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Dear Jack: More than 7 Years Later, I Am Still Very Proud of Your Name

7 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

A poll was recently conducted which showed that 18%, nearly 1 in 5 parents, regret the baby name they chose. But more than 7 years later, I can immediately confirm that I am part of the 82% who has no regrets about this.

I am sure there are some subconscious rules that parents have regarding the overall themes of potential names for their baby.

As for me, it is part of my own identity that my own children have classic, easy to spell, easy to recognize, but not overly popular names.

For me, the name Jack perfectly fits this description.

While Jackson (Jaxson, Jaxon, etc.) is undeniably a popular name for boys your age, it is not the same case for the name Jack.

You are the only Jack in your entire grade. Yes, there are Jacksons, but not other Jack.

And it’s been that way ever since you were 7 months old and began daycare.

Even when I was growing up, I never remember there being a Jack in my grade, or any grade before or after mine.

The immediate reason I chose to name you Jack was because that’s my dad’s name. I gave you your first name, and Mommy gave you your middle name; which is William, the name of Mommy’s father, who passed away shortly after Mommy and I were married nearly a decade ago.

While Jack is a very popular go-to name for male protagonists in TV shows and movies, it’s not very often in real life you meet someone named Jack.

It’s a good, strong, masculine name that is instantly interesting; as if it has its own built-in story.

You were so easy to name. And if this can make sense, you definitely wear the name quite well. It’s hard to imagine you having any other name.

You were meant to be my Jack.

Love,

Daddy

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How I Got Accidentally Auditioned (and Was Chosen) To Be On Lifetime’s “This Time Next Year” Which Aired on February 27th, 2018

It’s not often I have to choose between two different TV shows to be featured on, but that was definitely the case back in October 2016.

I had just become one of the Top 40 finalists to co-host with Kelly Ripa, as she was holding a contest for non-famous people like me to help her out for a week. (That was before she ended up choosing Ryan Seacrest, of course.)

While that was an exciting week for me, as I also happened to be in San Diego for my brother-in-law’s wedding, I was in the midst of a potential ultimatum in choosing whether I would be on Live with Kelly, for a week, or, be featured on this show no one had ever heard of here in America: This Time Next Year.

The dilemma was that both TV shows had a part in their contract that disqualified me from being in the other: Live with Kelly would not allow me to be affiliated with any other show with ABC, or one of its affiliate networks, which Lifetime actually is. At the same, Lifetime’s contract for This Time Next Year said I couldn’t appear in another TV show during the next year.

So for a whole week, while I was on vacation in California, I had to make a decision:

To gamble, and continue to be considered as a temporary co-host for Kelly Ripa, or throw that shot away by choosing to be on the Lifetime show.

But at the last minute, the decision was made for me: I had not advanced past the Top 40 into the Top 20 for Live with Kelly. Therefore, I officially ended up signing the contract for This Time Next Year on The Lifetime Network.

Whereas I did intentionally audition online for Live with Kelly, that was not at all the case with Lifetime’s This Time Next Year.

Instead, back in June 2016, I had lazily thrown together this blog post and video after my sister had sent me a picture of a package of Campbell’s Go Soup, asking if that was me on there.

What’s funny is, the blog post went unnoticed by most of the world. But three days later, a talent scout working for the producer of This Time Next Year reached out to me through email, Twitter, and Facebook.

Whereas most people deliberately auditioned for a spot on This Time Next Year, I stumbled into it by publishing a blog post that no one read except for the one person who really needed to; and that was the person whose job it was to find some more light-hearted stories for This Time Next Year.

The timing was perfect. I had just published that story when a talent scout just happened to be Googling “finding my doppelganger. And that’s how I became the comic relief for Episode 6, Season 1 of This Time Next Year.

The moral of the story: It pays to have a blog and YouTube channel.

Coming up in March, Toyota is flying me out to Florida for a all expenses paid “dad vacation”, as I will be test driving cars in between going to Major League baseball games. Why?

Because I have a blog that people read. People who don’t know I exist can easily accidently find my website, when they are looking for the most random things.

Stay tuned, as I have many more fun, behind-the-scenes stories about being on This Time Next Year; in which my episode aired on February 27th, 2018.

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Watch Me on TV! Tuesday, February 27th on The Lifetime Network on the Show, This Time Next Year, Episode 6: “Dudes from Different Latitudes”

It’s now officially showing up on The Lifetime Network’s TV schedule on their website: My episode, “Dudes from Different Latitudes” is premiering in just a few days, on Tuesday February 27th: 10pm Eastern, 9pm Central.

In case you don’t know, a year of my life was documented for this reality TV show, in which my journey was to find and meet my doppelganger; who can promptly be seen on the package of Campbell’s Go Southwest Style Chicken soup.

Are you as excited as I am?! I have been secretly involved with this going back to June 2016. Now finally, I get to see my own episode, and share it with all of you.

Please do not think it was as easy as calling the phone number on the back of the package! No way…

Why would Campbell’s be totally cool with some random crazy guy from the Internet asking for the name and contact info of a model who posed for their product?

Let me assure you… my journey was way more challenging than that.

So please, mark your calendar and plan your night around this. I have so much more to say about my experience, but am forbidden to, until the show airs. I can’t wait for you to see the show, and then hear the behind-the-scenes details that I will have for you afterwards.

I was especially excited to see that, technically, they named the episode thanks to one of my ideas. While there are other people whose stories are featured alongside mine in Episode 6, the title was something I specifically coined.

After you watch, then you’ll understand what I mean; and why I have a beard and I’m wearing this really cool t-shirt with a bear on it.

Tuesday February 27th, 2018: 10pm Eastern, 9pm Central

This Time Next Year, Episode 6, “Dudes from Different Latitudes”

The Lifetime Network

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Dear Holly: You are the “Pop” Police, Calling Out People When They Pass Gas

1 year, 10 months.

Dear Holly,

I believe the most appropriate term to call you these days is rascal. You’re old enough to know you’re being cute while at the same time being sneaky. And on top of that, your sincere curiosity only adds to the cuteness and the sneakiness.

As you are now becoming quite ambitious in your attempts to add words to your vocabulary, you have stumbled upon the word pop. A couple of weeks ago while I was holding you, you passed a little bit of gas… I knew immediately as I felt the vibration on my arm.

You looked up at me, as if you were asking for my confirmation, and asked, “Pop?”

I obviously immediately laughed: “Yes, good. You did just have a pop.”

To equate passing gas with the word “pop” was not something I could credit anyone in our family with. You just took it upon yourself to associate the sound you made with a word you already knew.

Therefore, you now make a habit of announcing every time you pop. But what I really love about it is that you continue to still sort of ask for my confirmation.

And now you have moved on to calling out everyone else’s pops.

Without surprise, you say “pop” a lot when your brother is around. He enjoys your special skill in identifying his mischievous actions.

I will say, I didn’t expect that you’d be able to identify what it meant to pass gas, or that you’d have your own designated word for it, before your 2nd birthday.

But hey, you have a 7 year-old brother. It comes with the territory.

Therefore, sometimes without me even realizing what I have done, you’ll look up at me:

“Daddy, pop?”

That’s your special way of saying, “You and I are the only ones in the room right now- and I know it wasn’t me, so…”

Then I have to admit:

“Yep, that’s good, Holly. Daddy had a pop.”

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Teaching Your Sister How to Use a Cardboard Box

7 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

It had been a particularly difficult night, with your sister waking up several times every couple of hours. I received little rest, as I got up each time to help get her back to sleep. So by the time Mommy left for work around 6:15 AM, I collapsed on the couch in the living room, as I trusted you to take care of your sister while I was out of commission.

When I woke up about an hour later, I was delighted to see that, in your creativity, you took it upon yourself to transform an Amazon shipping box in to a couple of helmets for both you and your sister to wear, in the boat you also constructed from the same box.

I am always so proud to see you take initiative to lead your sister in fun activities, which require no direction from me or Mommy. It’s important that you figure out on your own what to do with your time, without needing me as your entertainment supervisor all the time.

The look on your sister’s face, too, is just priceless. She obviously didn’t quite understand why the two of you had box helmets, but she gladly went along with it; just like the day before when the box actually arrived:

You convinced your sister to walk back and forth from the far end of the living room, to the far end of the kitchen, with both of your heads in the box. For good reason, it reminded me of the kind of horse costume where it takes two people to walk; one in the front and one in the back.

I’m just glad that because of your creativity with a shipping box, I was able to catch a solid hour of sleep, while getting confirmation you’re old enough to take care of your sister with your sleeping dad on the couch.

Love,

Daddy