Friday, January 2, 2009

christmas, eye infections, and name wars

well, here i am...i told you i would be! i finally got pictures onto my computer and am about to share them all with you. as you all know, and if you don't-you're seriously living under a rock or in iran or something, it was christmas a little more than a week ago. i know its redundant because everyone says it, and if they don't, well you know...anywho, christmas is pretty much the best time of year and my favorite by far. i love the weather, the smell of fires emanating from chimneys, christmas trees, lights, decorations, etc. it was also pretty exciting to have a kid who actually semi knew what was going on. by semi, i mean that he was aware of all the extra family around and the fact that santa looks like grandpa used to. he also didn't mind the fact that he scored several things with wheels and obnoxious sound effects. good times. one factor that made this holiday even more special was the "arctic freeze of 2008." special might not be the word that a lot of people would use to describe this particular weather phenomenon, because it caused some travelling issues, but the fact that western washington was blanketed with cold, white stuff made for a pretty stellar, white christmas. here are some pictorial highlights of the thomas family holiday.


ridin' the tractor with grandpa















mr. scrooge himself directing the decoating efforts on the front porch. what a good sport


















luke really enjoyed imitating a marshmallow in his snowsuit get-up as well as sampling the christmas goodies that grandpa so lovingly shared with him. now i'm sure you're all wondering what the eye infection part of the title refers to. well, pictures speak a thousand words, or at least, in this case, explain what i meant. feel free to say it...poor luke--
no, there isn't anything wrong with his mouth...that was just the chocolate that gram gave him because we all felt sorry for him in his cyclops state.
finally, last but not least--the battle of the names has begun, well it actually began when we discovered the bun in the oven was a female, but it has continued. we (or i, i should say) have narrowed it down to two names.
lola or nora
now i know that there are a few of you who have attitude concerning the first option and its ties to a certain hispanic prostitute. let me address your concerns by stating that i was reading people magazine and there were three celebrities with daughters named lola...not one of them being hispanic. one was african-american, but none of them lived a double-life as a "woman of the night." there is also a rather annoying, but nonetheless existing cartoon on the disney channel that is titled "charlie and lola." no, it isn't a show about drug abuse among children. its actually an educational children's show about a pair of curious, blonde, british siblings. just because a band in the 70's decided to use the name in a song about a certain rendevous in a drinking establishment doesn't mean that the name should be contaminated forever. i mean, what about lola the showgirl, who conquered her fears and sang in front of a crowd? alright, off the soapbox. just let me know what you think by commenting here or answering the poll in the right column. the middle name is jean if that helps narrow it down for you.

happy new year and thanks for the help in advance!

14 comments:

Carl said...

Great blog! Okay, I really do like the names you have picked. My first choice between the two would actually be Lola. I think it is pretty. But then again I like the way Nora Jean sounds. Lola Jean....Nora Jean.....which should it be? hmmmmm....I say Lola. Very cute. And poor Luke. I'm glad you gave him some chocolate to make him feel better. He deserved it.

jen said...

I think you already decided on the name since you made no argument for nora...so just name her lola for heavens sake!!

adamf said...

Yes, it sounds like you are trying to come up with all kinds of justification for "lola" ... I definitely like that one better as well! The only downside I see to lola is you will have two L names, but that is minor, really. It is a cute name I think.

"Nora Jean" sounds like she's already 85 and in a nursing home. Can you say "Benjamin Button Part 2?"

No offense to any Nora Jeans out there...

adamf said...

btw, Jean is fine for a middle name, it's just a lot better with Lola. :)

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Sweet Eye! It almost looks like he was in a fight. I am sure that is what he would like you to tell people.

I am with you that the winter wonderland would have been awesome...sigh no snow for us.

As for the names, you know I like Nora BUT I also think that Lola sounds good especially linked with Luke. So my friend, I will happily support you in any decision. AND I didn't even think of a woman of the night. But I am pretty sure that is because I am so pure! HA!

Mindy and Benjamin said...

I'm so excited that you posted. I've missed you. But I am still awaiting that prego pictures...you know you want to. I'm not gonna get in on the name thing...I know you'll pick a great one! Now wait a minute...did Rissa just say she was pure?? hehe

Child Family said...

I also say Lola Jean NOT NORA!

Dave Dyk said...

Thanks for posting! Love the photos, especially of Luke in the snow. I like both names with Jean, but I see you with a child named Lola more than with the name Nora. Don't know why... What happened to Fiona? i like that name too, not that you probably need more fuel for your name war. Also, I'm sure your girl will be just perfect no matter the name. :)

Courtney Shelby said...

Thank you for finally returning to Spokompton. My life can now go on. I vote for Lola. Both are great choices, but I like the sound of Lo over Nor... for the short versions. We need to hang out...soon!

Andi Kate, Children's Author said...

So sad for little Luke! Brody recently had an eye infection too, and I just want to say, poor US because giving him the eye drops SUCKED! :) And I like Nora (as I voted.) Different and I am hearing about more and more Lolas...unless you are hoping to appear in People yourself...Well, actually I quite like the ring of "Luke and Lola" so whatever. Good luck with that. Chris still thinks he can recycle the names I threw out 4 years ago--6 years married and he still has so much to learn.

usandkids said...

I am going to vote for Lola also, it just fits so nice with Luke. The kids were so bummed you guys were gone...us too!:( Miss you!

Michelle said...

I find it interesting that most comments vote Lola, but the voting shows Nora is more popular. I'm not familiar with the song or that the name Lola should invoke those kinds of feelings, so my vote is unbiased that way. However, I personally like the name Nora. I don't have anything against the name Lola, it's just my personal preference.

natalie said...

This was one of the best blog posts you have ever written. You are so funny! I voted for Nora, but I do agree with almost all the other commenters (the red line under that word will thus be ignored because I am too tired to find out what the proper word would be) that the "she-baby sutton" will be lovely and adorable with either name.

Christensen family said...

Tara... you are hilarious! I love reading your blog! What darling pictures. I am voting for LOLA! What a pretty name!