Seeking Friend for Help With Hair Identity

My hair is having an identity crisis- Maybe you can help!
As you can see since my first pregnancy when my hair started going brown my hair has had some what of a multiple personality disorder. It has been every combination of short, long, brown, blonde, straight and curly.

The problem: though I would like to have my short very blonde hair all the time, I don't seem to have the time and money it requires to visit the salon for a cut and color every six to eight weeks. My attempt to simlify my hair life by letting it be long and brown has proven unsuccessful- in that I don't feel like myself, look like myself and most my family and friends agree it is just not as good a look for me. Plus in the end I have found it to be just as much work. I have just come to the same conclusion as Rod Stewart- Blondes really do have more fun.
















The solution: I am seeking a new friend. This friend needs to work or have worked in the business of hair, live within a 25 mile radius of me and be willing to cut and color my hair every six to eight weeks free of charge. In exchange they will recieve- well my friendship, appreciation and I would also be willing to watch their children for the day in exchange during which this new said friend of mine would be free to run errands, clean their house or just sip Diet Coke and take a nap on their couch. I know it sounds like I am just posting this for laughs, a little comic relief as I await the arrival or my stubborn son who is yet to make an apperance, but I am serious. Going once, Going Twice.... any takers?

Valentine

Valentine Kate. She will likely be loosing her cover girl position on this blog for a short time with our soon to be exciting arrival so we will leave you with this picture of darling her.

Really Ready!

If there is one thing I have learned about pregnancy and babies is that you can't really plan anything. But it sure would be a nice day to have a baby. I feel prepared and ready today. Everything is in order at our house. My car even has a full tank of gas. I couldn't be more ready. My body doesn't want to grow one more inch, and I am mostly sure that I will stop throwing up once I am not pregnant anymore, although after 38 weeks of throwing up sometimes I think it is a normal part of life. ugggg.


The nursery is all put together. It turned out rather cute if I don't say so myself. Jake says it is too much red for a boys room- because red is a girl color- strange ideas. I had received a few quilts and blankets all blue and red, then I found a bunch of red and blue stripped pillows and baskets on sale at Wal-mart of all places. They even had sheets that matched for super cheap- which I sewed into coordinating curtains. This nursery took a lot less time and money than Kate's- and I think that was a wise choice. I remember staying up until 2:00 am one night anxious to finish sewing all the curtains, pillows and blankets for her room.
We have stocked a closet full of boys clothes. Goodbye to everything pink and purple with flowers and butterflies, hello to reds, blues, yellows, robots, monkeys and dogs. It is a fun change.
The changing table has a months worth of diapers, wipes, lotions, as well as more blue hats, socks and t-shirts.
Our bags are packed- sitting in our room. I actually packed last week when I had some false labor, since we have taken things out, but they could easily be replaced in a moments notice. The bags are still sitting in the corner of our room. Kate's bag even has an hour by hour schedule for whomever ends up watching her. Several friends are on alert awaiting our middle of the night call.
My house has been deep cleaned and at the moment as you can see if rather spotless. There is not even one piece of laundry to be done. I just know when I go into labor, I will not want to leave the house until it is at least reasonably looking. Silly, but it will just make coming home that much easier.

All we need now is to settle on a name and get me walking up a mountain for a spicy food picnic. With my luck, it will happen another day, when I haven't showered yet, my house is a mess, and I have piles of laundry to be done and no bags packed.

She's Mine!

It is amazing to me how much like me Kate is. She looks a lot like me, Jake as well, but her expressions and mannerisms are all learned from me. Jake calls Kate- Junior sometimes, because she is a little jr crystal. Lately two things have made her genetic connection to me even more apparent. The first is her love for ice. Sometimes she calls it gregre and I have no idea why, buy she often asks for it by either name, goes to the fridge and points up. Sometimes she will want some juice with it, sometimes not. She likes to get her cup of ice, sit on the couch and wants me to do the same. The second is her love for cleaning. Today I actually bribed her with it uninentionally. I asked her to "clean up" her color crayons. She got all exctied, nodding saying "okay cleaning". She wasn't excited to clean up the crayons- what she thought I was saying we would do is clean with a spray bottle and rag. So she hurrily cleaned her crayons up and went to the closet where the cleaning supplies are kept. I gave her her spray bottle of "cleaner" which is really water and a rag and away she went spraying and wiping down the fridge, glass sliding door and cupboards. After she was done she asked if she could "seep" with a broom. It is amazing what she has learned the last little while just by watching me.

Kate has it pretty good being an only child right now. She doesn't go to bed until 9 or 10 most nights so she gets to hang out with mom and dad on the couch watching tv some nights eating her new favorite snack- popkey (popcorn). She even knows where to get it in the pantry, tells you to put it in the microwave while she gets a bowl out to put it in.

Its a Shaaaak!

On Saturday we took Kate to the Living Planet Aquarium in West Jordan. The Aquarium was hardly respectable- but Kate still loved it. We had fun just watching her run from tank to tank almost shoving other people out of the way. Her first favorite thing she saw was some little frogs. She went back three times to see them. That was until of course she discovered the shaaaaks! and it has been all sharks at our house every since. Even that night I heard her up in her room talking when she was suppose to be sleeping. A long stream of words she told me " A shaak, a shaak, a frog, ribbit, ribbit, a fish, a jelly, a shaak, ribbit, "kissing sound that a fish makes" etc." when I went to see what she was up to. The next morning even she ran into our room upon awaking and yelled "A Shaak". It is so much fun watching her develop new interests and teaching her about new things.

Bath Tub- My New Best Friend

The number of baths I have taken in my adult life did not exceed 20 until recently. I have good personal hygiene of course, I just never saw the appeal of a bath. Even my morning showers for me were more about efficiency than enjoyment. Well until I became a mother and found that the ten minutes I take in the shower are perhaps the only guilt free moments to myself I may get that day. Then came the home stretch of this pregnancy. With four weeks to go- it feels like the end. I think the only parts of me that are not experiencing discomfort or pain are my elbows. With about 80 weeks of pregnancy under my belt, I still have yet to determine whether I just have really hard pregnancies or are just more of a complainer that others I see and talk to. My shrek feet are back, I can't sleep for more than three hours on one side or it gets bruised, I still throw up five or six times a week, and my sciatica is back making my right leg buckle unexpectedly when I bare any weight on it. Then I tried a bath a few weeks ago to relieve some of my aches and pains. Being a woman I literally had years worth or bath salts, scrubs and creams given to me as gifts or favors that have just been sitting in baskets in my guest baths, or waiting in bathroom cupboards most likely never to fulfill their full potential. Now ever night before attempting to fall asleep, I spend some time in the tub. I am making a dent in that supply of Bath and Body Works products and I don't know that there any more enoyable 20 minutes of my day. For just a moment I feel almost normal.

All in a Hard Day's Work!

It is a pretty rough job being a stay at home mom. While Jake has been hard at work all day what have me and my almost two year old girl done.


We colored....a lot.We watched a movie.

We played with Magnet Princess Dolls.
We played with her pet shop collection.
Of course it is all not fun and games- literally. There is the 30 minute fights over eating lunch, small tantrums when I refuse to draw one more "Beast" and cleaning poop out of the tub when I just didn't get her out in time. But who knew I would grow up and to some degree still do the same things everyday.... except I think Kate has even better toys than I did, especially when I get to pick them out and buy them. And especially when I have a girl who seems to like all things super girly. I wonder if I will enjoy playing with my new son's trucks and boy toys as much? Tomorrow's line up of things to do probably includes more coloring, movies and over and hour of reading picture books. It is hard work, but someone has to do it!

An Almost Perfect 10

Jake and I eat out a lot, well almost always once a week, and have for the last six years for our date night. When we lived in Provo there were so many different places to eat that we made a rule that we couldn't eat at the same place twice. With this rule also came a fun little rating system where we would give restaurants scores based on food, menu selection, customer service, price and value, cleanliness, location, uniqueness, etc. and always a point for something given free with the meal. We didn't hand out good scores too often and nobody really ever got above an 8. But tonight we went out to eat at a restaurant we have frequented since our move here, and I decided they get an almost perfect 10- a 9.5, with a deduction for value as they have raised their prices a bit lately. It is Tarahumara in Midway, Utah. This little locally owned authentic Mexican restaurant serves a combination of food you would expect and also more Indian style Mexican with an adjacent Pasteleria. Some points in their corner include-the owners are so kind and remember us, the place is always super clean, there is a great salsa bar with 20 plus kinds of toppings for your food, there are color crayons and paper on the table for Kate, the food is good and well porportioned, free chips or course, there are often coupons that are even valid on the weekends, and it is usually not to crowded. It is a little different in that there are no waiters- like a Cafe Rio, but it has a much more upscale feel. Yes more points seem to go to things not actually related to the taste of the food. It is not a perfect or properly weighted or completely constructed system. I have mentioned Tarahumara to several people who live around here and are shocked to find that they don't know of it. It is possible that their name throws people off, or people are unsure of more authentic side the resturant offers. Congratulations to Tarahumara for gaining our strange standard unimportant seal or approval.

So it was Christmas

It has been a long time since I have been a-blogging, it was the holidays and I still feel like we are trying to catch up. I don't want to spend to much time trying to catch you up, but here are some of the more noteable things.

Deciding to stay put- Most years we travel to Fresno to see with Jake's family since we don't seem them nearly often enough, but two 15 hour car rides with a teething toddler and being 33 weeks pregnant just didn't seem practical. Making the week super relaxed and comfortable here in our own home.
Seeing tons of friends and family- Because we stayed put we were able to see tons of friends from high school, college, law school, and old wards plus some family who have since left, but returned to the state for the holidays.
Shoveling Surprise- I left the house a day or two before Christmas on a day when it had snowed 8 or nine inches. I came home hours later to see that my driveway had been shoveled. I suspect a kind neighbor who saw me knocking the entrance down so my SUV could clear it.
Christmas Cards and Neighbor gifts- At the start of the month I decided not to do either, it would just add stress and expense to the holiday and as of Dec 7th, I hadn't done a thing towards Christmas so something had to be cut, but as the weeks progressed and we received so many cards and gifts I wanted in on some of those fun things, so did them last minute and had fun doing so.
Scrooge Gifts- In my family we purchase a gift for one person, like a drawing, so Christmas is not so expensive, many people do this. But for the rest of the people we give a Scrooge gift- a gift that costs around a dollar. It is so much fun to see what people come up with, it adds a lot more presents to the gift exchange and only costs 6 or 7 dollars to get everyone. A tradition I am glad we continue.
Our Computer- It seems like with a house and kids, most Christmas and Anniversary gifts are things we need like a new washer or something. This year we bought each other a new computer- Jake even went out on Black Friday to get it. We debated about it for some time, but I am glad we got it. It works so much better than the laptop we have had for six years, it was a great deal, and has some new fun features like a DVD burner.
One trip Shopping- As mentioned before, I got a late start on my holiday projects. About ten days before christmas I got my Mom to watch Kate for two hours, and then left her with Jake for 6 hours. I was able drive to Provo hit ten or more stores- get every single gift I needed, make my neighbor gifts and all without having to stop for diaper changes and snacks. It was so productive and easy, I think I will save errands for when I am alone more often. I saved so much time not making multiple trips, and also not having to buckle and rebuckle a car seat ten plus times.
Kate-Of course nothing was better than watching Kate learn about presents and do her "ohhhhhhhohoh" when she was really excited about something or shout "ChrisChris" It was fun to be around my family, perhaps mostly because they give kate so much attention, and she has so much fun with them. She did get a little bit of a spoiled attitude, not so much because of all the gifts, but because of all the attention. It took a few days to break. She did enjoy all of her new things though we kept Christmas fairly small, she was very pleased and of course loved turning boxes into cars almost as much as the toys anyways.

Now life is almost back to normal, I have managed to take down all the decorations and the tree and we are back to our normal routine. With the holidays out of the way it seems like the baby should be here soon- but we still have six more weeks.

Merry Christmas

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Help! I'm Trapped!

Okay- I don't really need help. But it has been snowing since I woke up this morning. And not just a light dusting- mild blizzard conditions. Actually it has been snowing since I woke up about a week ago, but I guess that is what we get for it still being fall weather as of December 1. Today is certainly the worst of it though. Either way we are trapped in our house for the time being. Not like we are missing a ton, our big plans for the day included going to the grocery store but I don't know that we could make it the whole five miles. Actually I want to go get the mail but I don't want to try to make it the 500 feet to the box, or to the next door neighbors to deliver the last of my neighbor gifts. I even let the dog in the house- thought I don't really like doing that because the snow is merciless. I leave the house almost everyday- for at least a few minutes, when I can't like today I get a bit crazy.

Christmas Pictures

I wanted to take some pictures of Kate in her Christmas outfit, but I knew that it would be a long shot. It was already getting dark, freezing and I was by myself- meaning nobody to make her look and smile. Kate is positively hopeless when it comes to trying to get her to smile and look at the camera. My tricks- give her a candy cane and wait till the neighbor kids are outside, then stand in front of them. She is almost looking at me- because the neighbor kids are behind me. The driveway and the nieghbors house are not the best backdrops- but at least she is cute as always. Jake says she looks like a Russian. It is those blue eyes or the funny hat. Either way- she wishes you all a ( as she would say) Merry "ChrisChras"

Christmas Cheer

I am working on some last minute-simple-late is better than never- Christmas greetings to send out. I have many of your addresses, but if you think I just might not, go ahead and email it to me.
crystal.freeman@gmail.com. But hurry if you want it before Christmas.

Heberite Christmas Party

Every year old Wasatch High School Friends get together around Christmas time, thanks to the hospitality of Cache and Stacie. It is amazing to me that even though it has been nine years I still see my dearest friends from Heber- some from 13 years ago- most holiday seasons. That is half my life you know. I know at lot of Heberites read this blog of mine, so I thought I would help spread the word. December 20- 7:00 pm at the Ferguson's home here in Heber. If you don't know their address you can email me, or them but I wouldn't want to post it to the public. Looking forward to seeing all who attend there!

Smile Please! What a lovely face!
I know everyone is blogging about gas prices, but it was the highlight of my day also- I just got gas for 1.19. Are you kidding me. My car has over 100,000 miles on it and I have never filled up for under 15 dollars until today.

I have seen this sent around a bit. The ones completed are in Red. I felt like just doing this gave me a lot of ideas for blog posts.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Tidbits to Remember

Kate has learned recently the routine we do when saying a prayer. She refuses to give hugs and kisses goodnight before we have said our prayers. I'm so proud of her for learning this. On Monday we were eating dinner, we had already said our prayer on the food and I had finished eating. But instead of eating, Kate kept folding her arms as if so signal we still needed to say a blessing. We tried to explain we already had, and encourage her to eat, but she continued to pause and fold her arms. We could not figure out why she was so confused, until Jake pointed out that everyday I sat back I folded my arms on my belly. She was kept folding her arms because she thought I was saying a prayer. Hilarious! I tried to find another comfortable way to sit at the dinner table so Kate could finish without further confusion.

November Ends

We went to Fresno for Thanksgiving and enjoyed ourselves for sure. It feels like such a vacation when we go somewhere because Jake is always around to help with Kate and I am not at my own home with always some project or chore to complete. We stayed in Primm, NV on the way there at a casino hotel for $13 a night. Our breakfast the next morning from McDonalds was actually a few cents more than our room for the night. It worked out so well, and the hotel was nice and surprisingly clean more like an $80 room. I so recommend it for anyone traveling to California if you don't want to drive through the night. The weather was fairly nice for us, we didnt hit any snow driving at least, and Kate enjoyed playing outside on the farm. Seen here with an orange she picked off the tree herself. It did take us over 16 hours to get home though. We had brought a portable DVD player and Kate and I watched The Little Mermaid and Alaadin both twice. When we arrived home I was amazed to see that although it was December, I still had flowers alive and well in my yard, and not a snowflake in sight.

Things I have had enough of

1. Twilight-
So I am a literary snob and refuse to read something because it is popular, or part of a series. Sorry everyone else in the world. Someone find me a good memoir or history please! Somebody suggested the series as a gift for me to Jake- he laughed and told them he is more likely to read them than I- and he is right.
2. Suze Orman-
So we are in economic turmoil, this makes me depressed, lets add the most annoying personality ever commenting on it every time I open a magazine or turn on the television to it.
3. Flat Tires-
Sunday was the third flat tire we have had in six months. We have purchased so many new tires it is getting ridiculous. Why don't the builders around here clean up after themselves or at least have to be held accountable for all the time and money we are spending at Big O'.

Bond, Kate Bond

So I haven't posted for some time. We haven't really been that busy, just tired. I don't remember being so uncomfortable and tired at 27 weeks last pregnancy. Even Jake who usually has the opinion that blogs are silly, commented that it had been a while since I had something new up. I don't have much new to post about. Most days I don't even talk to an adult until Jake comes home at 5:30 or we run an errand and talk to the checker. It is pathetic since I still have 13 more weeks and it is not even snowing yet. Most days I don't even see the news or a morning show either so I really have no grasp on what is going on in the real world. Sounds pretty sad, but really Kate is entertainment enough for me lately. She is really into climbing. I followed her into the laundry room the other day, so see this.just yesterday she got stuck trying to bridge a three foot gap between her bed and dresser. I heard her screaming and went in to her room to find her doing a push up with her arms on the dresser and feet still touching the bed. She had to have been like that for a few minutes- it was very James Bond, and one of her favorite things to do it to climb on the coffee table and use my legs as a bridge to get on the couch. How early do they let you sign your kids up for gymnastics anyway?
Other than that she has been doing some reading- seen here reading "Alaaah and Abu"- Aladdin and Abu, a new favorite with a fruit roll up in hand. It hardly gets better than that. We have been thinking what fun it would be to take her to Disneyland, but the soonest we see ourselves getting there is Jan or Feb, and going 4 weeks from delivery just doesn't sound fun. I guess it will be a while, in the mean time, I think Kate would have almost as much fun at the Disney store. She is so obsessed with the Little Mermaid, Aladdin and well any other movie she has seen with cartoon characters and singing. When she is not wanting to eat, all I have to do is pull out the Disney princess Spagettio's or Soup and she will eat the entire can. Not to mention she tries to put on her Ariel socks everyday by getting them out of the dirty clothes.
I thought this was a funny moment as well. Jake is on the other side of the table reading the paper too. Kate has the Kings Christmas ad, she kept saying "Hallowee", she hasn't quite got that we have changed holidays and now decorations are for Christmas. She does have her "Gobble Gobble" down for Thanksgiving though. Sadly she does the "Gobble" sound even when I say turkey as we eat it.

Too Funny!

Kate makes us laugh every single day, usually just because she is silly or cute. But at not even 19 months old she has made up her own joke. It is pretty funny and she thinks so too. My sister Ali was over last week, Kate was naming Mama and Dada, then we asked her who the other person was. She knows Ali's name, but for some reason said "Grandgra"- the name for Grandma or Grandpa. We all laughed really hard. For a while after this each time we would ask "who is that" she would look at us, get a clever little grin on her face and shout "Grandgra" and start to laugh. You could just see her little mind at work- now which one is the right answer and which one makes everyone laugh. It is pretty funny calling someone a grandma when they aren't and she figured that out quickly. Hilarious!

This Is Halloween, This is Halloween....

Halloween is here. Hooray! Since I love if possibly more than any other holiday. I feel like we have already had sufficient Halloween celebration and there is still a week and the actual day to go. On Friday we had a ward party. It was fun to see all the kiddos dressed up. Kate loved the kiddie carnival, spent most her time at the coloring table (shocking I know) and cried when I tried to take her around for the trunk or treat, I think she was just tuckered out by then. She feel asleep on the way home in her car seat in her costume with a sucker half eaten in her hand and all over her face. Mind you it is only about a two minute drive.
On Saturday we had some friends over for a Halloween Party. Last year we did not have a Halloween Party and I really felt like something was missing from October. It was a fun excuse to make cute invitations, go all out decorating the house and make some of my favorite party food. We did a haunted scavenger hunt, Competitive Halloween Charades and a costume contest. In the end I think it was a success. All that is left now to make the holiday complete is to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or some other scary film and hand out the rest of our candy.
Here we are- Senator McCain and Gov. Palin- we have been planning to be this for weeks. Jake came up with it because I am sometimes telling him that I think that in 60 years he will look a little like John McCain. Notice the campaign buttons I had to order on line. Also don't you think Jake looks pretty hot with white hair. I think we are decent look-a-likes. The fact that I am pregnant and showing I think just makes it a little funnier.
The party crew! There were some great costumes, I even think we were de-throned to the Littles for Best Costumes- they are the ones were the tacky Publisher's Clear House awarder and caught off guard house wife awardee. Cruella deVille, a pair of eyes, Screech and Lisa, a deer and Hunter, Speed Racer and Trixie, Three Witches, and Emergency Response Worker and a Blind Sports Ref completed the group.
Kate as an elephant at the ward party. It was a little difficult to think of something to go with our political theme- and Jeff and Amy came up with an elephant for me- Brilliant! Notice the color crayon in hand.

Tagged.

I often comply with tags, especially when they are so short and sweet.

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Work
Your hair color? Fake
Your mother? Giving
Your father? Adventurous
Your favorite thing? Sleep
Your dream last night? Bears
Your dream/goal? Vacation
The room you’re in? Living
Your hobby? Planning
Your fear? Loss
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Stress-free
Where were you last night? Couch
What you’re not? Comfortable
One of your wish-list items? Camera
Where you grew up? Heber
The last thing you did? Breakfast
What are you wearing? PJ's
Your TV? Basic
Your pet? Dirty
Your computer? Old
Your mood? Tired
Your car? Missing
Something you’re not wearing? Socks
Favorite store? Many
Your summer? Sick
Love someone? Katerade
Your favorite color? Orange
When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
Last time you cried? Yesterday

Oh Boy!

Our first family photo of our family of four.

I'm at about 23 weeks now- over half way I keep telling myself. This week we got to go and get our ultrasound done. Kate and Jake came of course to find that we will be adding a little baby boy to Team Freeman in February. I was sure it was a girl too- so it was a fun surprise. We will be an even four some now. The doctors did find a small problem with his kidneys. They said not to get to0 worried yet-(do they know pregnant women at all?) and we would do another ultrasound in a few weeks to see if the problem is still there. Obviously we are a little concerned about the problem- but excited we get to have some extra ultrasounds in the weeks to come and more pictures to share. We actually have a lot more boy names than girl names- so that is a bonus. I did go through all of Kate's clothes and try to find all the gender neutral things to start putting in the new babies room- Sadly it turns out that most everything she has is pink, so I guess we will be just packing away a closet full of clothes. Last night we decided to move Kate into her big girl bed and get her used to not having the crib before we are even more desperate for sleep. She seemed very excited about it until we left her there- she kept getting up and crying. I'm not sure what I expected but I did not think it would take her an hour and a half to figure it out. She did sleep through the night in it though then this morning I heard her wake up and she came right to our room.
When it was warm Kate and I would go to the park everyday. Now that the weather has changed she is apparently missing the slides. At her Grandma's the other day she discovered how this steep grassy hill in their yard doubles and sliding fun. She would roll a little too much even and fall. She thought it was fun and she looked really cute doing it.

Pum Pums!

Everyday when we go outside Kate points across the street to our neighbors and says "pumpums". Yes the neighbors have about 25 pumpkins on their front porch- creatively decorated with hay and such, and Kate was a little jealous. We decided to go some pumpums of our own last night. I wanted going to the pumpkin patch to be a fun family event, a fun memory of us with Kate when she was our only child, her first chance it seems to really understand the fun of a holiday- we would wander through a field looking for the perfect pumpkin, take a hay ride and sip some cider. Good luck finding and actual pumpkin patch though. I believe there was one about 50 minutes away, but by the time Jake got off work and we made it there is would have been dark. I found a nursery in Kamas that had a "pumpkin patch"- but really it was just pumpkins sitting in piles. Better than the grocery store I suppose but I was really looking for a pick your own pumpkin... patch. All I have been able to find- within a reasonable distance are pumpkin piles. This place was kind and let us stay even though they were closing, we were able to get a few pumpkins and I guess in the end Kate is happy just to have pumpkins on her front porch too. Today we have gone out to see them twice and every time she passes the front door she says "pumpums". And even though they were just pumpkin piles it still seemed exciting to her.

Fall Food Begins

Well I actually can't claim that this is the first time I have been making pumpkin or spice goods, Spice Muffins and Pumpkin Cookies have already left the oven a few weeks ago and been finished off by eager mouths- namely mine. I tried a new fall treat yesterday and it was a big hit at our ward party so I thought I might share. I'm earning a bit of a reputation for making good treats lately but the credit for this goes to my mother-in-law, I saw her making something similar for a wedding open house spread this summer.

Ginger White Chocolate Cookies
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teas ground ginger
1 teas baking soda
3/4 teas ground cinnamon
1/2 teas ground cloves
1/4 teas salt
3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
white chocolate

Set oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets
Sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a large bowl- set aside
Cream butter and 1 cup sugar in separate bowl- beat in egg then stir in water and molasses. Stir in dry ingredients that were set aside*. Roll into walnut sized balls, roll in left over sugar, set on cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes
When completely cool (sometimes I set in the fridge to make sure they are really cool) melt white chocolate and drizzle criss cross across the top of the cookies set on wax paper.
* if you prefer- you can mix in white chocolate chips, it makes it a little easier, but the presentation is not as great, and I think the reason my treats always get great reviews is more how they look then what they taste like.
Hmmmm- now I am going to go eat some, it tastes like fall and I like it.

Orange you glad it is October?

As promised- a picture of the cat shirt Kate is obsessed with. I am pretty sure she is going to wear it everyday it is clean until I don't let her anymore. Here she is with one of the pumpkins from our garden. She calls them "Pumpums" and apparently thinks you eat them too.

A Grocery Store of Treasures

It is not that often when I find one new thing that makes my life easier or better, let alone three in one week. They are just little things I found I really liked while grocery shopping this week and I thought I would share my finds. All three in fact have to do with making this second trimester a little bit more comfortable. Since I am still very miserably throwing up several times a day I would say every little bit counts.
The first is this Aveeno Ultra Calming Night Cream. I have been getting that hideous pregnancy mask of blotching skin and found that this cream gets rid of it mostly, at least enough that I can easily cover the rest with makeup. Not only that it is pretty cheap and I just found it at Smith's.
The second is this Mega Shower Foamer from Scrubbing Bubbles. It makes cleaning the shower and tub so easy it is hardly any work at all. I have used it on toilet bowls and sinks as well. Less time cleaning the shower means more time to take a nap- just what I need! Plus I like the way it smells- sometimes I spray it in the tub just so it smells good.
The third is Tostitos Medium Queso. What have I been craving this pregnancy?- orange juice and what I call "Hot Nachos", which are the kind of nachos you buy at gas stations or sporting events. I know gross right- even Jake has questioned me if I know how long that cheese has been sitting in the convenient store before I beg him a second time to run a get me some "Hot Nachos". When I was making a grocery list this week, I asked Jake if he needed anything, his response "nacho cheese". He is either beyond grossed out that I eat them from gas stations, sick of me saying at 9:00 at night that I sure could go for some, or never wants to go to the gas stations for the sole purpose of bringing me back my hearts desire again. Either way buying this Tostistos cheese was a great idea, and it is maybe even more delicious, especially with a side of orange juice.
Do you have any great new finds lately? All I know is if it was my birthday nobody would have a good excuse for not knowing what to get me now. Aveeno, Shower Cleaner and Nacho Cheese is sure to put a smile on my face- well at least for this week.

A Little more Kate

So she is not 18 months yet, just a few more days- so I am counting these as her milestone pictures. At 18 months what is Kate like? She likes corn dogs and going to the park. She likes coloring, especially when she tells you what animal to draw, dancing, imitating animals and smelling flowers. She is great at getting her clothes and shoes on, getting in the car, taking her afternoon nap and taking care of her stuffed animals and babies. She loves singing but usually only gets the first or second word of song like "A,B," or "Head" no "C" and no "shoulders". She loves playing with other kids and reading a 400 page Reader's Digest Nature in America Book, no seriously we read this for more than an hour everyday. She is really looking forward to October- this I know because every morning she tries to get a shirt I bought her with a black cat on it for Halloween. When I get a shirt out of her closet she will go back to the closet and point up and "Meow" when she sees I have not gotten the right shirt out to wear. I am sure a picture of her in this shirt will make its appearance on the blog shortly as well.

She hardly needs me anymore.

Kate is growing up a lot lately- She attends nursery and happily, she gets her own diapers when she needs changing, she kneels and says Amen when we pray and now she is punishing herself when she does something wrong.
Kate is generally very good. She rarely does something to warrent a "no" from us unless she is asked to sit still for more than ten minutes. Mostly we haven't had to do much parenting up to this point. Even on the rare occasions when she does do something wrong we don't do anything except tell her "no". But realized that lately she understands what "no" means but was not listening. We figured it was time to try and attach a new consequence to the word when she didn't listen and try our hand at some actual parenting.
Jake and I have been experimenting with "time out". The first time was a few weeks ago when we made her sit on a pillow on the floor. She didn't like it at the time, but later even that night sat there like it was some kind of game. So we took away the pillow. Kate was in time out two times this weekend because even after being told no and warned she was going into time out she continued to do what she had been asked not to. The first time- I could hardly help myself from laughing as Jake made her sit in the corner of the entry way and count to ten. She was crying hysterically- and it seemed only because she knew her Dad was mad at her. The second time she knew what to do and sat there patiently. Then yesterday she was getting into the desk, something she knows not to do, and Jake told her "no" a few times. When she didn't listen he said "Do you want to go in time out". She promptly walked over to the corner in the entry way on her own and sat down and looked at us sadly. We counted to ten and then told her she could get up and were clapping and offering hugs because- well it is hard to be mean- and also because our child is a genius and knows how to put herself in time out. It is funny I was so proud of her for knowing how to punish herself. I guess our time outs have been effective- but it is sad to see our little girl sad because we took away the fun. Except for church really maybe- being Kate's parent has been all a joy thus far. I know there will come a day when this is bound to change but- she even in her cute way made time out a little bit of a joy- watching her learn and be obedient.

The Best Sandwich Ever!

I'm in the mood to blog today, probably because my house is clean, I feel alright and kate is napping well. This is a fun little post called the best sandwich ever- in case you didn't read the title. Jake and I have perfected the sandwich. We have been eating this for lunch and some dinners for the past week or so, not to mention often before that. It is delicious if made to our exact instruction. When we eat them Jake always says that he wants to take the sandwich apart and each each layer one by one because everything inside is so good. True honey but really it is the calculated formula that makes the perfection.

Start with really good bread- preferable with a cheese base although a good sourdough will do. Buy canned jellied cranberry like your grandma buys at thanksgiving- mash it up in a separate bowl, then slather on one side of the bread. The next layer is good thinly sliced Provolone Cheese- two pieces if you have it. Next some slow roasted turkey breast- which you may just have to buy a whole turkey and cook it for, shredded not sliced and salt and peppered lightly before being placed on the sandwich. Then a green leaf lettuce-not iceberg, tomato and avocado previously salt and peppered before being placed on the sandwich as well. The last layer is a delicious sauce you make on the side before putting on the other piece of bread. It is four tablespoons mayo, four tablespoons of sour cream (and don't use fat free) and one tablespoon of mustard- just the cheap yellow kind all mixed together. You will also want a spoonful of this on your plate to dip the finished product into. So we are being a little silly, but I promise that it will be the best sandwich you ever made at home.
Plus I think it has every category in the food pyramid so that makes it healthy too. Mmmmmm!

My Little Sister Rocks!

Today Kate and I got to get up early and go see my little sister Ali who is a senior , compete in the homecoming pageant at Wasatch High. Kate was really into it and loved dancing along to all the contestants talents, but of course none compared to Ali. She sang and played a song she wrote and - no bias here- honestly was the best, most purely talented contestant. She rocks! She won though she probably would prefer not to be the homecoming queen in the end, but she certainly seemed to have the most fans in the audience. I have had the song she sung stuck in my head all day- now that is a good song. I should see if she has uploaded anything to youtube and put the link here so you all can hear.

It was a little fun to be in the same high school halls I attended 9 years ago, with a child in my belly and another in my arms. I can remember being in those same halls being so concerned about silly things in contrast to now and how happy I am just to hang out with Kate. I thought this would be a great post to add my high school tag post too. I feel like I have been tagged with this 5 or 6 times in the last two weeks by family and friends. I would say I don't like doing these tags, but I sure enjoy reading other people's so maybe my opinion of them needs to not be so negative. Here goes..

High School Tag
1. Did you date someone from your High School? Someone- to many someone's I think. Two in particular I continued to date off and on through high school and college. It was fun to have boyfriends in high school and it helped make me the person I am, but I surely took it too seriously and wish I wouldn't have been so dramatic. I thought at 17 my life SHOULD be like an episode of Friends and that was silly.
2. What kind of car did you drive?
Amy and I shared a really decent Ford Explorer it was turquoise and gray. It didn't have an air conditioner or a very good heater, but it did have a tape player. Funny enough I can only remember us fighting over who got the car maybe two times.
3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School for you?
Thankfully I was not often embarrassed back then even though I did a lot of stupid things because I thought I was too cool, but my mom coming to soccer practice to get some kind of coaching license is most likely to still make me cringe.
4. Were you a party animal? I was always at a party with lots of people, but partying in Heber would not be considered a good time in most places. There were no drugs or alcohol, or even really loud music.
5. Were you considered a flirt? No, at least I don't think so. Others might say otherwise.
6. Were you in Band, Orchestra, or Choir? Not a one, although I think it would have been fun maybe, at the time I viewed them as less than worthy (meaning kind of nerdy) activities.
7. Were you a nerd? No, at the time I would have likely told you I was one of the most popular people at school, but looking back I am sure this is completely inaccurate and I was likely not quite as cool as I perceived myself.
8. Were you on any Varsity teams? I did play soccer all four years and lettered, but I didn't really "play" all that much. I wasn't a star, but I did enjoy running around in the cool crisp Fall air with some of my favorite girls.
9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled? No, although I did break into the high school once with a few friends in the middle of the night my senior year to pull some April Fools jokes on some of our fav. teachers and administration. We were fingered, but didn't get in trouble like I think we maybe should have. The administration thought me and my friends were pretty cool too, so we got away with a lot.
10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Not a chance. In fact today they sang it at the homecoming assembly and I had no idea what they were singing about. I don't know if I ever could sing it.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Moss who taught television and Mrs. Southerland who taught AP English. They were the kind of teachers who treated me and my friends with respect and like adults.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? I feel like esp. towards the end of school we hardly got lunches trying to get everything done with all the club meetings and stuff. We did eat at Wendy's a lot, and the grocery store, but the best thing we ever did was a too short lived Joy Lunch Club, where 10-40 of my closest friends showed up at someones house and had their mom's make us lunch. It kind of got to big and the mom's couldn't keep up, so we went back to Wendy's drive thru.
13. What was your school's full name? Wasatch High School: Home of the Wasps.
14. School mascot? A wasp. When people ask me what High School I went to and i say Wasatch no doubt their next question will be "Aren't you guys a bee or something?" Apparently a wasp didn't strike fear into the hearts of neighboring schools.
15. Did you go to Homecoming? With who? My school had I think four or five formals each year. I went to all of them, but we didn't always go with the person we were dating. I could get asked by anyone and pretty much was expected to say yes no matter who it was. When I explained this tradition to Jake he said "asking someone else's girl to a dance would seriously have got you shot at my school". Yes but it made it lots of fun in Heber, plus it was hardly an intimate date because we usually went in groups of 30 or more people.
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, it was fun, but I wouldn't trade it for being with my hubby and daughter now. Although it was nice to have the most stressful thing in my life be deciding what to do on the weekend.
17. What do you remember most about graduation? I remember being really sad, and had a hard time splitting up my time between everyone I wanted to be with.
18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day? The school had a trip to Lagoon but I was with 15 or so friends in Moab and Mesa Verde for the long weekend and it was so much fun
19. Were you in any clubs? I was in a lot of clubs, but never did too much with them. I feel like for the most part they were just college resume builders for me.
20. Have you gained some weight since then? No- well at the moment only because I am pregnant, but I think I actually lost 5 lbs or so since my Senior Year of High School. I think because I worked at a delicious cafe where I could eat for free whenever I worked. Between having to buy my own food and not eating at work freshman year of college was like an automatic diet. Either way I like the body I have (when I am not prego) more now than then. I am surely more comfortable with it.
21. Who was your Prom Date? I went to both Prom's funny enough with boys who were not at the time but later became serious relationships. Prom was fun, but not that big of a deal, like it seems to be in other schools. Except that we did do promenade Jr year, where we learned a dance with our dates and performed them in front of our parents and grandparents. I actually like learning formal dance, so the learning was fun plus it was just hours with all our friends, but the performing seemed silly.
22. 10 year Reunion? I hope I will go, I hope we have one, but I have been lucky to see most of the people who I was closest too at least once a year since then at little get together, weddings and christmas parties.
23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? I would tell myself to have more fun. Not make things so dramatic, and not try to do everything and work so much but to spend more time with the people who were most important to me then. I would also tell myself to be nicer to people, I was not the best friend to my closest friends sometimes.

Some of my blog followers are friends from this era in my life. It would be interesting to hear how their memories differ from mine. I wouldn't want to do High School again, but I might not mind doing college over. It was fun, and there are things I would change. Somebody should make a college tag post, I would enjoy even more talking about then. Jake and I- especially since we share several years of college together often say when we are stressed about jobs and money and such that we wish we were in college again. I guess ever era of life has something we will miss as we move on.

Lions, Tigers and Brown Hair- oh my

Kate has a new obsession. Lions, Tigers and all other predatory cats. I had mentioned her successful "roaring"lessons before. It has been taken to a whole-nother-level. She watched the LION KING at her grandma's last weekend when Jake and I went to the temple. We brought it home with us because we heard it had been a big hit. We watched it together. There was roaring, neighing, and other commenting through out. I'll admit to letting her watch at least part of it every day since. She just loves it so much and plus give me a break I don't feel good. Then grandma brought over a giant tiger that was ours when we were kids that had been hidden away in a closet. The roaring has taken over, it starts in morning, she points at the tv and roars. It is hilarious, I love that she has something she likes so much.

On another note, I colored my hair brown. Really I have not been blonde since I was 23, it started going dark then and has been getting darker and darker since (well not that anyone knew because I lightened it every month). I went to my hair stylist (Jake hates when I say that- he thinks it sounds snobby), and asked her to get me back to my roots, so that I won't have to dye it anymore. Sounds easier, maybe not as pretty, but easier and cheaper too. She convinced me to go a little darker than my roots because it was going to be hard to cover the blonde. I think it is too dark, and am not in love with it, but think I will after a second take and maybe some fading. I am sure I will like not dying it eventually. I figure I will likely dye out my gray hair when they come, so why not have easy natural colored hair while I can. Well that is my intent anyway. We will see how long it lasts. I don't feel as pretty without my blonde hair. Look at the picture in my last post. It was blonde, longer and curly, it has been a dramatic change. Sorry for this bad picture, I actually took several but I am just not good at taking picture of myself, I just always miss. At least I look more like my parents and siblings for the moment, but I don't like that I don't match Kate.

Hey Baby!

I thought I would share some more about the new baby news since my only post thus far was mostly a complaint. Jake, Kate and I are going to become a family a four on or around ( and hopeful this time before) February 24, 2008. Making me about 16 weeks along or so. We are excited and most of all surprised. Shocked, completely caught of guard and a little slow.
The first week of April or so I was really sick. I kept telling Jake I was so sick it felt like I was pregnant. He told me it was probably just the flu but if I felt pregnant I should stop just talking about it and go get a test- how practical of him. So I did, it came up neg, and shortly there after Jake came down with a flu and thus ended our thoughts that I was pregnant.
A few weeks later, late May say, I felt the same way again. This time more sure I was just sick, plus I had been a little stressed maybe that was part of the reason I kept getting the flu. Not to mention getting pregnant with Kate took around 18 months longer than planned, several Dr's, tests, drugs, and lots of frustration and tears, the chance that I was accidentally pregnant seemed uber unlikely. The icky feeling stuck around, week after week, and was just too familiar to how I had spent six month of 2006. I just kept thinking, why am I so sick, maybe I am pregnant this time, but I don't want to be silly like last time and spend twenty dollars on a test just to tell me that I am really sick, plus if I am not pregnant, than I am really sick. Maybe I should go see a Dr. Kate had her 15 month appointment while Jake was at scout camp. While there I had a consult with the gen practitioner. We decided to take a blood test, to test for babies, low iron and other abnormalities that could be causing me to vomit, faint and be exhausted. He called later to tell me my blood showed a baby in the works.
At this point I had been sick for two months, but I was still surprised. I had to wait three days to tell Jake, when he got home from Scout Camp (this years scout camp blessing I guess). Till then just Kate and I shared the secret. We waited a few weeks and started sharing the news. Of course I was about 9 weeks pregnant when I finally figured it out.
So now we are counting down the weeks until February. Kate and baby #2 will be about 22 months apart. We really think we are just too young to have two kids, and think it is hilarious almost how easily this baby came. The thought of adding to our family had not crossed our minds seeing as how my body only had one month off between nursing Kate and being pregnant again. But what more could be want than another Kate in our lives! The summer months of pregnancy were daunting to me, to be so sick and care for Kate, but with the cooler weather has come some relief and I am only throwing up once or twice a day now, which seems much more manageable.
We don't have our ultrasound till a little late- Oct 17, but I just can't wait to see a healthy baby boy or girl and start going through all of Kate's old clothes organizing and such.

10 Signs the Freeman's have Big News!

10. I am managing to sleep up to 15 hours a day on the weekends and am still exhausted.
9. The only thing I can eat before 11:00 am is the broth from the Creamy Chicken Cup of Noodles, but after 6:00 pm I can easily consume an entire box of Cheez-its.
8. Did you know that you can throw up out of your mouth, nose and eyes? Serious vomiting happening here people.
7. I find it completely reasonable that my husband should wake up with Kate each morning, go to work for 9 hours, come home make dinner, put Kate to bed and rub my feet for an hour.
6. I can't remember what it is like to breath out of my nose. ( I am so congested)
5. Though I managed to get back down to my pre pregnant 110lbs for a whole two months, I am already 10 lbs on my way to my most pregnant 168lb and have considered bringing back the all velor suit as an appropriate outfit to wear out to eat.
4. My mouth and all water tastes like metal, and I am therefore using a bottle of mouthwash a week and only drinking Rootbeer, Diet Coke and Orange Juice.
3. My house looks like we were in a hurricane, Jake even felt like the bathrooms needed to be cleaned and proceeded to clean one without being asked.
2. I have actually gone to Wendy's and McDonalds to purchase a spicy chicken sandwich two weeks in a row doubling the amount of fast food I have eaten this year.
1. The doc says to expect to meet #2 in about 24 weeks.

So I thought this was just a funny way to break the news to the blog. A lot of family and friends already know, and if they don't it is probably because they are too polite to ask me why i have gained ten lbs in the past two weeks. The 10 things has a negative tone, but really we couldn't be more delighted about having baby #2. I have lots more to say on the subject ( like "I'm pregnant???) and I am sure you do to so I will be over blogging about it for the next several months so I will just leave you with this for now.

Labor Day at the Pool

Though Jake and I have lived in Heber for a long time now, and heard a lot about the fun pool the Summit County rec center has, we had never made our way there until yesterday. We are so glad we did. They have tons of stuff for kids to climb on, two water slides, one which Kate went on all by herself, and the other she loved going down with her parents. They also have a lazy river, and the best part is that it is all indoors and all heated- meaning I will actually get in! Also it is only a foot in parts so Kate could walk around and though it took her a minute to be sure it was safe, by the end she didn't want to leave and when we got out was saying "waaw" and pointing trying to say she wanted to get back in. Also we went around 9:30 am and there were only two other small families, but by 11:00 it was getting a lot busier. Also they charge you a ton for plastic pants which they require children under two wear even over a swim diaper, so I suggest if you are going to go make sure you have some and bring them. Sorry for the lame picture of Kate, she was having too much fun to even look at me for a second. Here is there link
http://www.ssummit.k12.ut.us/ssafc.cfm?subpage=291393.
If you live near by or are in the area visiting you should try it out. Especially in the winter. Indoor water park made for little kids- what could be better. I think kate and I might look into a pass there we had so much fun.

Can we Start over?

Well everything is set now for the 2008 election year. We have been narrowing down who will run for well over a year now. Obama and McCain accepted nominations and announced their V.P. candidates this week. What I think. I want to start over. I can't even believe that we believe that these pairs are the most fit to lead our country.I don't know that I would vote for anyone of them to even be a governor. Usually I am proud to cast my vote on election day, but I am almost dreading it now. I don't really think anyone of these four is qualified to be the president and can't find myself backing anyone. I was not pleased with the choice between Obama and McCain and had hoped that their VP picks might give me more trust in one party or the other. Sadly neither of my preferences, Hillary or Romney were given much consideration. Now what will I do? I'm not voting for any four of these guys!

My Name is WHAT? My Name is What?

To the right on my blog I keep a list of things Kate says. Partially so when I get around to updating her baby book I will remember and also because I think it is fun for everyone to see. Kate is almost 17 months old now. She started saying "Dad" and "Dog" the other two members of the family back before Christmas when she was eight months old. And as you can see by the list of her most recent speech, she is not behind by any stretch in this department. She even has several two word phrases like "whats that" or "Hi Dad". She makes every possible animal sound, and even almost gets how to pretend, when we pretend that we are cougars and chase around or pretend we are a horse and give her a ride she will make the appropriate sound. Other common words she uses daily are "more", "jesus", "piggies", "hippie","dipping" and almost every part of the body... you get the picture. She is not slow of speech. But for some reason she just has not said mom. There was a short lived time where she said "Meem" which we thought could be "Mom", some "Mom sounds that didn't really seem to be associated with me, and more often than not she would just call me "Dad" too. In fact, when I lead the music in sacrament she sits with her Dad and points at me and yells for the entire congregation to hear "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad" when we are suppose to be singing. It is possible that there has just not been a real need for her to use my name. It is not like she has to call me ever, we are almost always together. This must be the reason why after just 17 months she is finally figuring out my name is not also "Dad" but "Mom"! It seems that I can finally put "Mom" in that side bar as words she now says. I did conceive, grow and birth her, not to mention nurse her for a year and attend to her every need every minute of the day. I guess it is about time she learned what my name is.