Happy 30th Birthday, Laurie!

Some women would not want their age broadcast for all to see. But, when you can make 30 look so good, you may as well embrace it.

Happy Birthday, Laurie! Here's some trivia from your birth year of 1979:

Best Picture Oscar: Kramer vs Kramer
#1 Box Office Movie: Superman
Top Songs: YMCA (Village People), Heart of Glass (Blondie), My Sharona (The Knack), Ring My Bell (Anita Ward--good luck getting that out of your head), Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band)
Top Albums: Billy Joel (52nd Street), BeeGees (Spirits Having Flown), Doobie Brothers (Minute by Minute), Cars (Cars), Supertramp (Breakfast in America).
TV: C-SPAN was launched. ESPN begins showing sports 24/7. The Dukes of Hazzard, Facts of Life, Benson, and This Old House all premiered. Top-rated shows were 60 Minutes, Three's Company, That's Incredible!, M*A*S*H*, and Alice.
College Hoops: Magic Johnson's Michigan State team defeated Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores in the first chapter of a decade+ rivalry that carried over into the NBA.
Super Bowl: Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

Also, Laurie shares a birthday with JOHNNY CASH! Anyone who knows me must understand how cool I think this is! Other famous Feb 26ers are Erykah Badu, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Gleason, Marshall Faulk, Victory Hugo, Buffalo Bill Cody, Fats Domino, and Michael Bolton.

Happy Birthday, Laurie!

Fun Times

Simon took time out from exercising with Daddy's push-up bars for a photo.














He also loves to look cool by wearing his Valentine sunglasses ... upside down.

And lately, Simon has been joining Daddy for some jam sessions -- Daddy on guitar and Simon on drums.

Baby Name Bracket: CHAMPIONSHIP!

We have a winner in the Baby Name Bracket! Naomi and Anne edged out Lydia and Emma with Naomi holding a slight edge over Anne in the championship. But, Anne's runner up finish completes our baby girl's name:

Naomi Anne Basham

It was a tough decision, but family roots won out for both names. That said, there were lots of good reasons to choose Naomi.

1. My oldest known female ancestor was named Naomi. Her son John was a wagonmaker in colonial America after moving here. Naomi and her husband (also John) came to America sometime later.
2. Naomi means "one who is pleasant" in Hebrew, but it also a Japanese name which means "a beauty above all others." Just like her mama. :)
3. Obviously, it's a solid Bibical name, like Simon.
4. It's a fairly simple, well-known name, but it isn't used that much (like Simon). We only know one other little girl named Naomi. This is one reason Emma lost out early. Even though we love the name, there are lots and lots of little girls being named Emma right now.

Same with Anne.
1. Laurie's family was full of "Ann(e)s." Her mom's middle name is "Ann."
2. Anne means "a woman graced with God's favor."
3. We were a big fan of many "Anna" names: Annabel, Anne-Cullen, Anarosa, Anna Maria, Anne-Claire, probably some others. This was a simpler version of some of those names that were a little too elaborate for us.
4. It's a classic, simple name.

So there you have it. I'll do at least one more post on baby names as the process of baby naming is something I've thought about a lot and have even taught in my classes (the book Freakonomics has TWO chapters on the economics of baby naming). I find the whole process absolutely fascinating.

Baby Name Bracket: Final Four

The Road to the Final Four is complete in the Baby Name Bracket. Here's the skinny:

EMMA. Laurie is a certified superfan of Jane Austen. Of Austen's character names, this is the one we liked best.

ANNE. Steeped in tradition on the Cary side (Laurie's mom). It's a variant spelling of Laurie's mom's middle name.

NAOMI. Steeped in tradition in the Preston/Lynch/Jared family line (Cort's mom). The oldest known female ancestor in that line was named "Naomi."

LYDIA. Our favorite New Testament name for a girl. Simon was our favorite New Testament boy name.

Final matchup and championship tomorrow!

Baby Name Bracket: Elite Eight

It's down to eight names today in our Baby Name Bracket. All of the pretenders have been weeded out and all the names left are names we truly liked. Some were eliminated early for various reasons, but some were right there until the final decision.

The Final Four comes tomorrow.

Baby Name Bracket: Sweet 16

We have 16 survivors today in the Baby Name Bracket after some tough match ups yesterday. Hopefully, your favorites are still alive.

The number goes to 8 tomorrow.

Baby Name Bracket

I know we are not the first to do this, but since we are quickly approaching bracket season, and since brackets are one of my little obsessions, AND we have settled on a name for Baby Girl (!), we thought this might be a fun way to do it.

Today, we reveal 32 names on a baby name bracket. Tomorrow, there will be 16 left, then 8 on Weds, 4 on Thursday, and the championship game on Friday! Most (but not all) of these names are names we actually considered, but some were put in or invented for fun. There are four "pods" of names, coming from Popular Names, Laurie's Family, Cort's Family, and Wild Cards.

If you are a parent or a brother/sister of one of us, you will know the name before it hits this blog. Otherwise, let March Madness ensue...in February!

A Game of Tunnel, Anyone?

Our most recent history does not merit pictures, as it consists of tales of sickness. Here are a few random shots from beforehand.

Simon has learned to "play tunnel with friends." This game consists of draping blankets from the ottoman to the chair, and piling all of his favorite stuffed animals inside the tunnel. This game can be ENDLESS. :)














Since last Sunday was so incredibly nice and Simon refused to take a nap, we decided to spend that time outdoors.

Clock time!

Happy Groundhog Day!

On Saturday, the Vance family gathered in Glasgow to celebrate Groundhog Day 2009. Everyone got to be there this year, sharing their favorite Groundhog Day memories, eating yummy groundhog goodies, playing rousing games of Whac-A-Mole, and viewing the classic movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

Uncle David shared a special Groundhog Day story with Henry and Simon.














Ada and Simon played a competitive game of Whac-A-Mole.














Nana B helped Simon in the "Throw the Beanie Groundhog Into the Bucket" game. He did really well!



















Our family photo, in this year's Groundhog Day t-shirts.














Happy holidays to everyone!