A Name

As you probably know, I am currently pregnant with our second child. And as you probably know, we found out about a month ago that this second child is a sweet baby boy. The ONLY problem with that is that we cannot decide on a name!

I had a feeling this baby was a boy, so we had a few boy names picked out before we went to the ultra sound. But low and behold, I am just not satisfied. I LOVE the three names, but I am having doubts about it being the right name for our baby. I just don't have a peace about any of the names yet. I know that probably seems silly, but hear me out.

Daniel wanted to name our first son Nathaniel Alan. It is a name that he has loved for more than 10 years.Turns out, I don't like the name Nathaniel. Now, don't get me wrong, its a great name. But try as I might, I really could not see our baby having that name. And besides, if we name our child Nathaniel I want people to call him Nathaniel. Not Nate or Nathan, but Nathaniel. Most people don't care what your kids name is, if it can be shortened they will shorten it. Heck, they may even CHANGE the name all together! People call Zachariah "Zachary", which is a totally different name altogether. Its kinda our biggest pet peeve ever. Zac? Yes. You can call him that. In fact, sometimes he will call himself Zac. What about Z? Yes. You can call him that too. (I think my dad calls him Z more than he does Zachariah. Its a cute nickname and we use it a lot when I don't feel like typing out his whole name, so we are obviously fine with that.) Zachary? Absolutely not. That is in no way, shape or form his name.

Ok. Stepping off my soap box.

Anyway. All that to say, I was not digging the name Nathaniel for our baby. We didn't settle on a name until I was around 7 months pregnant. And when we talked about the name Zachariah I could totally see our kid having that name. I didnt have second thoughts a few weeks later, I didn't try to look through the baby books and find one that might work better for him. I was really at peace with that name for our son.

Why am I telling you all of this useless information? The answer is quite simple, really.

I need help naming my kid.

I seriously need some fresh name ideas. It is overwhelming going through a billion page baby book, in alphabetical order. I know everyone has favorite baby names, so I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it if you all would suggest a few names. At least three. But I would be even more thrilled with five. And even MORE thrilled with a 24 page book report from each of you.

Just kidding about that book report thing.

Two things to keep in mind:

1. We like unique names. Not weird and ridiculous names, but ones you don't hear everyday. Names like Joe, Sam, Bob and Billy are not something we are necessarily going for.

2. It does not have to be Biblical. While we love a good biblical name, it is not a must when naming our child. Just because our first born has a biblical name does not mean the rest of our kids will.

Ok, so shout out some suggestions! It can be a list of your favorite names, a list of your kids names (provided they are boys) or just a list of names you think we might like. I will keep you all posted on the naming process and let you know if we end up choosing one of your suggestions!

Oh, and because of my handy dandy blog counter I know how many people view my blog each day. I KNOW that even though I get 0-4 comments per post, there are 50-60 people view this blog on a regular basis. I am not expecting ALL of the lurkers to come out of hiding, but if I don't have a good number of comments I will be holding a grudge. :)

Cribs

So, I have been crib shopping.

Yes, I know that might seem a little silly considering this is our second kid and we still have Zachariah's crib... but here is the thing. We bought Z's crib and changing table for REALLY cheap from a former co-workers sister. She had used it for two kids already and it wasn't in "like new" condition. Which was fine. We aren't snobs and we don't need things to be bran spankin new. But after Z put some wear and tear on it, it is just not that safe to use for another kid. The pull down rail is very wobbly, which is a bit dangerous. (I just learned that cribs with the rails that can go up and down have actually been recalled. They don't make them like that anymore due to safety issues.) The changing table that came with the crib was pretty much a few pieces of particle board with nails in it. Again, after Z put some wear and tear on it, just not the best idea to use it any longer. Anyway, all that to say, we have decided to purchase a new crib and changing table for baby number two. Hence, my crib shopping!

And let me tell you, this is just the kind of shopping therapy that I have been needing. Since I have been so sick I don't really get out of the house much, so that cuts down on my impulse/nonsense buying. (Our budget has been a very happy camper) I cant buy bedding or clothing yet because we wont know the gender of our sweet baby for another two months. So this crib shopping is seriously so much fun for me right now!

So, Daniel and I have pretty much narrowed down our favorite cribs to two different ones. Obviously we have PLENTY of time before baby number two gets here, but we are just trying to plan a few things out in advance. Mainly to appease me and my boredom/need to shop. :)

Here is crib number one:

Crib number one generally runs for about 400-500 bucks, but walmart sells it for $250. How great is that? This crib has PHENOMENAL reviews and it is exactly what I had in mind when I set out on this online crib shopping journey of mine.

And here is crib number two:

This crib is NOTHING like what I had imagined wanting or buying, but I really like it! It is simple yet very unique. It is a little shorter than a "regular" crib, and I find that very appealing since crib rails no longer slide down. This crib is about a hundred dollars cheaper than crib number one, which I think is a VERY reasonable price for such a cute looking crib. The only negative is that it is a fairly new crib on the market, so it has ZERO reviews. I make every online decisions based on reviews, so it throws me off my game when I don't have reviews to help me out.

Anyway, those are the two cribs we are debating between. I would LOVE your opinion on which one you like better/think we should get! Both are a cherry wood and would look great with pink OR blue bedding, so its kinda a win-win if you ask me!

Once we find out the gender I will be back with bedding options. Haha! :)

Have a great Monday!

Hair

I want you to take a nice long look at Zachariah's hair...


Take note of the weird front swipe going on and the flippy thing that it does in back.



And in case you need it, here is a better view of the back...





and a better view of the front...


Its a mess. Its actually coming close to the mullet stage.

*shudder*

Part of me wants to cut it, but the other part really wants to let it grow out. I have always wanted a little boy with longer hair, I just don't know if he has the right hair for that. I think it is too thin . Does that make any sense?


So what should I do? Should I go ahead and cut it or should I let it grow through the possible mullet stage? Did your kid have to go through a mullet stage before his/her hair got to be a "cool" length? I desperately need some other opinions.

For those of you that are to lazy to leave comments, here is a poll. But I would love some actual feedback in the comment section too. Don't be shy. :)

Short and Sweet

Each year our Christmas tree is decorated with white lights, blue and silver ornaments and some scattered icicles.. Don't get me wrong, I love the blue and silver theme we have going on, but I am about ready for a change. I just want something different. Daniel does not know it yet, but I am going to attempt to change the look of our tree this year.

Here is the problem. I have NO idea what I want. So I would love it if you guys would help me out! Tell me what your tree looks like, what you think my tree should look like, or just your favorite tree "theme". Should I stick with a color theme or should I have a lot of random ornaments?

I am dying for some input. Don't let me down. :)

Help Needed

Ok, I am in a slight freak out mode and I would love it if one of my blog readers could help me out.

Friday I noticed five or six bug bites on Zachariah's chest/tummy. No big deal. They are just about gone. But Tuesday afternoon I discovered six new bites on the back of his shoulder. Here is the kicker. Due to the rain, we did NOT step foot outside at all on Tuesday. That made me freak out a bit. He is being bit inside, and I am pretty sure it is when he is sleeping. And wait for it... he woke up with two more bites on his back this morning.

Here is some info:
- The bites are red and just a little bit raised off the skin. They look like a typical bug bite.
- The bites are in clusters or rows. The first set on his chest was kindof spread out, but the ones on his shoulder are almost in a straight line. (This is why I do NOT think its a regular bug bite)
- The bites do not seem to bother Zachariah at all. He doesn't even know they are there.
- I only notice them after he has been sleeping

We don't have any pets, and Zachariah has had flea bites one time before (while on vacation to NC), so I have pretty much ruled those out.

My biggest fear is that bed bugs are biting him. I did a lot of research on them and they just flat out CREEP ME OUT. Out of everything I have read, our home would not be the "typical" place that would acquire bed bugs... but now I am just paranoid about it.


Does anyone know what might be the cause of Zachariah's bites? Has anyone had this happen before? I am going to be making some calls today, but I just wanted to know if anyone else has some info for me that would calm my nerves.

Chinese Lunar Calendar

A while back I saw a Chinese Lunar Calendar on a blog and I was intrigued. Apparently this thing can predict what gender your kid will be according to the age of the woman and month she conceived.

I have heard rave reviews about this accurately predicting the gender, but for Zachariah and it said he was a girl. Which is obviously wrong. So I want to know how accurate for your kids. And if you don't have kids, find out from your mom her age and the month you were conceived. That is if you want to know. I will not hold it against you if you would rather not to go there.


Here is the info...

To find the gender prediction, find the mother's age at conception (across the top of the table) and then the month in which conception occurred. Follow the column and row to the intersecting point. The color of the box tells you what the prediction is. Blue = Boy and Pink = Girl

Woman's Age at Conception
Month of Conception	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Woman's Age at Conception
Month of Conception	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Ok, now spill the beans! Accurate or not?

Roll Call

I do not have a very popular blog. I am no Pioneer Woman. But thanks to my blog counter, I know that I have a handful of lurkers out there. I know commenting is a strenuous activity, and it requires you to get off of your lazy blog reader... but I am going to ask you to participate just this one time. Okay?

We are going to have a meet and greet. Make it as long or short as you want, but you need to comment. That's an order, not a request! :)

I am seriously curious about my lurkers. Are you family? Do I know you personally? Have you found me through another blog? Do you mainly come just to see pictures of my adorable child?

These are the questions I want answered. If you don't feel like answering the questions, a simple "I am one of your lurkers and your child is the cutest kid ever" will definitely do.

Here, I will start.

Hi! My name is Amy Lynn. I live in the nasty south. I have a wonderful husband and an almost-two-year-old. I am a stay at home mom who cannot keep the house clean. In my spare time I like to read a good book, practice my photography and blog. I am very tempted to stop blogging all together if I don't get some dang comments though.

See, it's easy! Now you take a stab at it. I know you can do it!

Spoons

Preface: The Pioneer Woman blogged about some wooden spoons that a friend gave her as a housewarming gift. I thought the wooden spoons were amazing. They almost made me drool.

That being said, I have never owned a wooden spoon.

Yes, you read correctly. I used to have a hatred for them. But I blame that on my parents for using a darn wooden spoon to spank me when I was younger.

I have become fascinated with wooden spoons over the past few months. I have had a desire to go out and purchase a bundle of them. But I am not sure why I would use them. I mean, I have plastic spoons, metal spoons and silicone spoons (which I LOVE).


So that leaves me wondering... why do I need a wooden spoon? What will it benefit me? Do you have wooden spoons? Do you prefer wooden spoons?

I need feedback. I really want you people to convince me that wooden spoons are amazing. Because I REALLY want to go out and buy some.

And because I have some lurkers who NEVER comment (ahem. you know who you are), here is a poll. But I would still like some specific answers in the comment section.

So there.

Need Your Imput

I saw this super cool bath toy at Target today. Its a turtle shower that is designed to help babies/toddlers learn how to shower. By pushing the turtle's tummy, they control the flow of the water that comes out of the turtle's mouth.

Z hates when I dump water over his head to rinse the shampoo out, but he doesn't really give me an option seeing as how he refuses to lean his head back. So part of me thinks that this would be fabulous for him.


But before I try to convince Daniel that Zachariah "needs" this (hee hee), I am wondering if any of you have had any experience with this cute little turtle. Does anyone have any good or bad reviews? If you haven't tried it, do you think it will end up being a waste of ten bucks, or should I go for it?

The Veggie Delima

I used to brag on my son because he was NOT a picky eater. From the moment he started eating table foods, he has eaten every single thing that was put in front of him. He had his favorite fruits (grapes, kiwi, mango, and bananas), his favorite veggies (sweet potatoes, broccoli, and zucchini fritters), and his favorite "side dishes" (organic mac n cheese, boiled eggs, cheese cubes, and mashed potatoes). And he would even eat asparagus and beets from time to time. Barf.

So needless to say, we did not have trouble getting this child to eat. (Maybe that's why my 18 month old weighs as much as a 2 1/2 year old. :)

Well, until now.

For some odd reason, for the past month, Zachariah has been getting pickier with his veggies. He will eat his fruits no problem. But the veggies are becoming difficult to get him to eat. I have tried to give him more or a variety by giving him veggies he hasn't had in a while, I have tried to give him his favorites... and neither of those are working. I have even tried to put some veggies on the spoon with his mashed potatoes or something, but he has a built in radar and knows when I am sneaking them. So he just picks them out. The stubborn kid.

So this is where I need your help. I would appreciate suggestions of creative ways to feed toddlers veggies. I am going to start fixing more casseroles, because he LOVES broccoli casserole. But my kid cant live off of broccoli casserole. So I am in need of some other ideas.

Has anyone else out there had this problem?

What's The Deal?!

Ok, so the comment section of my blog has been neglected. There used to be a time when I would hit some double digits with the comments. If not double digits, I would at least get more than TWO comments! (And I would like to take this time to thank the very few of you who frequent the comment section of my blog. I really do appreciate it.)

So what gives?? I am going to go out and start making new friends if you people dont step it up! :)

Help Needed

The Facts:
Zachariah eats dinner at 5:30 or 6:00 pm.
He drinks about 8 ounces of milk with his dinner. Sometimes less.
He does NOT drink anything after dinner.
He goes to bed in between 7:30 and 8:00 pm.
He wakes up in between 7:45 and 8:30 am.

The Predicament(s):
1) For the past couple weeks, he has been SOAKED with pee when he wakes up. I am not talking about a little damp. He is drenched from his thighs to his armpits. It is so gross.

2) For the past few nights he has been waking up two to three times a night, and I am pretty sure its a combination of teething and sleeping in a puddle of his pee. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get my required 8 hours of sleep.

The Question(s):
What the heck do I do?? Has this happened to anyone else?

When his diapers have started leaking before, it meant that it was time to go up a size. But we JUST went from size 3 to 4. Those fit him wonderfully. So that isn't the problem. I am just so lost. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Boob Tube

I read an article this week on fostering smart TV habits. The article said that kids who watch more than 10 hours a week of TV are at an increased risk of becoming overweight, acting aggressively, being slower to learn at school, learning to stereotype people based on gender and race, and living in fear of violence and victimization.

I am not sure that I agree with all of that... but I do think that, in general, kids spend to much time in front of the television. Weather its watching TV shows or playing video games. So when I read that article my first thought was, "Geeze! Who would let their kid watch 10 hours of t.v. a week?!" So in order prove to myself that I was a better mother than those people, I made a rough estimate of how much TV I thought Zachariah watched in a week. Those hours added up way too fast.

With me watching my nephew for the past few weeks, it is not hard to come up with two hours spread out through the day that Zachariah will be watching TV. And if he watches two hours each weekday, then that adds up to 10 hours a week. Without even factoring the weekends. Or the extra stressful days where I turn the TV on a little more to save my sanity. And a lot of times he will be playing while watching TV, or in and out of the room during his movie/show. So it isn't like he is a bump on a log... but the TV is still on and available for him to watch.

Needless to say, I was shocked that its so easy for me to let my toddler watch more than 10 hours of TV in a week. And I am going to try to work on that. But in the meantime, I have made a poll. So participate... because I need to know if there are any other out there like me. :)

Ideas?

I am in desperate need of some creative ideas for entertaining a toddler. Indoors.
Coloring doesn't really keep his attention for long. He plays with his toys, but that gets old. And with it being rainy/cold we cant really do much outside.

So do any of you have some suggestions?? He is getting stir crazy which, in turn, makes me crazy. :)

Question For Ya

Ever since Zachariah was six months old, he has been a FABULOUS sleeper. He sleeps from 8pm to 8am without waking up AT ALL (unless he is sick). The only sleep aids he needs are a paci and his favorite blanket/stuffed animal. He has never had to be rocked, bounced or sung to sleep. Oh. He also takes two hour and a half naps during the day. Needless to say, he loves his sleep.

The past four nights or so he has been waking up at pretty much the same time every night. Any time between 11:20 and 11:40 PM he will wake up crying. It is very unlike him, and he doesn't really seem to need much when I go in there. He calms down immediately, lets me lay him back down and eventually falls back asleep with no problem at all.

I am about to google it... but I figured I would go ahead and call on all of you people with kiddies just in case I didn't find anything. :) Did your kids ever do this? Do you know why? And do you know a solution to it?

Thanks!!

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Yes. This weekend I jumped on the bandwagon and read Twilight.

I am going to be honest. I never even knew there was a book called Twilight until after I had heard about the movie. And even when I did figure out what it was about, I wasnt really eager to read about a teen girl who was falling in love with a vampire. Things that are that far fetched usually dont interest me. Then again, I LOVED Harry Potter, and that doesnt exactly deal with reality either.

ANYWAY. All that to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I really wanted read it all in one day, but having a one year old craving attention kind of got in the way of my reading time. But I am glad it only took me a couple days to read it, because it consumed my every thought until I finished it. (I don't do to well with suspense.)

What do you guys think about the other books in the series? Are they as good as the first one?

Poll Time!

It has come to my attention that SOME PEOPLE are not particularly fond of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. So that leads me to this oh-so-fun poll I have created. I would like to know if I am the only one out there who actually enjoys their music.

So here ya go. Have a fabulous weekend!

Immunizations

Zachariah's 15 month shots are coming up. Naturally, that has caused me to do some thinking about vaccines. There is a good bit of controversy going on about vaccines now days, and I am just now starting to do some research about it. So in the meantime, I want to know what all of you think about children getting vaccines. Do you think it is a good thing? Bad thing? Have your children been vaccinated and have you had any negative results from that?

I will post info as I do some more digging. But I really do want to hear what you think about it!

Potty Training

My mom recently asked me to get a Christmas list started for all of my family members (You have to stay on top of me about those things, or I will wait until Christmas Eve to make a list.). So I have been putting together a list for Zachariah. Daniel had the fabulous idea of putting a potty training seat (or whatever they are called these days) on the list, that way when we get ready to take the plunge (hee hee), we wont need to buy one.

Then my research started. I have found several that I like, and they have gotten a good combination of positive and negative reviews. And seeing as how I haven't potty trained a little boy before, I was wondering what all of you recommend. I am all about getting the "three in one" deals. Most of the potty's I am looking at has a seat that can be put onto the big toilet AND it converts into a step stool. My favorite thus far is this potty, because it plays music when pee or poop hits the toilet bowl. But people are saying that the splash guard comes off easy. Then again, people have raved about this one, because it is simple and sturdy and doesn't have any bells and whistles.

So let me know what you used when potty training your kiddo. Did you love it, hate it? Wish you had purchased another one?

Tunes

So if you haven't already noticed, I have put a play list on my blog. At first I found it annoying to go to different blogs and have music blaring at me. But then once I took control of the volume I rather enjoyed it. So I have compiled a play list of some of my favorite songs. I am nowhere close to being done, so give me some time. But here is the first draft. Let me know what you think!

Also, I have been wanting to do some polls here recently, and what better time to start than now! So here ya go.