Funny Conversations

My conversation excitement never ends! Here are some more:

While Erin and I are looking at my newly acquired breast pump, Tony sees the following piece and asks "Is that for hearing?"

Dad to the MidAmerican Employee after experiencing a power loss: "The lights go out more here then they do in Baghdad."
Me to Dad: "You've never been to Baghdad."
Dad to Me: "Well, I've talked to people who have been there."

Tony: "Auntie Dawn, I love the new [ball] you bought me. Where did you get it?"
Me:  "Michael's"
Tony: "No, it's not Michael's, its mine!"

My Boss: "When are you going on maternity leave?"
Me: "When my baby is born."
(Conversation ends).

What's In A Name... Part 2

I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous to post some of our baby names on the blog yesterday out of fear of what people might say. Either Tommy and I did a wonderful job picking out some names or everybody was really respectful in responding to the names we picked.

Are you interested in knowing the general consensus on the names? Sofia was BY FAR the favorite pick. Many of you mentioned that you liked the idea of spelling with "f" rather than "ph."  I was surprised that many of you were not concerned by the popularity of that name. In a three way tie for second is Emme, Claire and Giuliana.

Lilian received zero votes. And Isabella, Chloe, Gabriela and Valentina all fell in the middle to end.

Tommy found this really interesting website. It can be found here. Basically you type in a baby's name in the website and it provides a ton of information about the name including how often its misspelled, mispronounced, common nicknames, opinions of people who have that name and so on. So, let me tell you what I learned about the top 4 choices:

Sofia:  "Wisdom."

Of the people who took this survey who are named Sofia, they responded as follows:
- 80% of Sofia's would recommend that somebody name their child Sofia.
- Its pronounced correctly 68% of the time.
- Its spelled correctly only 20% of the time.
- 80% of people were never teased in particular because of there name. Some of the complaints of the 20% that were teased included being called "Sofa" for a fat little kid. (laughing so hard about this right now).
- 83% of Sofia's really like their name.

Emme: "Blessed with Beauty"
* Note that "Emme" was not in Survey so I had to use alternate spelling of "Emi."

- 76% of Emme's would recommend that somebody name their child Emme.
- Its pronounced correctly only 50% of the time.
- Its spelled correctly about 50% of the time.
- 84% of people were never teased in particular because of there name.
- 80% of Emme's like their name.



Giuliana: "Down-Bearded Youth"  HUH?!

- 84% of Giuliana's would recommend that somebody name their child Giuliana.
- Its pronounced correctly about 60% of the time.
- Its spelled correctly only about 5% of the time.
- 73% of people were never teased in particular because of there name. If they were made fun of, it was because They would be callled "Guiliana or "Giuliana Banana."
- 84% of Giuliana's like the name.

Claire: "Clear, Bright, Famous"

- 76% of Claires would recommend that somebody name their child Claire.
- Its pronounced correctly about 85% of the time.
- Its spelled correctly about 40% of the time.
- 81% of people were never teased in particular because of there name. If they were, they are called "Claire Bear."
- 70% like their names.


I'm so happy that I posted those names yesterday because it has helped Tommy and I gain some confidence in some of the names that we like. Also, we have a good 3 names that we will keep in mind. People keep telling me that I will know when I see her what her name should be. I do not think I'm going to try to narrow it down to one before she arrives, but don't be surprised if a post shows up the day she is born that reads "Does this baby look like a "Name A" "Name B" or "Name C?" :-)

What's In A Name?

T less 59 days until BGT's arrival. We still have not agreed on a name yet. It isn't so much that we haven't agreed, we are just not satisfied with the few that we are tossing around. Here are the names that get thrown around the most (and in no particular order).

Isabella Takekawa
Giuliana Takekawa
Claire Takekawa
Sofia Takekawa
Chloe Takekawa
Valentina Takekawa
Emme Takekawa
Gabriela Takekawa
Lillian (maybe just Lily) Takekawa

I know that you all know what our last name is, but I think it is important to put our last name with the first name so you can notice that it appears any more than a five letter first name appears to be just too much. Tommy and I LOVE Giuliana but it is way too much with the last name Takekawa. If our last name were Smith- It'd for sure be Giuliana Smith.

Also, I was reading on the internet that if your last name ends with a vowel then the first name should not. Great....

I was surprised to read that this website recommended that you name your child a popular name because the child will feel like they fit in more. A suggestion they had would be to spell the child's first common name in a unique way (Sofia rather than Sophia). But really we like the hispanic version of Sofia better thant he white man's version.

Of the names I posted above, I believe that Isabella, Sofia and Chloe are all top ten names for 2011. I know a few Isabella's under the age of 4. I do not know any Sofia (or Sophia). Do you? I like Valentina, but I prefer my kid's nickname to not be Val or Tina.

I have always felt like her name should be Emme. Tommy doesn't care for Emme that much. Interestingly, Emme is also a Japanese name when spelled Emi. I think I like the spelling Emme better though.

I have been surfing the net to find other names to add to the list, but I just cannot find anything I like. Who knew naming a baby was so complicated? (Who also knew finding a daycare that takes new borns would be too- but that is for a different post).

If you want to have an opinion about it, I'd be glad to hear it, subject to the following rules: You cannot email me and tell me you hate any of the names because my kid may have that name in the future. You can email me and tell which three names (in no particular order please) are your favorite.  dmvanwyk@gmail.com or dawn.takekawa@ankenylaw.com

Also, if this factors into your opinion at all, the baby will probably have a really common and simple middle name... think Marie, Dawn, Joy....

Here is hoping she does not come early!!

Christmas By The Lake

Saturday was Christmas By The Lake in Clear Lake.

Tommy and I headed up to Clear Lake on Friday afternoon after work. We rented the movie Crazy Stupid Love (or as Tommy said when he was asking me what I rented and reading it upside down "Crazy Stupid Story). It was actually very good.

On Saturday we went to our favorite Cerro Gordo County hotspot, Mason City HyVee, for breakfast. I totally got cut in line by two old people. I called them out on it, but they didn't care. They were kind of just confirmed what I thought about people from Mason City in general.

In the afternoon, we headed to the events for the day. This included a Chili Cooking contest where the public tasted, a hot cocoa stand, carriage ride, Santa's Workshop, S'mores, Trolly Rides, a Christmas Parade and Fireworks. We left the house around 1pm and didn't get home until 6pm. We didn't get to all the events, but we sure had a great time. There were Charles Dickens characters roaming the streets. With the fresh snowfall and small city square, you couldn't help but feel you were living a Christmas Carol. The fireworks display was very impressive. I was surprised about how close people were to where they were being shot off, but nobody else appeared to be alarmed. There was a scary moment when one of the fireworks appeared to blow up improperly. You could feel the heat from it. I was ready to run, and I think I even heard my brother-in-law scream "RUN!" but apparently that was just part of the show?!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Now I'm cozied up with in some warm jammies getting ready to sample a new recipe I got off Pinterest. Yep, after hearing so much about Pinterest I finally got on to that website today. I can see why its so popular. I'm addicted!

Grand Canyon Adventure

Last Sunday whilei n Vegas we took a road trip to Hoover Damn and the Grand Canyon. We left Las Vegas aroun 630am and hit the Hoover Damn first. It was nice being there so early because there was no traffic or people. We were able to take our time looking around before moving on to the Canyon.



The trip from Hoover Damn to the Grand Canyon was only about three hours. It was a bit more confusing when you factor in switching from Pacific Time to Mountian Time and trying to decide whether we were or were not observing daylight savings.

Of course, in true Takekawa Road Trip fashion, Tommy drove while I napped. I felt somewhat guilty for complaining to him about going 85mph in a 75 zone after witnessing my father-in-law going 85 mph in a 55 zone! Now I know where Tommy gets it. Tommy was asleep in the back seat. We were on a two lane highway going that fast, passing people left and right. I thought about speaking up and saying something, but I realized the only spanish word I knew involving speed was rapido. Looking back I suppose I could have said "No Rapido" but while in the stress of the situation that did not occur to me.

Nonetheless, we had a WONDERFUL time at the Canyon. I am glad that we went to see it. Sometimes I wish I would have never seen pictures of things before I see them. While the Canyon was beautiful and amazing, it was totally what I had expected. Can you imagine how amazing it would be if I had never seen a picture of it previously? I remember the same feeling while traveling in Europe.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Funny Conversations

Me to Tommy while walking around at the Grand Canyon: "Honey, will you carry my water, map, phone, coat and camera?"
Tommy: "Aren't you going to carry anything?"
Me: "I'm carrying your baby. I think that's enough."
Tommy: Silence

Tony running up to me after not seeing me for a few weeks: "Auntie Dawn! Is that a baby in your stomach?!"
Me: "Yes, it is!"
Tony to my stomach: "Hi Baby!!"

Me after reading a letter a customer wrote my mom wherein he complains about my mom and mistakenly refers to her as Pam: "Wow, that Pam sounds like a real b!tch!"
Mom: "Takes one to know one!"

Me to client: "do you have any other questions?"
Client: "do you know the lord as your savior?"
Me: "yes, I do. Thanks for asking."
Clients wife: "I knew it. I could tell just looking at you!"

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful it is December! All we need is a little snow on the ground, and I will really be in the Christmas spirit!

I'm thankful that this week at works has been relatively quiet. I have been able to get a lot done. I'm hoping to finish up a few things and then really clean out my drawers and filing cabinet. (Nesting?!)

I'm so very thankful for my mom who not only painted the nursery while Tommy and I are in Vegas, but she is at our house right now painting the master bedroom before our new furniture is delivered tomorrow! Yes, this is the second time she has painted both of those rooms since Tommy and I moved in! She is so wonderful! I'm also thankful I recently found some pics from when Tommy and I moved in because I still have dreams of posting before and after pictures on the blog!

I'm thankful for exciting news from my friends! I have a few friends who I recently found out are expecting, and I am overjoyed for them and their families!

I'm thankful for some time up at the lakehouse this weekend with my family.

I'm thankful that it appears my nursery furniture will be here this month afterall! Also, I just finalized the purchase and set the install date for new carpet. It will be installed later this month! It will be nice to have everything somethings in order before the end of the year!

Happy Thursday!