunt Mary and Papaw Lawrence showed up and they played with you a while and we all took a ride in Mommy's car over to see one of Mommy's old friend's mother. That particular friend of Mommy's passed away. Her name was Nancy and I am sure you will hear all about her over the years. She was a very good friend to me. All of Nancy's mother's friends and family made a big fuss over you as well. We left there and Aunt Mary and Papaw Lawrence had to go home because Aunt Mary had to work on Wednesday. Wednesday I didn't really want to go out. Daddy had taken the car to get the oil changed and get it washed but it was supposed to rain so Daddy wanted to come on home. I don't blame him. We had to go out on Wednesday though and use Daddy's Explorer. You were almost out of milk and I figured since we were there I would do my grocery shopping for the week. I bought some things for the house at Kroger and then we went to KMart where we bought your milk and some pampers and a brand new Umbrella stroller for you. It's tan and it has Sesame Street Characters and little animals on it. I fixed Daddy a big steak dinner for a belated Valentine's gift yesterday. He says he really enjoyed it and I am glad. We had a romantic dinner, just the three of us. You actually napped through most of it, and while I was putting you down for that nap Daddy did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. He is a good husband and father and we are lucky to have him.
      Today Daddy did go and get the oil changed and the car washed and then he brought Subways home for dinner. We were invited up to your Great Granny's house where Mamaw was going to fix dinner but I am not feeling well today so I did not want to go near Granny. Tonight when Daddy got home after we ate the dinner he brought us he took you on up to see your Great Granny and Mamaw.I did not go, I stayed here to write this blog to you. I am sick with something; I don't know what. I just know that I am nauseated and sniffly. I actually threw up this morning. And no, I am not pregnant. We had a good day though, you are a super great baby and you really enjoy reading Bible Stories with Mommy. Today we read the story of Moses and Pharoah. You like to paw at the book and look at the pictures while I read. You really love playing with your toys and rolling around in the floor. This afternoon I looked up and before I knew it you were grabbing at Winnie the Pooh, which is under the entertainment center. I had actually sat you up in front of your toys in front of the chair, which is across the room. You actually crawled a little bit to the phone towards Daddy's voice yesterday. I had a movie but I accidentally erased it. I was so mad because I really didn't have any proof, but Daddy saw you do it today. You are getting so big and independent; we are really going to have to work on baby-proofing this place. Your safety is the up most importance. Well little girl, I am going to let you go for now. I am tired and I feel queasy again... I will write you a nice long blog again soon. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
         We all had a very busy weekend this weekend. We did buy the 99' Taurus on Saturday. Your Mother was and still is very excited about it. It's a real good looking automobile. Saturday night we had Jon, Jacob & Allison over while Uncle Rodney & Aunt Lynn had a romantic breakfast at Cracker Barrel and some hot and heavy paperwork at Rodney's father's house. You can tell they've been married a few years, can't ya? We didn't get to watch our movies; the boys wouldn't allow that at all. Saturday night I got an update to my Tivo that I have been looking forward to. Now I can transfer shows I record with my Tivo to my computer and then burn them to a DVD. That is so very cool.
      Sunday I got up with you and fed you six ounces of formula three baby spoons of cereal and a half a jar of oatmeal with pears and cinnamon and played with you but you got super fussy real quick; you woke your Mother up and she knew exactly what was wrong with you; you were already hungry again. She fed you and then I had to go down to Mamaw & Papaw's so he could look over our new car for us. I was down there for about four to five hours. We have an exhaust leak that we have to take care of and eventually we'll have to get rear brakes but there wasn't anything major wrong with the car. After we were done there I went to Granny's because you & your Mom were there; so was Mamaw and Aunt Louise. After I got there Papaw and Uncle Tommy showed up. We all had salad and pizza and watched you entertain us on Granny's rug. After we left your Mother wanted to take a short ride in her new car so we drove around Versailles for a little bit and then came home. It was really late by that time so your Mother took you directly upstairs and I posted this blog while I waited for her to get done so we could watch a little television before bed. Well, it looks like you are asleep so I will let you go for now. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                     Here it is on a Saturday morning, 9:33 to be exact. Your Mother is upstairs putting you down for your nap and I just got up. I stayed up late last night playing on the computer and am up relatively early but I feel okay so I reckon I did get enough sleep. Last night your Mother went to bed around ten o'clock, after we watched a movie with Kim Basinger in it called Cellular. It was a pretty good little movie. It wasn't a ten or even an eight but it was probably a seven in my own personal film scoring system; maybe a six point five. We also have Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow & Friday Night Lights to watch this weekend, plus a bunch of television that we tivo'ed over the course of the week.
      As your Mother has mentioned, we have been looking for an automobile for her. That and some perfume from Victoria's Secret is going to be her Valentines Day present from me to her. We looked at that Taurus yesterday and made an offer that the guy selling the car didn't take. Papaw was worried about a leak in the exhaust somewhere in the auto. We liked it a whole lot. We are still discussing whether or not we would like to have that car. I hope we don't screw up and buy a piece of crappola. Only time will tell though.
      I changed the names that we use to sign these blogs. It's been Danny & Kristie since the beginning but now it's Mommy & Daddy. It just seems right and I think you'll know us by those names more than our given names, at least you had better know us by Mommy & Daddy. There'll be none of that progressive first name calling of your parents in this ole' home. Your Momma just burped. She's folding laundry as we speak so apparently you have gone to sleep upstairs. Your Mother moved you out of your swing for your naps because you are setting up so well that she was afraid you would set up and lean forward so far that you would tip the thing over.
      Allison and the boys are coming over tonight so that Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rodney are going out for Valentines Day. Valentines Day is not until Monday but no one wants to do anything romantical on a Monday. I really need to do something really nice for your Mother. She's such a great wife and mother and I am so in love with her. I am as contented in my life as I have ever been. After so many years of stress and worry it's nice to be at ease in my life. Anyway, we may save the Sky Captain film so the boys can have something to watch tonight. Aunt Lynn also rented the Friday Night Lights film; it's a football movie. The boys like sports movies. Speaking of movies, I wish you were a little older because there's a new movie in the theater called Pooh's Heffalump Movie. I'd love to take you to see a film like that. We are going to purchase that film on DVD when it comes out. Your Daddy likes Pooh anyway, as you well know by the ugly tattoo of pooh that he has on his leg. Why is your Father writing all of this in the third person; he's a silly man. A silly and good looking man.
      I told you once that I was going to tell you how your Mother & I met. I think now would be a good time to do that since it's so close to Valentines Day. Well, I'm going to wait until your Mother is off the phone with Aunt Lynn so she can help me out with the details. As you know, I'm not real great at remembering stuff. I have hard time remembering when our anniversary is. I know it's either the sixth or the seventh of July, I think. She's off the phone so here goes. Ten years ago in March I was watching a Kentucky basketball game that I had taped on video when I decided that I wanted a soda. I didn't have any soda at the house; I had to go to the store. I got in my 88' Ranger that I had bought new when I was younger and could afford such things. I was going to go to Kroger but as I passed Dairy Mart I saw the vehicle of a girl that I had recently been pursuing; this girl was evil to your Father. She told him to bug off after I had spent lots of cash on her. Anyway, I wanted to see how she would react if she saw me. I walked into Dairy Mart and she ran into the back of the store. I was highly amused by that. I purchased my soda and probably some candy and went back outside to go home. This girl walked up to me and asked me if I was going to Lexington. I said I hadn't planned on it. This girl, your Mother, said she would give me five dollars if I would take her to her housekeeping job at the Campbell House Inn at the corner of Broadway & Mason Headly. The light wasn't so great so I couldn't exactly see what she looked like but she had a nice voice and I could see that she did have a nice figure so I told her that I would give her a ride and she didn't have to pay me. She got into this perfect strangers automobile for the ride to Lexington. We talked a little and I could now see that she was very pretty and we were getting along so well that I thought I might ask her out on a date. She sensed that I was about to do that so she then mentioned the was engaged to a truck driver. My bubble had been burst even before I had let it go. I was glad that I didn't ask her and get turned down though. We talked some more and come to find out that a few years earlier I had asked out her sister, your Aunt Mary and had been turned down by her as well. I remember how pretty Mary had been when I asked her out, she was a high school cheerleader and she was very attractive, so I gave your Mother my telephone number and told her to have her sister call me. She took the number and said she would have her sister call me. We eventually arrived at the hotel and I let her out and drove back home where I drank my soda as I watched Kentucky win yet another basketball game.
      A few days later I called my answering machine from work and I had a message from a girl. I really never got that many calls from girls in my life so I was extremely intrigued. I couldn't place the voice. I thought it might be a girl from K Mart that I had been flirting with even though she was way to young for me. I called the number left on the machine and I asked who it was. It was your Aunt Mary, the hot cheerleader had called me, I was blown away. She called to find out who I was. She remembered me from Long John Silvers where I used to go get an item that I liked that they have since quit selling. I don't remember her waiting on me at Long John Silvers, I remember her from Arby's; she had changed so much that I didn't even recognize her even though I still thought about how pretty she was when I asked her out at Arby's. The next day she called again. It seems that her and her sister, your Mother needed a ride home because she had been to the doctor and wasn't feeling well and her car was broken down. Broken down cars have always been the way your Aunt Mary rolls or rather doesn't roll. I came out and was shocked at how different she looked from years earlier. She actually a mess compared to the hot cheerleader but she used to be a cheerleader and I had always wanted to date a cheerleader and even a washed up cheerleader would have fit the bill. I took Mary and your Mother to a restaurant called Sweet Potataoes here in Versailles.
      Over the course of the next few months it seems like I fed both girls almost everyday while I pursued Mary. I wasn't having much luck with her and I didn't know why. I began to hang out more and more with her sister and she would give me encouragement it my pursuit of Mary. I enjoyed hanging out with Kristie but my heart was set on the cheerleader, being the foolish man that I am. Kristie and I got very close and even kissed but still I wanted Mary. Eventually I could see that Kristie was the girl I wanted to be with but by that time she didn't want to be with me. I pursued her over the course of the next year. We hung out together all of the time. Everyone thought that we were a couple but as your Mother made a point of telling me, she was not my girlfriend. Still we did everything together. Your Mother had a few boyfriends during that time and that just about drove me to distraction. Eventually, she wrote me a letter; I had had letters from her before and they had never been good things so I didn't want to read it. I eventually did read the letter. In it she had said that I had been chasing after her for such a long time and that I could now quit chasing. I really didn't know what she meant by that; maybe she was telling me that she didn't want to see me at all anymore. I asked her what she meant by that and she kissed me. I asked her if this was for real and she said it was and we have been together ever since. We've had more than our share of rocky times but we've came through them because we love each other so very much and now that you are here things just couldn't be better. Well, that is the story of how your Mother & I became the loving couple that we are. I'm just glad that I don't have to go through courting her again. It was quite stressful on me but I'm glad I did and I'm sure you are too or else you wouldn't be here.
      Well, I think we're going to go see about that car now. We're still undecided about it. I'm leaving it up to your Mother. I hate purchasing cars. I'll let you go for now.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Here it is on a Saturday morning, 9:33 to be exact. Your Mother is upstairs putting you down for your nap and I just got up. I stayed up late last night playing on the computer and am up relatively early but I feel okay so I reckon I did get enough sleep. Last night your Mother went to bed around ten o'clock, after we watched a movie with Kim Basinger in it called Cellular. It was a pretty good little movie. It wasn't a ten or even an eight but it was probably a seven in my own personal film scoring system; maybe a six point five. We also have Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow & Friday Night Lights to watch this weekend, plus a bunch of television that we tivo'ed over the course of the week.
      As your Mother has mentioned, we have been looking for an automobile for her. That and some perfume from Victoria's Secret is going to be her Valentines Day present from me to her. We looked at that Taurus yesterday and made an offer that the guy selling the car didn't take. Papaw was worried about a leak in the exhaust somewhere in the auto. We liked it a whole lot. We are still discussing whether or not we would like to have that car. I hope we don't screw up and buy a piece of crappola. Only time will tell though.
      I changed the names that we use to sign these blogs. It's been Danny & Kristie since the beginning but now it's Mommy & Daddy. It just seems right and I think you'll know us by those names more than our given names, at least you had better know us by Mommy & Daddy. There'll be none of that progressive first name calling of your parents in this ole' home. Your Momma just burped. She's folding laundry as we speak so apparently you have gone to sleep upstairs. Your Mother moved you out of your swing for your naps because you are setting up so well that she was afraid you would set up and lean forward so far that you would tip the thing over.
      Allison and the boys are coming over tonight so that Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rodney are going out for Valentines Day. Valentines Day is not until Monday but no one wants to do anything romantical on a Monday. I really need to do something really nice for your Mother. She's such a great wife and mother and I am so in love with her. I am as contented in my life as I have ever been. After so many years of stress and worry it's nice to be at ease in my life. Anyway, we may save the Sky Captain film so the boys can have something to watch tonight. Aunt Lynn also rented the Friday Night Lights film; it's a football movie. The boys like sports movies. Speaking of movies, I wish you were a little older because there's a new movie in the theater called Pooh's Heffalump Movie. I'd love to take you to see a film like that. We are going to purchase that film on DVD when it comes out. Your Daddy likes Pooh anyway, as you well know by the ugly tattoo of pooh that he has on his leg. Why is your Father writing all of this in the third person; he's a silly man. A silly and good looking man.
      I told you once that I was going to tell you how your Mother & I met. I think now would be a good time to do that since it's so close to Valentines Day. Well, I'm going to wait until your Mother is off the phone with Aunt Lynn so she can help me out with the details. As you know, I'm not real great at remembering stuff. I have hard time remembering when our anniversary is. I know it's either the sixth or the seventh of July, I think. She's off the phone so here goes. Ten years ago in March I was watching a Kentucky basketball game that I had taped on video when I decided that I wanted a soda. I didn't have any soda at the house; I had to go to the store. I got in my 88' Ranger that I had bought new when I was younger and could afford such things. I was going to go to Kroger but as I passed Dairy Mart I saw the vehicle of a girl that I had recently been pursuing; this girl was evil to your Father. She told him to bug off after I had spent lots of cash on her. Anyway, I wanted to see how she would react if she saw me. I walked into Dairy Mart and she ran into the back of the store. I was highly amused by that. I purchased my soda and probably some candy and went back outside to go home. This girl walked up to me and asked me if I was going to Lexington. I said I hadn't planned on it. This girl, your Mother, said she would give me five dollars if I would take her to her housekeeping job at the Campbell House Inn at the corner of Broadway & Mason Headly. The light wasn't so great so I couldn't exactly see what she looked like but she had a nice voice and I could see that she did have a nice figure so I told her that I would give her a ride and she didn't have to pay me. She got into this perfect strangers automobile for the ride to Lexington. We talked a little and I could now see that she was very pretty and we were getting along so well that I thought I might ask her out on a date. She sensed that I was about to do that so she then mentioned the was engaged to a truck driver. My bubble had been burst even before I had let it go. I was glad that I didn't ask her and get turned down though. We talked some more and come to find out that a few years earlier I had asked out her sister, your Aunt Mary and had been turned down by her as well. I remember how pretty Mary had been when I asked her out, she was a high school cheerleader and she was very attractive, so I gave your Mother my telephone number and told her to have her sister call me. She took the number and said she would have her sister call me. We eventually arrived at the hotel and I let her out and drove back home where I drank my soda as I watched Kentucky win yet another basketball game.
      A few days later I called my answering machine from work and I had a message from a girl. I really never got that many calls from girls in my life so I was extremely intrigued. I couldn't place the voice. I thought it might be a girl from K Mart that I had been flirting with even though she was way to young for me. I called the number left on the machine and I asked who it was. It was your Aunt Mary, the hot cheerleader had called me, I was blown away. She called to find out who I was. She remembered me from Long John Silvers where I used to go get an item that I liked that they have since quit selling. I don't remember her waiting on me at Long John Silvers, I remember her from Arby's; she had changed so much that I didn't even recognize her even though I still thought about how pretty she was when I asked her out at Arby's. The next day she called again. It seems that her and her sister, your Mother needed a ride home because she had been to the doctor and wasn't feeling well and her car was broken down. Broken down cars have always been the way your Aunt Mary rolls or rather doesn't roll. I came out and was shocked at how different she looked from years earlier. She actually a mess compared to the hot cheerleader but she used to be a cheerleader and I had always wanted to date a cheerleader and even a washed up cheerleader would have fit the bill. I took Mary and your Mother to a restaurant called Sweet Poataoes here in Versailles.
      Over the course of the next few months it seems like I fed both girls almost everyday while I pursued Mary. I wasn't having much luck with her and I didn't know why. I began to hang out more and more with her sister and she would give me encouragement it my pursuit of Mary. I enjoyed hanging out with Kristie but my heart was set on the cheerleader, being the foolish man that I am. Kristie and I got very close and even kissed but still I wanted Mary. Eventually I could see that Kristie was the girl I wanted to be with but by that time she didn't want to be with me. I pursued her over the course of the next year. We hung out together all of the time. Everyone thought that we were a couple but as your Mother made a point of telling me, she was not my girlfriend. Still we did everything together. Your Mother had a few boyfriends during that time and that just about drove me to distraction. Eventually, she wrote me a letter; I had had letters from her before and they had never been good things so I didn't want to read it. I eventually did read the letter. In it she had said that I had been chasing after her for such a long time and that I could now quit chasing. I really didn't know what she meant by that; maybe she was telling me that she didn't want to see me at all anymore. I asked her what she meant by that and she kissed me. I asked her if this was for real and she said it was and we have been together ever since. We've had more than our share of rocky times but we've came through them because we love each other so very much and now that you are here things just couldn't be better. Well, that is the story of how your Mother & I became the loving couple that we are. I'm just glad that I don't have to go through courting her again. It was quite stressful on me but I'm glad I did and I'm sure you are too or else you wouldn't be here.
      Well, I think we're going to go see about that car now. We're still undecided about it. I'm leaving it up to your Mother. I hate purchasing cars. I'll let you go for now.

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello there, my sweet baby bird. Right now you are playing in the floor with your toys while you watch a Baby Einstein video called "Baby Da Vinci". It's all about the body parts. It's teaching you to identify them; at least I am hoping is helping to teach you identify them. Mommy is busy on the internet looking for a vehicle for you and I to get around safely in. Quite frankly, it's driving me insane. What is a girl to do? I wish I was a man who knew stuff about cars, like your Papaw, just for today. Ha, ha, I somehow don't think God had it planned to work that way. Oh well, one can wish. It's been almost forty five minutes since I started this post; your Aunt Linda called and so did your Daddy and I had to put you down for a nap. I'll be glad when this whole car buying business is over. One because I will have a car, and two, because I won't have to hunt for one anymore. All this hunting is brutal. I still like the Ford Taurus that Daddy and I saw at Standish Motors; if he still has it and it's a good vehicle, per your Papaw, then that is the one we may get. I hope the answer is yes on both counts. I don't know, though, I called the owner of that car lot this morning at 8 a.m. and left a message and he has yet to call me back.
   You're sleeping quietly in your room right now and I am doing my best to catch the laundry up and hunt down a flippin' vehicle. I will let you go for now and post you a nice long, drawn out, boring post at a later time. I love you, little one!

Dear Rebecca,
               As your Mother mentioned in the previous post, you came out to work yesterday so everyone I, your Daddy, could see just what a beautiful baby I have. They were not disappointed. You put on such a show and I was so very proud of you. I felt like my chest would explode I had it poked out so far from pride. You are the best thing I have ever done. I still am in awe that you are my daughter; you are so beautiful and smart.
      Your Mother had a follow up at the dentist yesterday, as she mentioned, and while she was seeing the dentist you & I went over to Meijer for baby wipes, floor cleaning formula for your Mother's little spot lifter and milk. While I was there I picked up a couple of packs of those Yobaby yogurts your Mom mentioned and I got myself a couple of boxes of fresh strawberries; they were on sale for two dollars a box. I certainly do love strawberries. You can't have strawberries just yet because of the tiny seeds on the skin. We had a grand ole' time together, just you & I. We played peek-a-boo while I pushed you around the store. You love that game, only you like to be the one hiding. You are such a smart baby.
      Your Mother told me that you tried a number three baby food and you did real well with it. I am so proud. It was banana-strawberry, you can have strawberry baby food but not real strawberries; poor baby.
      Well, your Mother & I are going to watch a horror movie she's been looking forward to. I love you very much Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                     Little girl, you never cease to amaze me. Apparently Creamed spinach is the cat's meow to you. You finished off half a jar in under five minutes. If I were to try and eat creamed spinach I would hurl it up in under five minutes. I'm so proud that you like so many things that are good for you. You love green beans and peas and tons of other green veggies as well. You like fruit and you love yogurt, of which I gave you too much last night. It's a new kind we are trying called Yobaby and it's made with whole milk. I think it was a bit much on your digestive system because you spit up quite big all over your PJ's and I had to change you before I put you to sleep. Of course you ate an entire container of it, too. Right now you are playing in the floor with your toys and you are getting tired so I am going to pause this post and put you down for a nap. It's now 2:13 p.m.
      It's now 2:49 p.m. Yup. It took a while to get you down that time. You must have been a little hungry because you took four ounces of formula and you had just eaten three and a half ounces at 1:10 along with your creamed spinach. I just had to pause again for a few minutes to get you back to sleep. I put you in the kitchen to keep from disturbing you and you sneezed and apparently that woke you up. I think (at least I hope) you are back to sleep now.
      Big happenings this weekend and Monday. Saturday we had a birthday dinner for Granny. Your great-granny Annetta, that is. Mommy had made her a scrapbook with pictures of all her family & some poems and trinkets in it and she really loved it. However, as always, you were the hit of the party. You are so pretty and sweet, how could you not be? Everyone just made over how adorable you are. Your Great Granny loves you very much. As does everyone. Great Granny turned 88 Saturday. She's lived a long and fruitful life and I hope she has many more years to share with us. And you.
      Monday your Mamaw picked us up and took us up to GE to meet Daddy because Mommy had a dentist appointment that afternoon. She brought us a little early so that everyone at Daddy's work could see just how cute you are. She's not feeling very well so she did not stay with us to watch the good folks up there squawk and make a fuss over you. Your Daddy was so excited that he ran to get you from me right after he got off work. He really loves you very much and is very proud of you. I can't blame him. So do I and so am I. You really put on a show for the folks at the factory, laughing and babbling and waving and smiling. Yep, you were waving. Everyone thought you were super cute and Daddy was highly impressed with your waving ability. I kept telling everyone that was the little thing you were doing with your hand and they did not believe me. You know who taught you that? Me and Super Grover, that's who. You really liked one particular lady at Daddy's work, a lady named Mary Brown. She is a nice black woman that works with Daddy and she has a gold tooth. I think you wanted to get a closer peek at that shiny gold thingy. I could be wrong, though.
      At the dentist Mommy got the other side of her mouth cleaned and I sent Daddy to the store with you and he picked up things we needed like baby wipes and milk. It took him a while because he was not familiar with the store he was in and I was done before the two of you got back. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home and I tried to eat a burger with a numb mouth but I kept biting my tongue. Mommy decided that was too difficult and gave up. I finished my milk shake and that was enough to get me full anyway. You have a special parfait in the fridge right now that you are going to get as a treat when you wake up from your nap. We got it when we got our other food yesterday. You really love McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfaits. Of course you just eat the yogurt part. Mommy or Daddy finishes the fruit.
      It's Tuesday now and I think we've had a pretty good day. We hung out in the chair a lot while I watched old Maury episodes and you played with the remotes in my lap. Mommy has not felt very good today. I sure hope I did not catch Mamaw's bug. If I did that might mean you did, too. Mamaw did her best to keep away from you so if you get it, well it will be my fault. We'll keep our fingers crossed. You've also played a lot in the floor with your toys that Santa brought you, like your "Touch N Crawl" Winnie The Pooh and the cute little Snow Tigger that your great Aunt Louise got you for Christmas. As always the blocks and the rings kept you good company while I read you the store of Joseph and his Coat out of the Bible Storybook you also got for Christmas. We looked through your book of animals but did not do your flash cards today, because I wanted to read you another book. The one I got you for Valentine's day. It's called Happy Valentine's, Peter Rabbit. In it, he gives his mother a Valentine. I think that is very sweet. I can't wait to get my very first Valentine from you. We sent out Disney Princess Valentine's from you (Mommy helped you write them) to our family and friends. I put them in the mailbox today. I know that everyone will love to get them.
      Well, little girl, your sleep is restless and there are things I need to do real quick before you wake up, like go use the restroom and pick up some of your toys. Now it's nearly time for your Daddy to get off work, and I have to think of something for dinner. I love you, my sweet baby bird.

Dear Rebecca,
               Well, we've all had a pretty busy weekend so far, and we still have another day to go. Friday night you were supposed to go down to Mamaw & Papaw's while we went grocery shopping. We love having you with us but sometimes we can just get things done a whole lot quicker if you are somewhere else. We had to spend nearly three hundred dollars on groceries and a few cleaning items and that does not even include your formula, which is nearly twenty five dollars a can. As I was saying, you were supposed to go down to you Mamaw & Papaw's Friday evening but Mamaw became ill so we took you with us on our trip to Lexington for food. We first went to a video store called Movie Gallery. It's in Lexington but I drive by every day so it's really no more inconvenient than the video stores in Versailles.
      Totally off topic, by the way, why are they still called video stores? Video is a format that has seen its better days. Mostly video stores carry DVDs. They may stock a few video cassettes but primarily it's DVD.
      Anyway, we rented us a few films, The Forgotten and Alien vs. Predator. Then we went to the grocery store and spent tons of money. We were almost out of food at our place. We then went to McDonalds and then home. It was real late by your standards and you went to sleep right away.
      Tonight we went to Granny's eighty-eighth birthday party. I know that Granny was the honored guest but as is always the case, you were the star of the show. It got late on us again and you were so very tired but you didn't cry at all. Everyone was so in awe of just how even tempered a baby you are. I was so proud of you.
Well, your Mom just gave you a bottle and I know you are asleep and she is finishing up brushing her teeth and we want to watch a little TV before I go to bed. I'm getting up with you in the morning and your Mother is going to stay up a little while and play her computer game, Sims 2. I'll let you go for now. I love you, Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                     Hello there, my pretty little baby bird. So far, we have had a fantastic day together. This morning after Daddy left you took a short nap while I dusted the bedrooms & made the beds. When you woke up you had a dirty diaper so I cleaned you up and then you and I took a bath together. It was big fun for the both of us. We played with your bath toys and I sang the "Duck" song and "Rubber Duckie" and "Down in the Meadow". After we got all dried off I put a onesie and some socks on you and sat you in the middle of mine and Daddy's bed. I flipped our little TV over to "Dragon Tales" on Cartoonland and gave you the teddy bear I keep in the middle of the bed to play with. You sat and played with that teddy bear and one of my hair ties while you half watched Dragon tales and half watched me blow drying my hair. Then I brought you downstairs to get you dressed in your very cute (if I do say so myself) Minnie mouse overalls and matching pink shirt. You really do look so cute in it. Then you had your second bottle of the day and after that a little bit of Oatmeal with Bananas baby cereal. After that you played in your walker some then we got in the floor and played with your toys and I read you a story from your book "5 Minute Bible Stories" that Santa brought you for Christmas. Today we read about Adam and Eve. Yesterday we read about Creation. I want you to know all about Jesus and how much God loves you. After that you took a little nap and when you woke up we played some more with your toys in the floor and you watched your baby Neptune video a bit. We played a lot more in the floor and I took some pretty pictures of you in the floor there and in Daddy's chair. I really had you laughing when we were playing in the floor; you love grabbing a hold of my pony tail and feeling it tickle your face.
      After we were done playing you had lunch. You must have been very hungry because at first I only fixed you four ounces with a baby spoon of cereal in it and you sucked it down in under three minutes. You had not been taking six ounces at a time so I did not want to waste any of your formula. That stuff is expensive! I made you two more ounces and you drank it down and after I gave you a good burp and we finished up an old Maury episode I took you in the kitchen and you ate an entire Stage 1 container of Gerber Sweet Peas. You are on Stage 2s now but I still give you ones in some things like peas and green beans and bananas because the consistency really is not that much different. In addition to that, if I have coupons for ones I am going to buy them. Hey, it's good and good for you - and good for me too. And my wallet. Anyway, the Stage 1 containers are a little smaller than the Stage 2 but not by much so you eating all of it after your six ounces of formula with cereal is really saying something. After that you seemed tired so I put you in your bouncy and let you watch 'Kids Favorite Songs 2" and you started to fuss like you were tired so I bounced you to sleep and put you in the kitchen. You just now woke up so I took a 20 minute break to get you settled into your walker and put on Sesame street and give you a cookie and now you are munching happily and banging your "Maraca" Santa bought you for Christmas. It's a little rattle that makes noise and says "Bravo" and "Ole" when you bang and shake it. In between banging and shaking and munching and taking a sip or two from your sippy cup you take a peak at Sesame Street periodically. You are a great multi-tasking little girl. Well I am going to let you go for now because I want to play with you some more. I love you, little girl!

Dear Rebecca,
               It's Tuesday night right now. You are upstairs getting six ounces of Similac Advance with a baby spoon of cereal in it, probably rice. After that your Momma will rock you to sleep and then lay you down in your crib and then she'll come downstairs and we will watch Fear Factor together and hopefully one other show; I wouldn't count on the second though. Then off to bed and up again and away to work I shall go. I'm looking forward to the weekend. We are having a birthday party for Granny this weekend. I think she will be 88 years old. I could be wrong but it's got to be close to that.
      Your Mother & I almost had a little tiff but you woke up and we laughed at you being so cute that we forgot all about whatever it was that we were about to have our tiff over. You woke up a little early and fussed for a little bit but when we put you in your bouncy and set up the activity bar you had a grand old time. You babbled and giggled and screamed. We really do enjoy you. You are a very good baby. Your Mother commented just this evening how you just open your mouth and let her brush your little teeth and don't fuss at all. Of course it helps that your toothpaste is strawberry-banana flavored.
      Our tax refund was accepted by both the federal government and the state government, so that is really good news. We're getting back a whole lot of money this year; over twice what we got back last year. We're going to get your Mother a car with the tax refund which should be directly deposited in the bank by the eleventh of this month. We're also going to get a new printer so we can print out more pretty pictures of our cute little daughter.
      Oops, I almost posted this under your Mother's name but with the magic of cut & paste everything is okay. I'm gonna let you go for now. I want to do one or two more things on this computer before your Mom comes downstairs. I love you, Rebecca.