Big Concert & Other news

Well, little guy, your mom's concert went really well. All the bands were nice when we met them at the meet and greet before the show. The bands were "Taking Back Sunday",
and "Jimmy Eat World" . They both played great sets, but I like Jimmy Eat World much better. The freaks were out for the show, and I'm not even exaggerating a little. There were many, many strange kids there. Just today, Kendra told me that they sold 3,500 tickets out of a possible 4,800. The place (UCA's Farris Center) was packed! I have a lot of shots of the crowd during the show and it's pretty impressive for a small venue like this. The concert was over around 11pm, and I headed home around 12am. Kendra didn't get home until 1:45...and they were *still* tearing down the stage. Thank goodness for her graduate assistant Colin Stanton. He stayed late and helped the guys finish up.

When I got home I caught up with the results from the reality TV show American Idol on our ReplayTv. There was a very unexpected result as Constantine Maroulis was voted off. This will probably mean absolutely nothing to you, but it's yet another glimpse into the shows we are watching in 2005.

Your mom (just chimed in) wants you to know that you are hurting her back and her ribs. You are really doing a number to her body, but don't worry because it's 100% natural.

We're getting ready for our trip to Washington D.C. (5/1-8) to see your aunt Tiffany and uncle Lance. They are a lot of fun, and you'll like them a lot. I'll take lots of pictures of you while we're there. I'll have all these pictures of "my son in front of the Washington Monument...and oh there's Kendra too". My friends Todd & Brook Grieco and their daughter Ava live near D.C. and we're going to have brunch with them on Saturday.

One last thing before I sign off for the night. We went downtown tonight to the "Toad Suck Daze" festival held annually in downtown Conway. It's a fun time with carnival rides, craft booths, concerts, contests, and a toad race that kicks it all off. It lasts 3 days, and it basically camps out in the streets of the downtown area. The weather was rainy all day, and during our time at the festival it drizzled. Earlier in the day it hailed on our house for about 10 minutes... Man, I'm really going to stream-of-consciousness writing...I'll say goodnight now.
Love, Dad

Sunday afternoon...gonna eat at Gaucho's tonight!

Hey little buddy,


We went to church this morning and heard our pastor (Tim Jackson) speak about Peter and John healing the lame man in Acts 3 & 4. The Sanhedrin were attempting to force them to stop speaking to people about Jesus. But they never did, and they became the pillars of our faith. One of the points he mentioned is that people never know when they're making history...they just do it. Peter and John followed the Holy Spirit and were guided to make choices that would benefit the world, but cost them their lives. They must have been frightened to make some of these choices, but the Lord comforted them and gave them strength. My prayer is that God is going to guide you, and that in your times of fear and uncertainty you will turn to Him to find strength.


After church we took these pictures and poured over names in our "Everything Baby Names Book" book. It's a slow going, but we'll know your name when we see it. Tonight we're going to eat at a place called Gaucho's. It's a Brazilian restaurant where they bring food out on kabobs. I've never been but people say that they bring out 5 different meats (chicken, steak, pork, lamb and something else), and it's on swords or something like that ...kabob. So, I'm looking forward to stuffing my belly tonight. Later this week, your mom is putting on a concert at work: Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday. She's been pretty anxious about it this past week, and she'll get really bad right up to the concert. She loves it though, and I love helping her make these concerts happen. I'll post any good pictures in later posts.

Love, Dad.

Pics from your 2nd Sonogram...also known as "Glamour Shots"

Here is a list of the shots that were post-worthy. You can see the image caption if you hold your mouse over the picture.

When you read this post, you'll probably want to kill me...it's pretty embarassing. But then again, you're not exactly shy, are you?! I mean seriously! You don't leave anything to the imagination son. I didn't raise you to be so immodest. You must get that from your mom.

Fun & Giggles, Dad.

It's a BOY!!!

Well son, now we can figure out what name to give you. You're mom and I beamed all day long, and shared the news with all our family & friends. We saw really cool pictures of you during the sonogram. I took some videos of the event and we saw you smile and wink and wiggle around. You're pretty active already, and we're hoping you become a professional athlete so you can take care of us with your millions as we age. Nevermind that now, we have lots of years to talk about that in between practices. :)

By the way, in the news today: a new pope was elected to head the Catholic church. His name is John Ratzinger (German), and he's taking the name of Benedict XVI. We're not Catholic, but the pope plays a very large role in the world in spiritual and political areas. The last pope held his position for 23 years, so this one may still be in office when you are able to understand it all. Good night little buddy.

One last shot before we know for sure

It's the day before we go in for your next ultrasound appointment. Tomorrow we'll know for certain if you're a boy or a girl. It's a little nerve wracking, but we are just excited to start planning for you. Your room, your clothes, who you're going to marry... There's just so much to do before your born. :) Of course I'm kidding about the marriage thing. You can choose whoever you want to marry, as long as she's perfect for us. LOL.

American Chopper

Your mom likes this show about a small but famous motorcycle shop called Orange County Choppers. It's owned and run by a family, and the dad and his sons get into arguments constantly. It is very entertaining, and I'm hoping that it lessens your mom's inhibitions about motorcycles. Maybe she'll let you ride (or even own) one some day. It's wild because these bikes sell for $130-150k. For a little perspective, I bought my Lexus (used) 5 years ago for $26k, and we just bought Kendra's SUV for $17k. You gotta pay the *big bucks* for custom built handiwork.
You'll probably never see the show, but if you do, you'll see something we enjoyed watching.
Tomorrow, your mom has to get up really early to give Praxis exams (teacher certifications) at UCA. She gets paid good money to sit and administer these things. I usually help her, but tomorrow I'm taking a break and taking care of the chores around the house. Chores. You're gonna love chores. (read with much sarcasm). Tomorrow I'm mowing, edging, landscaping, and tearing out some unwanted plants. I'm not much into gardening, but flowers are really inspiring. Signing off!
~Dad

Your first carnival!

Today your mom threw a big party for the student body at UCA called "Spring Fling". It's an annual party that her Student Activity Board puts on, and it's pretty big event. There is a handful of carnival rides like the "Tornado" and such. Then there is a rock climbing wall, and a skydiving ride (where you float over a jet engine). Accompanying all the action oriented stuff were an assortment of novelty items such as a "butt sketch" artist, a face painter, a sno-cone station and a sand candy station. It was a huge success, and at the end of the day your mom had to turn away lines of people. She is so great at throwing parties that college kids will enjoy.

I didn't get to go to the party because I had to work in Little Rock today. When I came home after work (and after my workout), Kendra & I went to Wal-Mart to print out some pictures of Jon Heder for your cousin Brandon. His friends never believe that he has an aunt that meets lots of famous people. His friends sound like bums to me. :) Anyhow, Kendra smelled like sun lotion (Bull Frog to be exact). She wore lots and lots of it to protect her skin (and you).

I'm listening to a Jars of Clay album...right now "Sinking" is playing.

I've included a couple of pics of your mom and I with Jon Heder to make this entry a little more interesting. Kendra brought him to UCA this spring (3/21). He is a pretty big pop culture name right now because of his movie "Napoleon Dynamite".
~Love, Dad.

What's your name, child?

So your mom and I have been batting names around a lot for the past 3 months, and nothing seems to stick really well so far. I feel like it's because we don't have 100% assurance that you're a boy or a girl. I guess that's probably really weird for you to think about. It sounds weird as I read over the words even now... Kendra brought up the name Jake again tonight. "Jacob...", I repeated to her. "Hmm...maybe so."

It's sort of a tough thing to pick a name for you. Not just because of the gender question, but because of the seriousness of the task. This is the identity that people will use for you for the rest of your life! That's a big responsibility! What if you hate the name? What if we pick a name that is easy to make fun of? Kids can be really mean, and it can hurt when people pick on you. What if in our culture the name we pick becomes slang for genitalia in the next 10 years?!!!
I suppose that I just want you to know that we're trying our best to choose the perfect name for you. We decided that we need to have your name before you are born. We know that much for sure. Some couples wait until they see the child before giving it a name. We don't want to do that because we're both planners, and like to have things decided as soon as possible. One thing is certain, you're going to be a life-changer.

Mamma's belly

You're in your 21st week, and you're about the size of a large sweet potato. Your mom is really proud of her belly, because she knows that you're in there growing and developing into the little child that we'll get to meet in August. Doesn't she look cute? Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Do you know what basketball is? Your mom wants you to quit playing until after your born.

North Carolina vs. Illinois : tonight is the NCAA basketball championship game. It's a 3 point game with 25.8 seconds left on the clock! I promise, you're gonna LOVE March Madness when you grow up. I'm rooting for UNC because their coach (Roy Williams) used to coach at Kansas (my favorite team), and he got really close but has never won a championship. ...It's over, UNC has won it! Your mom was sitting on the couch, nervous. You were nervous too I guess because she says you were dancing around or something. I was sitting in a directors chair 5 feet in front of the TV, nervous as well. What a game! Sean May is the player of the tournament. UNC won 75 - 70.

I sang the "Baby, baby, baby" song to you with about 45 seconds left.