Waiting...stil...

This will probably be a quick post.  Baby #2 update...no update.  Anne's still waiting and feeling really good but we're both getting really anxious to meet our new kiddo!  We have a Dr. appt on Wed and they'll give us a better idea of what's going on.  Until then, I am still having a blast taking extra care of Anne and Tatum and am deeply grateful for the help of both of our mothers!  This is exhausting but so much fun.  I kind of "crash" every night between 5 and 8 and have been so happy to have extra hands around to help out.

Since the last post I have done one super exciting thing...  For  months, all I have asked of Anne is to not have the baby on Friday...and she didn't...THANK YOU ANNE.  All my race car buddies came to town for a friend's 50th birthday.  All the Austin guys took our cars to do a "Hill Country Drive."  It was awesome.  There were 8 cars and 16 people.  We went out Hamilton Pool Road and up 281 working our way to the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls.  On the way I rerouted the group to a "surprise" and took them to a friend's private airstrip and they let us race the cars up and down the mile runway.  We were supposed to do this for about 15 minutes and stayed upwards of 2 hours.  It was incredible.  Below are pictures of the cars...the end result is that the Ford GT was the fastest.  All our Ferraris and Lamborghinis, etc got up to between 150 and 160 but the Ford GT went over 170 on the mile stretch.  It was one of the most fun things I've done in months and am so thankful to my friends for letting us do that.  The guys that I race with give so much in the way of taking their planes on trips, inviting me to places I otherwise wouldn't be able to go...and I can't afford do to those types of things.  It was so neat for me to be able to give back by setting up an event like the airstrip driving.  They LOVED it.  I got up to around 154 in my car...could have gone faster but decided with 2 babies it was best to finish well in advance of running out of runway so I played it safe.  The difference between 150 and 170 probably wouldn't have mattered anyway!  150+ was good enough for me.  That's definitely the fastest I've ever driven a normal street car.

Aston Martin DB9

Bentley Coupe

Ferrari 360 Modena

Ferrari F430

Ferrari 360 Modena

Ford GT

Shelby Cobra (Original!)

At the track

This is me racing the Lamborghini (I'm in the red car!). We're right at the finish line and doing about 160 MPH. Notice who's winning... 

Saturday night I went to my friend's 50th birthday and listened to live performances by folks such as Bono, Spazmatics (who were my favorite of the night) and Sister Sledge.  It was a hell of a party.  I'm just glad Anne wasn't there to set any expectations of what she might want to do for my 50th!  We couldn't afford just the flowers they had there let alone the food, 2 stages, pool covered by a see through light up dance floor and 20 minutes non-stop fireworks display. Ugh.  

Sunday morning I took Tatum to a friends birthday party at My Gym...we had a BLAST!  Tatum was swinging from the ropes and climbing all over the monkey bars and I think enjoyed the trampoline more than anything.  I loved watching her eyes as she discovered new things and fun sensations of jumping, etc.  

I'll let you know how the Dr. visit goes on Wed!

Tiny Dancer

Today was the first day of Ballet Class for Tatum.  As promised, her pics are below.  It was hysterical to watch.  Tatum made the age cut-off date by one week...so she's obviously the youngest in the class.  All the kids lined up in a perfect row and Tatum was right there with them.  We had high hopes.  Then the kids all followed the teacher's lead and raised their arms and jumped up and down and Tatum sat there like a deer in the headlights.  Bless her little heart.  She'd run to the side of the room and watch and cry and go back out to see what all the fuss was but just couldn't get her little mind wrapped around it.  The instructor gave her a stuffed bunny and she held it the entire class and kind of followed the pack of girls around.  Towards the end the teacher made everyone lay down on the floor and Tatum followed suit.  We again had a flurry of hope.  All the girls then popped up and little Tatum seemed quite content laying down and saw no need in the foolishness of jumping up only to lay down again.  She was actually smarter than the rest if you ask me...she fiured out that just laying there started and ended in the same place with out all the effort in between.  That's Daddy's girl!  

After Dance, we had lunch at Hangtown with Shelly and her daughter Reese.  It was so fun to watch the two girls play and interact with each other.  They're exactly a month apart and seem to feed off each other on what they do and say.  I hope we get to spend more time with them and Shelly and I are making bets that these girls are going to be heartbreakers when they get to Westlake High.  

After lunch we took a long nap, enjoyed dinner that the Marquardt's brought over (thanks guys!), spent over an hour just sitting on the back porch talking, and finally ended the night by watching a movie.  It was a good day.  Anne's looking and feeling pretty normal if you ask me.  She seems super anxious to get this stoff over with and I think we're both itching to know "when it's going to happen" just so we can get back to a normal schedule.  I've got a really fun morning Friday that I've been waiting months for....so I'm hopeful Anne continues to safely hold the new baby in.  More on that later...

Here's Tatum's dance pictures.  In the picture with 2 girls, that's her cousin who is exactly 3 months older...but light years ahead.  They're cute together.

Nothing New

Went to the Dr. this morning. Anne's 2.5cm and 60%. They said we just need to hold tight, keep Anne hanging close to the house and try and let the little bun stay in the oven another week or so. Anne had a good day, Tatum had a good day and Daddy's exhausted. I'm looking forward to Tatum starting her dance class on Wed (Anne bought her the entire dance ensamble...pictures will certainly follow!) and we're going to do lunch with Reese and Shelly sometime this week. A big "thank you" to Ward, Annie and Avery for taking care of Tatum this morning at a playdate at their house. Tatum had a great time and kept saying "Avery" all day long. She's getting a new word everyday...it's so fun to watch her learn.

Octopus Arms...

Not much to update you on since Friday's entry...other than a few self-reflections and deep thoughts.  

This is HARD.  Anne is basically on bed rest until we're in the "safe zone" to have the baby with fully developed lungs...which worst case would be next Tuesday.  Until then she's allowed to sit in the pool, lay in bed or sit on the couch.  I am now in charge of Tatum's life and really enjoying it.  I did fall asleep on the job this morning around lunch time when Anne and I were both watching her in the family room...and I caught a bit of heat for not doing my part.  I'm not sure how one's supposed to work, play nurse, single parent and keep their sanity.  I'm sure a rash of hate mail will come as a reult of that comment because there are obviously people that do this everyday and do it with a smile.  I'm smiling...on the outside.  

I had to work for a quick hour this morning for some great clients/friends...they just had their 2nd baby and every time I'm around them they look terrified and keep warning me of the storm that's headed my way.  I'm really trying to convince myself that it's all about attitude and to remember that we have someone at the house full time and 4 grandparents eager to jump over at moment's notice...so I honestly think we'll brave the storm and come out smelling like a rose.  (note...check future blog...end of Sept/early October for status update here).  I got home and physically couldn't keep my eyes open while Tatum was eating lunch.  It was a well needed break.  I put her down for her nap at 2 and should have napped myself but spent the time straightening up the house and kitchen so my bride wouldn't freak out like has been known to happen when things are left to my own doing.  Once Tatum was awake (4:00) we went to the mall to listen to the piano music and walk around showing off Daddy's pig tail skills.  Should have got a pic but I didn't...trust me, they were damn good.  We both got a cookie and then headed home to swim with my Mom and Cross.  Around 7:00 I cooked noodles and chicken and put a mound of berries on Tatum's plate...she loves fruit.  We both ate well and Tatum delighted in saying "Ruru" (Lulu) and dumped her remaining scraps on the floor....much to Lulu's anticipating appetite.  (It's so funny how Lulu has learned to simply sit under Tatum's high chair and catch what falls or is thrown her way).  Anne sat with us while we ate which was nice to have her out of bed.  A few minutes later I had fingernail clippers darted at me for a comment I made as a result of my washing the towels we used that day so I welcome Anne and her hormones to keep themselves contained to her chamber upstairs until she either gets some medications to subdue them, until the baby comes, or until I get a padded jump suit to wear around the house.  I now know why they won't let those things on airplanes...they really can puncture your skin easier than you might think.  

I survived 2 days and hope to continue.  As long as I can keep large knives and all guns out of Anne's possession, I think I stand a fighting chance.  Then again, I have to sleep sometime so here's to hoping...

We have a Dr. appointment on Monday morning at 9:30 to get an update on Anne's condition (the baby delivery, not her head) and I'm hopeful that will go well.  I really hope we are able to hold off on a delivery for another week and not have to go through the NICU stuff we did with Tatum.  Seeing your helpless little baby under heat lamps wired up all over the place with a needle in their head is not something a parent should have to do.  This is the part where I should give you a link to the March Of Dimes website and ask you to contribute....  I'll save that for later.  

Ok!  Have a great week folks and if anything new and exciting happens I'll be sure to let you know. Sorry no pictures on this one...I think I wore you out on the other entries last week??   

We're getting close!?

We went to the doctor today for Anne's 8 month pregnancy check-up. When Tatum was born we went in for this same appointment and Anne was 1/2cm dilated and they said "no problem...this is normal, you'll be dilated for a month." 2 days later we had little Tatum in our arms. Today we went in for the same appointment and Anne is 3cm dilated! You can imagine what's going through our heads.

I ran out and picked up the last of the things for the new Baby's room...the crib mattress and the toy chest. So we're now as ready as we can be. All that's remaining are the curtains and the bedding. As you know we don't find out what we're having...we had the Dr. write the sex in a sealed envelope and we gave it to the designer that's helping with our fabrics...we pick a pink and a blue that we like and she orders whatever the envelope tells her to. So....the minute the baby hits, we call and it's delivered and we're done. Incase you were nervous that the curtains wouldn't be in, you can rest easy now. I know that was really bothering you.

Anyway...the Dr. said Anne needs to stay at home and do nothing other than sit in bed, sit on the couch or lay in the pool. In turn, I have to be by her side helping with Tatum and waiting for Anne to yell "it's time." When the Dr. made faces this morning kind of like "hmmmm, well...uh, you're actually 3cm dilated...." we were a little freaked. In our minds that means the baby's coming tomorrow. Lots of people remain dilated for a month but our last experience makes us a little trigger shy. They need the baby to stay in for 10 more days in a perfect world. If it's a girl, she could come as early as Tuesday and her lungs be healthy...if it's a boy it will need to be in about 10 days to make sure (boys lungs don't mature as quickly as girls). After the 10 day period the baby could come at any time and be very healthy and safe and get to go home from the hospital with us.

We've cancelled everything we're supposed to be doing...we had weekend plans at Horseshoe Bay and a couple things next week...all were wiped clean from the calendar. For now we're going to be sitting at home hoping that my check to the City of Austin didn't bounce and that our a/c stays on.

Anne feels great, she seems scared and nervous and I know would never admit it but I can tell in her eyes that she's holding back from a mini-melt down. We're so fortunate to have my mother 3 mins away and Anne's Mom less than 30 mins away...we can get help instantly and be in good shape if we need it. I think we both need a few more weeks to really get ourselves prepared but the minute things are set in motion we'll be eagerly awaiting and ready to take on our new family!

We hope to have friends come over and watch a movie or come eat dinner with us. It will be lonely not seeing everyone out like we always do. Please e-mail anne (AnneShiflet@mac.com) or call her on her cell to keep her company. I couldn't imagine being confined to a bed or a couch for 2 weeks. While we all joke that it sounds like a heck of a good gig, I think in reality it will totally suck.

Keep us in your thoughts and come by and say hello...not too long now!! Yeee haaaaa...

Tatum's Birthday!

This wasn't just Tatum's birthday, it was her birthweek.  It started with her swim party on Sunday, birthday eve dinner at PawPaw's house and a big family pizza party tonight.  

Last night was really fun at PawPaw's.  Dad and Kay had some great food and fun gifts but what I thought was the coolest was her birthday cake.  Dad does for Tatum what he wants for himself...so he gave her the entire birthday cake!  We put some candles in the top, blew them out and I was looking for a knife to cut the cake.  Dad said "no, just give her a fork!".  We kind of looked at him to see that he was joking and in fact he was very serious.  So we did.  Tatum had a fork and an entire cake and she went to town.  It was so fun watching her.  We all ended up grabbing a fork and eating what we liked...and to tell you the truth, it was probably the best way I've seen to enjoy your cake...you get to eat the exact pieces you want.  Here's a few pictures from his house...

PawPaw's Birthday Cake...

The entire cake all to herself...

Chasing Bobbies...

Her own new "house"...

Thank you guys for a great "Birthday Eve" dinner/party...

Today...what a day!  I don't know that I've ever been so exhausted.  I've been looking forward to today for so long.  When I was little Mom and Dad would always put presents at the foot of my bed.  I remember waking up at 3 or 4am and hearing the wrapping paper rattle as my toes felt for the boxes through my covers.  After my eyes adjusted through the pitch black I'd make out the size and shapes of each box and spend the next several hours imagining what was inside.  I could never sleep I was so excited to tear in to them.  I wanted to share that same tradition with Tatum so both last year and this year I have snuck in her room at 1 or 2am and left my presents for her just outside her crib where she will see them when she wakes up.  I always put a few balloons in too so she'll know it's a special day.  This morning I woke up to hearing Tatum on the monitor yelling "boons" (balloons) over and over and over.  As soon as Anne was out of the shower we both raced down the hall to greet her and give her a big birthday morning hug and kiss.  She was more excited about the bag with Monkeys on it than what was inside and seeing her curious little eyes unravel the gifts was all a Dad could ask for.  

Tatum has been really in to "ra ra's"...monkeys.  It started with a picture in one of her books of a gorilla.  We tried to get her to say "gorilla" and she could only muster up "ra ra" and now every relative of a monkey is called a "ra ra."  In honor of the RaRa, we decided to take Tatum to the Austin Zoo for her 2nd birthday.  I told my office to consider it a National Holiday and no calls or anything...today was entirely dedicated to Tatum! We shot for a Zoo arrival of 10am so it wouldn't be hot yet.  It's the middle of August in Texas...it doesn't matter what time you get there, it's hot.  The zoo was better than I expected.  I hadn't been in years (like 20) and remembered that they had 4 or 5 cages with animals.  I called ahead to make sure they had RaRa's and we were safe to make the journey.  The place is really pretty special.  They rescue a lot of animals that were privately owned and care for them.  They had 3 tigers, 4 lions, probably 50 monkeys, huge Tortoises, a Jaguar, a black Panther, a Leopard and then a bunch of tame animals you could hand feed like Goats and Llamas and Deer.  I felt so bad for Anne...there she was in her always fashionably conscious outfit (at least she wore flip-flops and not heels) and 8 months pregnant walking with us through the baking sun.  I was hot and couldn't imagine what it would have been like in her shoes.  She was a trooper and was dedicated to the cause and made it through without a complaint.  Tatum really seemed to enjoy herself and we got a lot of delight out of being able to show her a real life RaRa.  On the way home from the Zoo she enjoyed a Sonic Slushie and a great lunch at Pok-e-Joe's...one of her favorites.  Here's some pictures from the Zoo...

Tatum checking out some of the animals...

A "kitty"...

A RaRa....

More RaRas...

2 of the tigers playing w/ each other...

Check out this lion!  Awesome...

One of the Billy Goats you can hand feed...

Hot and tired but a great adventure...

Tonight around 6:00 both Anne's and my family came over to our house to eat pizza and open presents.  I thought we were pretty tame this year but it ends up we still overflowed our living room with presents.  She got all kinds of goodies from "bobbies" (bubbles) to clothes, bathing suites, a tent, a kitchen, a tea set, bath robes, a play house, a mini-trampoline and countless other toys.  I made the mistake of putting her mini-kitchen in with all the other gifts and we couldn't pry her away from it to enjoy opening the other gifts.  Lesson learned.  I now understand why they save the bigger stuff for last.  All 3 of Tatum's cousins were there and it was so neat to see them all playing in circles around one another.  

Tatum crashed to bed around 9:00 and I was about 15 minutes behind her.  I don't remember being that tired in a long time.  I got an awesome 2 hour nap in and will probably be up the rest of the night as a result.  I want to thank all our families for making it such a special day for Tatum. She adores every one of you and we appreciate all the love you have for her and for all the wonderful things you do for us.  Thank you!

A few pictures from tonight...

Tatum and Natalie in Tatum's new tent...perfect colors!

My birthday cake for Tatum...

Tatum diving right in...

Thank you Uncle Cole and Aunt Tara for the most perfect dress!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TATUM!  I LOVE YOU!

DaDa

Tatum's Birthday Party

It was another good week around Casa Cord. Still not much going on work wise, which is to be expected this time of year...it's too hot to be walking through houses anyway. It seems like in August all the rich folks head for Colorado to escape the heat while the Shiflet's try and lower the temperature by soaking in the pool. I did end up working a good amount this week but lately I've found myself chasing a lot of people and trying to track down deals and houses that people want...it's not the market I'm used to. We're adjusting and it's actually been fun scaling back and staying home and enjoying what we have here at home rather than cruising the globe looking for fun things to do. We have no plans until December when we go back to Vegas for our annual Christmas trip...that is assuming of course that someone buys or sells a house between now and then! I can't wait for this election to be over...election years always seem to be unpredictable for my business. I had 2 highlights this week I think. One was obviously today, enjoying all of Tatum's friends next to the pool celebrating her 2nd birthday which is this coming Wed. The other was simply a dinner at Nordstrom's.
We decided spur of the moment to head to the mall for a bite to eat. We really like the Nordstrom's cafe, granted it's almost as expensive as eating at Sullivan's...but it's close, good and super kid friendly. I called up Anne's sister, Sara, and she joined us. In our Nordstrom's tradition, we ordered our food and then walk Tatum around to keep her entertained while we're waiting on our food. I love the piano players in Nordstrom's. Whenever they're there I take Tatum down and listen and watch her run around the sitting area next to the piano. I'm not sure what sugar high Tatum was on this particular night but she was just going NUTS around the piano. She jumped up in one of the chairs and sat all by herself and just started dancing (if you can call it that) to the music. I thought it would only last a few seconds but after she was consistently gyrating in her chair I couldn't stop laughing and grabbed my camera to get a video of it. You can hear me belly laughing in the background because the girl was just having so much fun. It kind of makes you dizzy to watch her but man, it sure didn't phase here. Here's the link if you want to see it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzai7Uztl7Y


The piano player at Nordstrom's saw Tatum reacting to his music and started playing songs just for her. It was so great. He played really elaborate versions of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"...this next video is worth watching just to hear the music. Towards the end of the video Tatum starts singing along to "Old McDonald's Farm"...only she says "EIEIEI"...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0kgSUpgDgI&feature=related



It wasn't a particularly special night or anything but just seeing her innocent childish fun was enough to put a smile on my face that lasted a few days. I probably watch her little video 3x a day...and I laugh every time I see it. She's just so sweet and really developing her personality.


Speaking of developing personality...my nephew, Cross, is really starting to come out of his shell. He'll be 1 next month and is crawling all over the place. I stopped by to see them the other afternoon and Cross has a new trick. My brother puts Cross in his truck and turns on rap music...Cross then proceeds to dance and drive. It's so funny. He's going to be a gangsta' just like his Dad. Here are 2 videos of him doing it if you want to see...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9zsuYDgqd4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgN5S7ZYNM0&feature=related



A few pictures from this week...

Tatum in a cute dress and her crazy little pig tails...

Anne found some wax lips and Tatum kept eating them!

I just love how happy she looks here...

Her Aunt Tara and Uncle Cole bought this dress. SO Tatum...

A great picture of Mom and her Grand Kids...

Kissing Cousins! Tatum and Cross...

For the past few months Tatum has done the cutest thing...we'll say "Tatum, Big Face!" and she opens her mouth as wide as she can and smiles through her eyes at you looking for approval. Then we'll say "little face" and she crinkles her lips, eyes and nose all together. She's not been doing is as often lately so we got a quick video of that to memorialize it...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBsFdBYMlo8



Today (Sunday) was her birthday party at our pool. Last year we did a pretty big ordeal, which I think is fun for a parent's first birthday party for their child...but this year we just wanted it to be fun. And it was. We invited about 20 friends over...all but 5 I believe have kids. I kept looking around and noticed that I think our friends have the best looking kids I've ever seen. Maybe all kiddos are this cute but I just couldn't stop staring at all their big beautiful eyes and minature little bodies...there's just nothing more perfect that a little kid. Anne planned the entire event and did a mermaid theme. The party was perfect in that it was nothing more than friends swimming, some Central Market finger sandwiches and a great cake. We had a photographer there to capture it for us and once I get the photos back from him, I'll send you a link or something. Tatum was so sweet with everyone and plays so well with all her little friends.


I've got to tell you...the thing that warms my heart the most are Tatum's "adopted uncles"....Uncle Wiggles and Uncle Hanes. Steven and Kyle are in their young 20's and short of practicing making babies, I think kids are the furthest thought from their brain. However...I don't know that there are any friends more crazy for Tatum than they are. I love watching them all play together. When Kyle and Wiggles come over to swim and Tatum is napping, they're legitimately bummed. They keep asking when she's going to be up and when can they play with her. I don't know that Kyle and Wigs have any inhibitions anyway but when Tatum's around there are no boundaries. They turn in to goofy funny 2 year olds right along with her. Maybe their youth gives them more energy to play, I'm not sure but it exhausts me to watch them. They don't get tired and are up for anything with her....wether it's playing in her playhouse, blowing "bobbies"(bubbles) for 15 minutes or cruising the pool in her "boat." Tatum is always on her best behavior for them and wants to show them everything she's got. It's awesome. These aren't from this weekend, but here's a few photos of them a couple of weeks ago. Uncle Wiggles and Tatum were playing in the playhouse and Uncle Kyle was showing Tatum what NOT to drink...right Kyle?




Anne and I were both so excited about the fact that Steven and Kyle took time out from their week and went birthday shopping for Tots. Wiggles got her the worlds biggest bubble blower and Kyle got her the coolest power boat to cruise the pool. I just thought it was so neat and special that 2 guys that are no where near wanting kids put so much thought and effort in to Tatum...it was super cool. Thanks guys for being such great friends to us and especially to Tatum.


We couldn't keep Tatum's candles lit outside so her blowing out the candles wasn't too exciting but what could compare to her 1st birthday watching her experience frosting for the first time? That will be a hard one to beat. The party was scheduled from 11-1 but ended around 6:00. I dont' know that I've ever been so tired...the combination of sun and margaritas and keeping up with all the kids was enough to knock me out! With a 2 hour nap, I'll probably never go to sleep tonight.


We're excited for Wed. to come around and really celebrate Tatum being 2. I can't believe how quickly these 2 years have come and gone. I can't imagine life without her...what a blessing these 2 years have been. A well needed change I always say.


Think of Taters on Wed. and send out a birthday wish for her sometime during the day. We're having our families over and eating pizza and tearing in to her goodies. Speaking of...I haven't got her anything yet. I keep looking around and nothing has grabbed me. I'm going to dedicate Monday and Tuesday to finding something she'll enjoy.


Nigh Night...

What's in a name?

Trivia for you...did you know I was born Jon David Shiflet? Jon David. Can you imagine me as JD? 2 weeks after I was born my parents changed it to "Cord"...legally, thankfully. They left me with no middle name so I could change my name (or add to it I suppose) when I got older if I really didn't like Cord. My baby book is awesome...it looks like my mother bought it at a garage sale and just changed the name throughout the entire book. You see Jon David with a big black mark through it and "Cord" is scratched above. No wonder I'm half crazy...I had a very unstable first few weeks of my life, not even knowing what name to answer to!

Anyway...I love my name. I don't think that's news to any of you...seeing as how I have plastered it everywhere I can from my towels to my license plate. I believe picking your child's name is critical. I honestly believe my name helped shape me and the person I am and the guy you've all learned to love. There has never been another Cord, except some extremely good looking guy on a Soap Opera, but otherwise I'm pretty sure I'm the only one on the planet. I've met a McCord but not a Cord. If you find another one, please don't tell me.

So...we've been trying to come up with Baby Shiflet #2's name. We don't find out if we're having a boy or a girl so we have to come up with not one but 2 names so we're well prepared. Tatum came to us and was perfect! Anne loved the name and gets credit for suggesting it. When she said the name I kind of smiled and said "did you know that was my great-grandparent's name?" She didn't know that. They were the Tatum's from Emory, Texas. Tatum Emory...so it worked well for both of us. I was rooting for a girl for no other reason than I adored the name. Now we're challenged because we have to find something equally as good and we're at odds as to what to do.

We both have some good names picked out but neither one of us fully agrees with the other one's pick. I suggested I pick a boy name, Anne pick a girl name and whatever comes out...so be it. That didn't work out so well with my OCD controlling bride. Everywhere we look we're trying to find a name. We've read every baby-name book, we sit and read the movie credits after every show we watch scrolling for a name we like to roll through, we think of places we love and things we've done...we did get one good option out of that, Cruise, but Anne said she'd think of Tom everytime and what a freak he is and that wouldn't fly. So here we are, just over a month to go and our child is nameless. Anne used up some good names on the pets...Coco, Chloe, Lulu, Felix...so those are out. We had a great one picked out that we both loved--Campbell, but thanks to the damn Katz' Klan for stealing it 2 months earlier we can't have a child share a name for Christ's sake. We're stuck.

I started asking for my family names...get this. It starts with Jeannette, Johnny, Jackie, Jeannine, Judy, James, Jenny, Janie, Jennie, Jessica... do you catch on to that? Then if you branch off on the next fork in the family tree it goes on to people like Leroy, Purniecy, Vandall, Wendell (who died in Prison), O'Dette, Ida Mae, Babe, Edgbert, Argie, Toddy, Merlynn, Artie, Audie Mae, Aunt Pud, Augusta, Onie, Willie Lucielle (that's a woman!) , Bobbie Jo (that's a girl--Jo, not Joe), Hooker (not a joke!). I will add to that list after my mother and aunt read this blog and threaten me with my life for making fun of their kin-folk. But how can you not? The only ones that are better than that are the ones my Dad wrote about in his book....names like Tooter Terry, Paz, Booker and the like. I'm not making this stuff up. We quickly stopped working our way through the East Texas root system from which my family grew. They're all wonderful people but those names aren't going to mesh with my lady.

So...any suggestions from any of you? I'm looking for something short with some punch to it. With a jacked up last name like Shiflet (which you spell your entire life) I think you need a kick ass first name. Cord, Cole...those were good 'uns. We need more.

Nigh Night,
Jon David

August is starting out HOT

It was 105 freakin' degrees today.  Yowzers.  This is the time of year I start to understand why so many people are out of town and have homes in places like Colorado.  I need to start following suit of the rest of my peers and get the hell outta here for the entire month of August each year.  Thankfully I sat in the pool all day today and was mostly numb to the scorching sun...with the exception of my poor little thinning scalp. 

It was another fun and exciting week in my life.  I guess.  Actually, not really, but I try and always remain positive.  The week was actually a blur.  I don't seem to remember much of what happened other than something like 4 clients called to say they are changing their realtor because their house hasn't sold.  I love it when it's my fault for doing a better job than most anyone can and we're in the slowest sales session we've seen in years and homes that I have listed for 2 years at $2.0mil are turning down offers at $1,950,000.  Yea, I suck.  I always love seeing when they sell it 6 months from now at $50k less than the offer they told me was so terrible.    

Tatum continues to grow leaps and bounds.  Every week her vocabulary is growing and I love her new words.  I'm sad to hear that "doe doe" is turning in to "doggy"...I preferred "doe doe" and thought it was just so "her."  She started hugging this week!!  She'll put her little arms around my neck and squeeze and I don't know that any hug has ever felt so good.  It's just filled with love and appreciation and admiration....so sweet and innocent and pure.  I ask her for about 4 in a row until she tires out of squeezing her little body into mine.  

A really sweet friend/client sent us flowers on Thursday and I took a picture of Tatum w/ the flowers just to email her and say "thank you" and so she could see how much Tatum is growing up.  I think this is one of the cutest pics I've taken of her...she just looks so happy and smiley.

This is a video I took of her mid-week.  We were in the car pulling out of our neighborhood and Anne happened to pull up next to us.  I was trying to get her to do "big face" which she didn't cooperate on.  I'll get it soon, don't worry.  it's so funny to see her open her mouth as wide as it will go and then squish it up as much as she can in to "little face." Anyway...I was trying and also tryign to get her to say her words.  She wouldn't do much other than say "daddy, mommy, doggy" but I think she looks so cool in her glasses. You can tell she thinks she's too cool for school talking all quiet and reserved with her shades on. 

Well, the video link isn't working.  I will have to make it my goal to figure out what's up.  Sorry.

Since we were finally home on a weekend, we're back in the routine with "Saturday morning's with Dad."  A friend of mine, Jordan, called me Friday night and asked it I wanted to go see Joe McDermitt (sp?) do a concert for kids at Riverbend Church.  I thought it sounded like fun and met him and his son, Cole, there Saturday morning at 10:30.  We walked around the little carnival thing and beat on drums and thought about getting in the big jumping moonwalk thing but after being outside for 20 mins and completely soaked in sweat, we were very releived to find the a/c venue for the concert.  This was my first "kids concert" and I didn't know what I was in for.  I felt kind of silly/corny listening to a 50 year old guy sing songs about aliens from mars and a silly dog wagging his tail but after 10 minutes or so I really got in to it and was helping Tatum do all the hand signals and scream out all the rhyming words when he asked for them.  Tatum was shy at first too but when I took her down to the front row where all the kids were standing she was suddenly in her element.  Apparently all the needs is a mosh pit and she's an instant groupie.  Most kids were a little older and understood more of what was going on.  Tatum would just watch them and when they'd put their arms in the air, so would she.  When they jumped up and down and laid on the floor, she'd follow just a few seconds behind them.  It was great.  I loved cheering her on and watching her laugh and smile.  She had a great time and it was one of the best Saturday mornings we've spent together.  

After the concert we went outside to sit in the shade and watch a clown do all kinds of juggling and magic tricks.  Her little friend Cole, 1 month younger than her, sat sunggled up right next to her.  I was in a clown trance and not paying attention to the kids and when I glanced over to look at them Cole had is hand on her thigh about 1/2 way above her knee!  It was awesome.  Wait, no, it was terrible.  It was just like they were 15 years old.  I tried to catch a picture but wasn't quick enough...this was as good as I could get.  I guess you just have to watch your daughter around any boy named Cole...no matter what the age, the name Cole and having "a way with the ladies" just seems to be a given.

After yelling at Cole "hey kid, keep it below the knees" this was a picture I took of him clearly trying to coax Tatum in to holding hands and you can tell by her face she wasn't having it.  Good for you Tots! Not until you're 22.

  

I followed up the kiddie concert by going to Snoop Dogg Saturday night at the Backyard.  I went with a teriffic group of friends and had such a great time.  It was a gorgeous night (but a little hot) and we all enjoyed some Tex Mex at Rosie's and sitting under the trees gettin' crunk with the Doggfather of Hip Hop.  

Today, Sunday, we had a bunch of families over to hang out in the pool and lay around.  It was a smaller group this time around but still a lot of fun.  I cooked hot dogs "for the kids" though anyone that knows me and is reading this knows I cooked them more for myself than anyone.  And yes, they were damn good and I loaded mine up with Mayonaise (disgusting, I know) and shredded cheese.  You know there's a lot of white trash in me and this is where it starts to show.  

The highlight of my day was lying on the couch playing with Anne and Tatum this evening.  I had my head on Anne's belly and was intently watching Tatum rocking her baby dolls...that's when the new baby starting really kicking.  I felt him/her move around for probably 10 minutes.  It was so neat...especially feeling them move around against my head and not my hand like I normally would feel Anne's tummy.  I'm getting so excited to meet the new little addition.  

Tatum got her belly laughs tonight as she invented a new game.  She'd cover me up with blankets and say "nigh night Dada" and leave me there for a few seconds.  Then she'd rip the covers off my head and yell "BOO!" and I'd kind of jump up and say "hi."  She thought it was the greatest thing she's come up with.  We did that for several minutes and Anne and I'd just laugh at how she makes herself laugh and stays entertained.

Stay cool and hopefully inside the air conditioning.  Have a great week and thanks for checking in...