Baby Name Request

We've got a name nailed down if we have a boy, but we're looking for some help with girl names. Your suggestions are welcome. Be forewarned: Any first name that begins with the letter L will instantly be dismissed, as will the name Roberta (Sorry dad).

Utah SPJ Awards Night

Vanessa and I attended the Society of Professional Journalists, Utah Headliners Chapter, awards banquet at the University of Utah tonight.

To make a long story short ... I was named Reporter of the Year for Utah's SPJ chapter in Division C (weeklies). I also earned a third place award for spot news coverage (my breaking story on the Daggett County jailbreak in September 2007 by two convicted murderers).

Lezlee Whiting, my former editor and current correspondent, took home second place for her series on a local junior high school teacher who got pregnant as a teen, placed her baby for adoption, and recently reconnected with him.

Also, Manette Newbold, an intern at the Standard during the summer of 2006, earned several awards for her work at The Utah Statesman, Utah State University's student paper. We'll take some credit for her success, too.

I've said it before, we don't do this job for the accolades, but it's always nice to be recognized.

The Amazing 3-D Liesik Baby

Here are the 3-D images from today's ultrasound of Liesik baby No. 3. No, we still didn't find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl. We don't want to know because, as Vanessa's so fond of saying, "It would be like knowing what's in your Christmas presents but not being able to play with them." Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.



Five little toes.



One little fist.

Same parents, different kids

I'm always amazed that Vanessa and I have created two children (the third one is still due July 28) who are so different. Carson is content to watch cartoons or read a book for hours on end, while Jack has difficulty sitting still and would rather be outside "doing something." Both boys have inherited the "Liesik gene" that compels them to tell fanciful stories about their days, their dreams, and their plans for the future. Carson has even turned into quite the writer and illustrator, creating stories about the Civil War and a town that had food fall from the sky.

Over the weekend, though, our boys' differences were manifest again in a very visible way. Here is Jackson before climbing aboard the ATV that Vanessa's parents bought the boys for Christmas. If you can't make out his shirt it says: "You're so lucky I'm not your kid."



And here he is driving the ATV at high-speed around his grandparents' pasture. Notice the speed and the giant smile on his face. Jack hasn't yet learned to let off the throttle in the corners and doesn't seem concerned when the four-wheeler rocks up on two wheels.



Then there's Carson. He concentrates the whole time he rides. He doesn't go too fast. And he goes slower through the corners. The difference between these two is just so much fun to watch.