"Do As I'm Doing...

follow, follow me..."

Apparently, I must stand like this alot:
Is this not the most typical "pregnant lady" pose ever? (and forgive the diaper-clad baby...it was hot in our house today and I didn't have the heart to put him in more clothes after I took off the ones he got dirty at the Children's Museum today).

Now if only I could make my belly look as cute as his.

And I'm reminded more and more each day how much Keegan is like his dad...
Their somewhat matching outfits was totally accidental (seeing as how this was Keegan's third outfit of the day). Like father, like son, I guess.

Names, Names, What's in a Name (no, seriously)...

So, I'm pretty sure that I've talked/blogged/pontificated on this subject before (ad naseum I'm sure for some people), but a lot of people have been asking AJ and I lately if we have come up with/decided on a name yet for this little baby who is coming in 2 months (hopefully sooner...and YIKES that's gone by kind of fast) and now I'm suddenly worried that we will be leaving the hospital with an unnamed baby. So much so that I lie in bed at night and think about it when I can't get myself back to sleep. The problem is...we can't seem to come up with a name. And it's not really even that we can't decide between one or two, it's literally that we can't come up with a name that just strikes both of us.

I don't remember having this much trouble coming up with Keegan's name. Maybe I had more time to sit and look through name books and on naming websites (since I was working then, ya know). I had a list of names that I loved and then I found Keegan and it just seemed right. AJ wasn't sold at first, but all of a sudden, he agreed. It was the right name. It was harder to decide on his middle name. We had two choices and couldn't decide between the two. That decision wasn't made until we were at the hospital (and the lady kept harassing us to hurry up and decide to so we could sign his birth certificate). But overall, the whole process seemed rather seamless...just simple and direct.

Not so much this time around. I look at naming websites, and through the naming book that I have and at the list that I made with Keegan, and I don't really like any of them. There are some that are "ok" and we've added them to the list, but none of them seem "right". Some we have ruled out because we don't want the kid growing up and being teased mercilessly from his classmates (like Duncan...which is one of my favorites, but AJ had a point when he said he'd be called "Dunkin Donuts" his whole life...or "Double D" like AJ's sister Des was growing up). The few that both of us think might work, end up being names of other kids that we know and see on a regular basis (which, I know, should be totally ok, but still, we are hesitant). We aren't trying to do anything too off the wall, or crazy unique, but at the same time, we don't want to just go with the same ol' Joe, Larry, or Jim (no offense to any Joe's, Larry's or Jim's out there). We have a friend who is due about 3 weeks before me and they've had their name picked out since they found out they were having a boy (it's actually one I remember my sister Cynth loving at one point in time...years before she was married and had kids, but still...it made me laugh. Cynth, you just have the touch with names). Another friend just had their baby daughter and they knew right away what they were going to name here (she's named after her maternal grandma and someone else I can't remember right now). We just can't seem to find that right combination (the sad thing is, we have names that we do like, but they just don't seem right this time around...totally crazy and silly, I know, but still).

So, I'm putting this out there. For my friends and loved ones with kids, was it this hard for you to find names (whether it was with your first or your subsequent bebe's)? Are we just making too much of it all? Should we just go with one of the names that we are just kind of "lukewarm" about right now and hope that it grows on us? And does anyone want a chance at naming my kid? (Anyone, Anyone, Bueller)?

Leather and Crystal...

3 years ago today this happened...

I am so grateful to have been lucky enough in my life to be married to AJ for time and all eternity. He was well worth the wait. Everyday I marvel at how blessed I am to have him in my life, and still pinch myself in awe that it's not all a dream. He is my best friend, my confident, my support when I am not strong enough to deal with all the things that life hands me, he is my pillar of strength and faith when I am lacking, and he is all that is good and right with this world (or at least with my world). He is better than I probably ever deserved and I'm so grateful that he is all mine for eternity.

Even with all the little mishaps, changes in plans and raw emotions of the day, there is nothing that I would change about it. To me it was perfect.

Thanks to all those that supported us that day 3 years ago, and who continue to support us today. We couldn't have done it without you.

Here are just a couple of my favorite shots from that day:

And my absolute favorite picture from that day...I still need to get it printed out and framed. All in good time, I suppose.

Here's to another 73 years (thanks Val!).

Bon Anniversaire....

31 years ago today, this "little" guy entered the world weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds 10 ounces (yes, it's his fault that I have 9+ pound children).

The day will be pretty mellow...He started it off by surfing EARLY this morning..I surprised him and made cinnamon rolls for his office this morning, along with some fresh fruit, fruit dip (thanks to my sister Cynth for the recipe) and OJ. He managed to finagle a free lunch from one of the drug reps for this afternoon and then this evening will be whatever I manage to throw together for dinner (although that could mean he ends up grilling on the BBQ, but that's ok). I guess it's true what they say...birthdays kind of lose their magic the older you get (although I still like trying to do something for him).


So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AJ!! 31 years looks good on you!
You are an amazing husband, father, son, best friend and all around guy. I'm lucky to have you in my life.

Happy Father's Day...

I may not be the most eloquent with words, but I wanted to say to all the wonderful dads and grandpas that I know out there (some I have pictures of and others I don't, but I hope you know who you are and how much you are appreciated):

Thank you for your example, your patience, your love, your kindness, your guidance, and most importantly of all, your attitudes of FUN.

Thank you all for making our lives richer and for working so hard to provide a good life. You have all given new meaning to fatherhood, and all the joys, sorrows, disappointments, triumphs, etc. that it entails.

Home Again, Home Again

Finally, we are home!!

It's been a long and exhausting two weeks, but it's also been a fun two weeks. Camping with a 16-month old, while 28 weeks pregnant was definitely an adventure, and not necessarily one that I plan on repeating anytime soon (at least not in those exact circumstances or without a few extra creature comforts).

However, there were a lot of socialization opportunities for Keegan between watching 5 other kids for a week and then having 5 kids just a campsite away to play with at any time. I feel like he has grown up tremendously. I seriously wonder where my little "baby" boy has gone and why the heck he decided he could all of a sudden become a little "man".

The best part of the last week, though, has been all the time that AJ and Keegan were able to spend together, and the time we were able to spend together as a family. Keegan was able to learn all about the joys of lighter fluid on fire (I so had nothing to do with that), skateboarding with Dad, charging into the ocean (which is something that he has never done before), sandcastle building (and demolishing like he was King Kong), drinking salt water off of the sand and playing "fetch" with the squirrels (as a result, we did however manage to have the most squirrel-free campsite at the beach), just to name a few. It was a great week.

So here are a few pictures from our adventures of the past week at South Carlsbad State Beach (a place I highly recommend to anyone who wants to camp at the beach).

If anyone is interested, you can join us there next year! :)

Locks of Love

So, it's not really a secret that I love Keegan's hair to be a little bit long. I was kind of hoping that he would inherit a little bit of my curl, but no such luck as of yet. However, that hasn't stopped AJ and I from keeping his hair a little bit longer, usually. Since we had a week of beach camping coming up, though, I knew that there was no way I wanted to keep his hair long. It would have been way too hard to put sunscreen on his head, so I decided it was time to cut it. And I don't mean just a trim...I mean really buzz it. AJ had been doing a really good job trimming it up, little by little all while trying to get Keegan used to the clippers, but I finally took matters into my own hands when Keegan decided that it was ok for Mommy to cut his hair (especially since up to that point he wouldn't let me anywhere near his head with the clippers). AJ was a little scared when I first told him that I had finally cut his hair because he had visions of a completely bald Keegan, but it wasn't nearly that bad.

So, here's the before...

And then here's the after...

Like I said, it wasn't nearly as bad as AJ had imagined it. And it's already started to grow back (I swear this kid is getting some sort of growth hormone on the side). And it has for sure made the whole sunscreen application so much easier. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't too bad, considering it was my first time ever wielding a pair of trimmers. Still, I think I'll leave future haircuts to the professionals (or at least to AJ).

Pardon the Interruption

Your regularly scheduled blogging has been interrupted by this...


We shall return to our regular programming at the end of the week. I'm sure I'll have some fun stories, or at least pictures, to share from our adventures camping here. After all, a vacation is a vacation, right, even if you are only 30 minutes away from home.