Baby Name Clues

For our first two pregnancies, we waited until The Birth to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl.  Although we always had names picked out beforehand, we never fully revealed the name until the baby was actually born.  Well Baby D.3 is no different – we don’t yet know whether we will add a brother or a sister to this family, but we are prepared with a name for either one!  As with the first two children, I will publish weekly name clues for Baby D.3 (you can see name clues for Baby D.1 and D.2 below).  This time I am also going to publish people’s guesses because that is half the fun!  However, know that I won’t confirm or deny until the final reveal!  I hope these clues are obscure enough to keep you guessing until the end but helpful enough to generate some ideas. 

Baby D.3 Name Clues

Clue #1:

Boy - First name ends in the letter N
Girl - First name ends in the letter E

Round 1 Guesses:

Boy - Aniken, Bacon, Steven, Rasputen, Nwendy Jr., Nathan, Aiden (x2), Keyan, Cason, Brandon Jr., Evan, 

Girl - Padme, Pie, Katie, Nelle, Evangeline, Evie, Ewendy Jr., Reese, Tere, Callie, Bonnie, Diane, Catherine Jr., Eve

Clue #2:
Boy - First name has 3 syllables.  Middle name has 2 syllables.
Girl - First name has 2 syllables.  Middle name has 1 syllable.

Round 2 Guesses:

Boy - Sullivan Travis, Anakin, Gideon, Finnegan Rascal, Jonathan Brandon (x2), Jonathan Allyn 

Girl - Padme, Katie Mae, Katie Beth, Carrie Anne, Evie, Ellie Mae, Allie May, Allie Ann, Bonnie Jean

Clue #3:
Boy - Middle name is a family name.
Girl - Middle name is a family name.

Round 3 Guesses:

Boy -  Jameson Brandon, Jonathan Allyn, Jonathan David, Donovan, and Allyn, Hilton, or Carlton for middle names

Girl - Sadie Anne, Halle Jean

Clue #4:
Boy - Like my name, the first name is technically 3 syllables (see clue #2) but typically pronounced with only 2.
Girl - Like my name, the first name ends in the letter E (see clue #1), but does not end in the E sound.

Round 4 Guesses:

Boy -  Cameron Allyn, Cameron David, Cameron Bushrod

Girl -  Charlotte Anne, Alice Rae, Christine Claire

Clue #5:

Boy - There are 12 letters in the first and middle names combined.

Girl - There are 13 letters in the first and middle names combined.

Clue #6:

Boy - Initials are CAD
Girl - Initials are CAD

Final Names:  Cameron Allyn and Charlotte Anne

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Baby D.1 Name Clues

Clue #1

Boy – First name ends in the letter N

Girl – First name ends in the letter N

Clue #2

Boy – First name has 2 syllables

Girl – First name has 2 syllables

Clue #3

Boy - The number of letters in the first and middle names combined is 10 letters

Girl - The number of letters in the first and middle names combined is 10 letters

Clue # 4

Boy – First name begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y!)

Girl – First name begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y!)

Clue # 5:

Girl – First and middle name is the first and last name of an actress

Boy – First name is one of the main actors from Lord of the Rings

Clue # 6:

Boy – Initials are IMD

Girl – Initials are EPD

Final Names:  Ian Michael and Ellen Paige

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Baby D.2 Clues

Clue # 1:

Boy - First and middle name combined has 10 letters

Girl - First and middle name combined has 10 letters

Clue # 2:

Boy - First and/or middle name begins with a vowel

Girl - First and/or middle name begins with a vowel

Clue # 3:

Boy - Total of 3 syllables in the first and middle names combined

Girl - Total of 3 syllables in the first and middle names combined

Clue #4:

Boy – First name does not end in the letter N

Girl – First name does end in the letter N

Clue #5:

Boy – First name is in top 100 of SSA names in 2010.  Middle name is not.

Girl – First name is not in the top 100 of SSA names in 2010.  Middle name is.

Clue #6:

Boy – Initials JAD

Girl – Initials EPD

Final Names:

James Allyn and Ellen Paige

(alas, this boy name is now removed from the running of any future boys as my nephew now has the first name James and we won’t repeat it) 

Things Ian Says - Age 3 to 4

Ian just turned FOUR (a few months ago - this has apparently been sitting in my draft folder for a full 2 months, probably waiting for me to add photos).  I have a full-fledged pre-schooler on my hands and it is a little mind blowing.  I love watching his little brain develop and change.  Over the past year, I started keeping a record of the funny things Ian says.  He was almost 3.5 by the time I started recording these quotes and I am sure I missed some good ones.  Here are my favorites:

While talking about his runny nose:  "My nose is stuffly." (2/10/2013)

While on a drive in the car, out of nowhere:  "If I didn't have a nose, I wouldn't have to sneezes!"  (2/10/2013)

Trying to get Ian to retell a story to my mom.  The prompt was, "Tell me about the cooler."

Response:  "It is an old cooler.  Smack made it old.  Smack is kind of like a tiger."  (2/18/2013)

While out and about running errands:  "There's a Starbucks.  There are Starbucks EVERYWHERE!" (4/4/2013)

While wearing a baseball helmet:  "I have this so deer don't bite me.  And to protect me from coyotes.  I also have this [flashlight] so I can see what is coming."  (5/11/2013)

While helping his sister pick out gardening gloves:  "Ellen, which gloves would you like - stripes or dots?"  ("Stripes")  "Oh, I'm sorry Ellen... the striped ones are not available!  Is that disappointing?"  (6/10/2013)

While crossing the lake on our way to school:  "You could get in a canoe or ship and go to college!  Everyone should go to college."  (6/13/2013)

Ian asked for more marshmallow after dinner one day and we said no (sorry buddy, just one!). Then he clarified - "No, not more. I asked for a S'MORE!" A classic misunderstanding. (7/6/2013)

While on vacation: “Is this the lunch site?” (8/2013)

The day after my cousin’s wedding was over, we were leaving the hotel we had stayed in for several days:  “Is anyone staying at the hotel? (he paused and didn't get an answer.  Oh, everyone is leaving the hotel, in this case.”

Right before a hike: “Daddy said a very amazing thing to me.  He told me that we will see a very very old tree and it has been growing for a long long time!”

On a hike, referencing tree roots: “Look!  The trees gave us tree steps!  <looks up> Thank you trees!”

On a hike, he told us that he needed to go potty and so we directed him to a discrete spot on the side of the trail.  He got ready, waited a bit and said:  “I thought I needed to go potty, but my brain told me that I needed to wait until we found a real potty.”

After swimming at the pool:  “Daddy said if I fell into the deep end he would jump in and save me.  But… he would not care to.”  <This was not a parrot of what Brandon said.  The “not care to” part was *ALL* Ian.>

Randomly: “When I grow up, I will be an Aggie.  Or a robot.”

Beep bop boop bop, I love this kid.

On Our Bookshelf: The Little House and Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

I love children’s literature in general, but my favorite stories tend to be the classics, featuring themes that endure through the years.  One such classic story is one that I recently purchased for my daughter’s second birthday (knowing she will probably enjoy it more in the years to come):  The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.  I fondly remember reading this book as a child and wanted to pass that enjoyment onto my children.  The copy that I purchased came with an audio recording on CD, so we immediately popped it in and listened in the car.  Much to our (pleasant) surprise, there was a bonus track included in which Maybelle the Cable Car is read aloud!  We haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but I have a trip to our local library planned to pick it up soon.  The Little House won a Caldecott Medal in 1943 for its charming illustrations, but what really strikes me is the lovely story and the different themes throughout the book.  Maybelle the Cable Car didn’t disappoint on either front and had some of the same themes.  I am a little geeked out that at ages three and two, my children are getting exposure to ideas such as:

·         Urban sprawl

·         Celebration of the quiet country side

·         Nostalgia for simpler times

·         Importance of connection to the outdoors

·         Knowledge about seasons, phases of the moon, and the evolution of transportation

·         Impacts of technology advances on human interaction and behavior (people distracted, hurrying, not paying attention to the world, etc)

·         Power of democracy

·         Importance of people in a community

·         Unique vocabulary – tenement houses, surveyors, cellar, committee, petition, ballot, vote, election, polls, vote, citizen, democracy, sentimental, economical

It is fine and good for a children’s book to be enjoyed and appreciated by adult readers, but the true test is if the child latches on and enjoys the story.  I think the answer from my house would be a resounding “YES” from both children.  Their favorite line from either book (context – townspeople of San Francisco think the new horseless carriages look silly):  “GET A HORSE!”

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton



Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton



What I Have Been Watching

We do not have cable or a DVR, but thanks to Netflix and Hulu, I can pretty much watch whatever I want whenever I want.  I am not typically very millenial but I am very much a modern entertainment consumer, often "binge" watching a show.  I don't (typically) sit and watch for hours, but I do tend to power through one series before moving onto another one.  I either stream Netflix through our Wii, the computer, or my kindle fire (I plug in headphones and watch while washing dishes!), or I watch hulu on the computer.  Below is what I have been watching for the past couple of years.

Category:  Current shows, and I am (mostly) caught up
Psych (I am not quite live but have seen as much as I can on hulu)
Parks and Recreation (this show makes me laugh out loud)
30 Rock (this was current but the series finale was earlier this spring)
The Office (only 2 more episodes!  I will miss this show)
Bones (I am not as smart or hyper-rational as Brennan, but I definitely identify with her character)
Downton Abbey (somehow I missed the most recent Christmas Special, although I do know what happens)
Sherlock (BBC version, of course)

Category:  Current Shows, but I am behind one season!
Doctor Who (episodes starting in 2005, with Doctors #9, 10, and 11)
How I Met Your Mother (This show is funny but I am ready or it to wrap up already)
White Collar
Portlandia (I have already watched this series twice and plan to again.  LOVE IT.  Put a bird on it!)

Category:  5-10 Years Behind the Curve
Battlestar Gallactica (I actually got Brandon to watch this one with me, and he is also a huge fan.  I have contemplated dressing as Starbuck for Halloween but I haven't yet planned far enough in advance)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Yes, it started in 1997.  I LOVE IT.  And now have sort-of crushes on men who are now late forties/early fifties)
Arrested Development (I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEW RELEASE!)
Alias (watching this made me feel like I was back in high school)
Angel (not as good as Buffy, but still very fun to watch)
Firefly (I am not a super fan but might be if I watched it another time)
Numbers (Math Geek solves crime.  YES!)

If you care to have more details about our television journey:

When we moved into our current house four years ago, we didn't elect to install cable or satellite for the TV.  We still had a TV, a handful of DVD's, and a subscription to Netflix that allowed us two DVD's at a time, but streaming to the Wii was not yet available.  We were following a growing number of shows while at our old house and left behind a litany of unwatched episodes on our very full DVR.  Although now I wish I had caught up on as much as possible through hulu, I didn't think to at the time and we ended up just missing the season finales after our move in April. 

When Ian was born that fall, I found myself a little bored (In case you didn't know, newborns tend to sleep a LOT during the day.  No promises about the night time, though.) and started walking about a mile to the grocery store to get exercise and check out the Redbox movie selection.  The options were less than stellar, I'll tell you.  But I survived by adding my paltry collection of DVDs to the mix (Ocean's Eleven, Much Ado About Nothing, The Princess Bride, The Importance of Being Earnest, Elf).  My mother-in-law was due to arrive in December to watch Ian for a week while I went back to work and before day care started, and we felt bad that the entertainment options would be quite limited.  The 2010 Winter Olympics were also gearing up to start in February, and we decided that we wanted to be able to watch at least some of those.  We got an antena, but the reception is spotty at best.  We didn't end up watching very much until we started streaming Netflix through our Wii (yes, we still have one of those).

Baby Burrito

The following are lyrics that I made up for after bath time... sung to the tune of Baby Beluga.  It has quickly transitioned to an Any Time song for my kids, and they request any manner of names be substituted for Baby.  We usually start with their names and work our way through all of the cousins' names.

Baby burrito after a bath

You're so cute, you make me laugh

Baby burrito wrapped in a towel

I love you baby!

Baby burrito...

Baby burrito...

Wrapped up in a towel

I can see you smile

I Love. You. Baby.

{Ellen Burrito}

Three Things

It's just the kind of day that makes parenting so heart filling.

1.  Ellen woke up early and I sent Ian in to talk to her while I finished getting ready.  Things stayed very quiet for about 10 minutes so I went to investigate... and this is what I found.

{Sweet siblings reading together in the crib}

Ian climbed into the crib, bringing a book to share with his sister.  Their laps shared the load of the book and Ian started "reading" to Ellen.  Reading right now consists of either reciting the memorized words or just telling the story of what he sees in the pictures.  Ellen sat quietly absorbing everything he was saying and studied the illustrations alongside him.  I was so grateful that I could capture this sibling moment from the hallway, not disturbing their precious interaction.

2.  Later, while I was getting breakfast ready for Ellen, Ian disappeared.  All of a sudden he ran into the kitchen.  Fully Clothed!  With a backpack!  Without prompting, he had gone to his room and changed out of pajamas and into the clothes we laid out the night before (including socks and shoes).  Then he packed his backpack with pajamas, a night time pull up, and slippers "in case it is bed time after we go to dinner."  Can I repeat... ALL WITHOUT PROMPTING.  He is REALLY growing up!

{This photo was taken during potty training almost a year ago, but I couldn't resist as it just shouts BIG BOY}



3.  We were in the car talking about where we were going to eat tonight, this is how the conversation went:

Ian:  Is our family going to be there?

Me:  Yes, Mimi and Grandpa will be there with you, me, Daddy, and Ellen.

Ian.  Ok.  Are we going to eat outside?

Me:  No, it is too cold.

Ian.  Ok.  Yesterday we ate outside with our family.

Me:  Yesterday, a long time ago?

Ian:  Yes, a long time ago.  It was at Gloria's!  And Jessie was there.  And I was sitting next to Daddy, and he gave me his fruit.  And Beckett was sitting with Jessie.  And then we played in the fountain!  I was playing on the little steps, and then Gram came and told me she didn't want me to... she told me no.  But Beckett still played on the steps.  And then the water went HIGH in the air.  It had a long curve and there were lights!

The events, as told by Ian, were 100% accurate and in the correct sequence.  That family dinner happened in August of last year (7 months ago).  Holy Cow, child!

{sorry, no pic from that evening}

This Guy...

Loving

Dedicated

Steadfast

Patient

Practical

Curious

Knowledgable

Hard Working

Persistent

Content

... and he makes me French Press coffee every morning before I wake up.

I could say a lot more but I'll save that for the Valentine's Day/Anniversary/Birthday cards.

Home Improvement: Our Big Backyard (ok, not so big)

After spending two beautiful afternoons in a row playing outside in the backyard with my kids, I realized that I wanted that space to become much more livable and cleaned up as soon as possible.  My husband put in some hard work last year to lay down sod in the backyard and that effort has paid off tremendously.  We now have a good patch of grass that we can play in, but there are still quite a few areas that have been completely taken over by weeds (including the entire side yard).  Overall I feel like there is too much space that is not barefoot or kid friendly (not to mention unsightly!)  Although I have been jonesing for a new kitchen for quite some time, I keep finding other projects that need to happen first (hello new floors in our living areas!).  Now that we cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and pantry, getting rid of or packing away many seldom used items, the space is actually quite livable (for now!)  Project Backyard Space has now usurped Project New Kitchen as the number one item on my list of things to do.

I started with a sketch of what I wanted to do outside.  It is definitely not to scale, so before we make any detailed plans we need to put together a fairly accurate to-scale plan.  I have some general ideas of what I want in various areas of the yard, but I don’t know how many plants or patio stone it will take to accomplish my vision (yet).

Here is my ideal timeline for this magical transformation.  We plan on doing the majority of the work ourselves, but I have indicated below which ones will be outsourced because we would be crazy to them on.  It is a fairly aggressive timeline since my main worker (husband) will be splitting his time between a heavy work schedule, *completing* the new flooring that was 90% installed in October, building cabinets and replacing drywall and plumbing in the garage, and this backyard project.  Oh, and trying to have a garden again this spring!  The children and I just might have to lend a helping hand.

Phase One (by end of May 2013)

1.       Install new gutters (outsource)

2.       Kill all weeds; remove dead weeds and debris

4.       Prepare all soil areas (including sod areas, flower beds, garden beds)

5.       Plant something small in little flower bed on east of yard next to house

6.       Plant herbs or other plants in big blue pot

7.       Plant large ornamental grass next to west retaining wall

8.       Install trellis (multiple) along west retaining wall next to house

9.       Plant honeysuckle or other viney plant (add mulch)

Phase Two (by end of September 2013)

1.  Rip out old deck and sidewalk

2.   Prep all areas for laying patio stone

3.   Lay new patio stone (goes along west house wall to AC unit and then around/under south part of fence; also in front yard around water source, around the mailbox, and around the water near the street)

4.   Lay sod in all remaining sections of the lawn

5.   Dig up all bushes in front yard

Phase Three (by end of December 2013)

1.   Design new flower beds in front (decide shape/layout, including what is happening with those sections behind the wall next to the doors)

2.   Have soil/mulch around trees instead of grass

Phase Five (not necessary but would be nice before we try to sell the house eventually)

1.   Redo eastern retaining wall (outsource)

2.   Install pergola over patio (probably outsource)
3.   Replace all of backyard fencing (probably outsource)

Goals - 2013

It wouldn't be a new year without a post on GOALS for 2013.  You can read about my (lengthy, ambitious, mostly failed) goals from 2012 here.

We're a few weeks into the new year and things already feel a bit derailed... so far we have had one unconfirmed case of the flu, one preschool case of the flu, and one toddler ear infection.  Luckily, the man of the house has remained unaffected and since he is the major "GET THINGS DONE" driver, activities haven't come to a complete standstill around here.  So far we've mostly been organizing drawers and closets, throwing things out, rearranging furniture, and in general accomplishing some of those "dude, get on that already" projects.

Overall, I have decided to simplify a little bit this year; I need to feel some success!

Blog:

I am was going to attempt Project 52 (i.e. posting a photograph each week), but since I am already on week 3 with nothing to show for it, I might not make that this year.  Instead, I am just going to focus on blogging more often and more consistently.  Last year I had very specific goals and even scheduled out some posts for myself, but this year I am going to take a simpler approach and just post as often as I want, on whatever topics I want.  Something I struggled with all of last year was wanting to make a post "perfect" before posting it.  "Perfect" came to mean that the post fell into a specific category, was medium length, and had a related photograph (taken by me, of course). I am not going to try so hard to make each post a major undertaking.  If I've got pictures, I'll post them with the text, but it's not always bad to keep it simple!  The whole purpose of the blog is to document our lives, and if my quest for (my own very narrow view of) perfection is standing in the way of recording memorable events, well that's ludicrous.

Food and Cooking:

We are generally good at making meal plans and only buying groceries that we need, but I want to continue to cook healthy foods and look for a few new things to try (Pinterest is helping, especially since some of the people I follow consistently pin wonderful recipes).  Additionally, I am going to try Whole30 (for the whole 30 days) in the early spring.  I made a brief attempt at Whole30 way back in August and it was quite successful, especially considering I only did it for about 2 weeks.  However, the improvements I saw in August slowly disappeared as I succumbed to holiday indulgences starting at Halloween.  It's been a lazy couple of months.

Exercise:

We are having trouble working exercise into our schedule since we aren't even able to eat dinner together more than 50% of the work week so I am solo with the kids quite a bit.  However, I am going to commit to running at least once per week, whether early in the morning or during lunch at work.  The best bet will probably be on the weekends, if we can coordinate it.  I also aim to use my work-gym membership that I faithfully contribute to like a 401K.

Photography:

My primary goal in my photography this year is ORGANIZATION.  I have a vast backlog of partially completed work (from 2008 to 2012) that I have been hesitant to tackle, but I vow to complete photo albums for those years as soon as possible!  If I can get a habit established, I am confident that I will feel less overwhelmed.  I also received Adobe Lightroom for Christmas and am going to work on learning how to use it and figure out the most streamlined work flow for myself.  One snafu - the computer on which I was planning to install Lightroom turns out to not have the appropriate requirements, so it is still uninstalled.  Perhaps a new laptop in my future?  Yikes, this hobby is getting expensive.

House:

I've got a HUGE list of things I want to do in our house.  Some items are simple (move couch to other room) and others are much much bigger (re-do all of kitchen).  Some fall in between (create wall gallery for living room, choose photos for said wall gallery in living room), but all are *mostly* achievable.  I think I am going to write a few posts about what we are up to in the home improvement arena.  We are attempting to DIY quite a bit, but with my husband working 50-60 hour weeks almost constantly (plus grad school) it is slow going.

Children:

Well this blog is called "Mostly the Kids" and so far on my goals I have talked mostly about myself!  Sappy goal as related to my children: show them as much love as possible as often as possible and to have oodles of fun with them.  Practical goal: for me to be very intentional with my time and my words and to become more consistent/effective in disciplining.  I promise those two seemingly disparate goals actually go hand in hand (how fun is it to be around out of control kids or parents?).  This year, I plan to write a few posts on things that have worked for us... from potty training to how we deal with food.  It will at the very least serve as a record for what happened during these crazy years, and if anyone who happens to read it finds themselves in similar circumstances, maybe it can provide some insight.

Here Goes, 2013.

Good luck to everyone who set New Year's Resolutions!  What is your most ambitious goal for this year?