Baby name idea #12...

"Rikki Tikki Tem."

Our child is destined to be the source of many stories, legends, and mysteries for years to come, and as such, he or she should be named accordingly. Due to my (and Melissa's) fascination with Chinese folk stories, Rikki Tikki Tem is the perfect name.

The nickname for Rikki Tikki Tem would be Rikki Tikki Tem-bo. When Melissa or I get mad at our child we could shout, "Rikki Tikki Tem-bo Nosarembo Charrie Barrie Ruchi Pip-Perry Pembo!" That way our child would know that we were serious and seriously passionate about Chinese folk stories, ergo killing two birds with one stone.

I felt the baby kick pretty hard yesterday. That was the first "real" kick that I have felt. Up until now I have been a bit of a baby-kick skeptic, constantly telling Melissa that I am feeling her stomach muscles tensing rather than the kick of our strong-legged fetus. Turns out I was wrong. The baby is indeed in there, just kickin' it.

In other news, I inspired Eli Mayerson to have his head shaved. I am honored.

KIndergarten, not Kindersmarten (Trees, Trucks, and More!!!)

I helped out in Mel's class today. I like going in there. The kids are pretty funny and it sorta makes me feel like a celebrity when I show up. Kids clamor to sit next to me, stare at me, ask me random questions, and think pretty much everything I do is cool. I picture a similar relationship with my yet-to-be-born child. Mel asked her students to give suggestions for baby names. Some of the highlights included, Spiderman, Loop (Pakistani suggestion), Star Wars, Anakin, and Joe. No joke. Those were real suggestions. Classic. I worked at one of the tables in the room helping students fill out a paper about their dad for father's day. The questions were pretty basic (dad's age, favorite thing to do, food, etc.) but the answers were classic. Most kids assume their dad's age is in the 80-90 range. I am pretty sure that is not accurate. One of the kid's dad spends a lot of time at the tapioca shop apparently, and if given the choice to have anything in the world, his dad would choose tapioca. I believe him.

Last night at the church a tree fell down. It was exciting. A bunch of high school students placed the tree in the back of Rob Calame's truck. We then tried to put the tree in Deej's car but someone tipped him off and he came out and caught us in the act.

Here is the church segment of the Immanuel Mission Promo DVD. It features clips from their basic church service in addition to some footage from Christmas time. Oh the splendor of it all.

Baby name idea #11 (There's something in the water)

"Rosham." This name comes courtesy of Maddie "Mary Madeleine" Flaig. Gotta give credit where credit is due. Though Rosham itself is a great name, I will skip straight to the nickname, "Rosham-bo." Brilliant, Maddie, brilliant.

Maddie obviously suggested this name due to the fact that young Rosham will likely be a voice of reason in a world of chaos and distress. During any playground dispute, corporate mishap, or global conflict, Rosham-bo will likely be called upon to settle the tumultuous situation. Rosham-bo will be the great equalizer in a world of unequality. All rocks, papers, and scissors, aside, this name is very fitting of the young peacemaker that will be, Rosham.

Melissa and I spent our first pregnant Memorial Day swimming at Tyler Moxley's pool with some of our closest pals. I swam a bajillion laps and now have a pretty bad sunburn. Melissa is now 14 weeks along and this (above, not Bauer) is essentially what our baby looks like right now (except a lot more handsome, obviously.) After the pool we headed over to the Robery's, who offered to host our young married's small group for a barbecue. It was a lot of fun. We played volleyball and ate burgers. Pretty great. Aaron and Amy Mayerson also announced that they are pregnant which is pretty dang exciting. Their baby will be due a couple months after Rosham. Congratulations Aaron and Amy!

Baby name idea #10...

This is a comment that my father left on the previous post. I felt that it was worthy of a full posting.

I have always loved the name "Budger." I am not certain where I first heard this name, or if I made it up, but it resonates deep within me.

I have been thinking that I wanted a dog named "Budger." There does not appear to support for this since our hope-to-be-German-Sheppard may be too majestic for such a charming name.

To date, my dream of having a relationship with Budger, awaits a loved-one upon which to place this delightful cognomen.

Lauren now calls me Budger, which I know is a show of affection, but it means I now have a relationship with a Budger who is myself and that is not how my dream should end up.

This brings me to the question at hand. What to name the unidentified new addition to the family.

I believe, "Budger" is a name worthy of full consideration. Since I may be the only person who has been in the development of this name (other than Lauren), I feel very strongly that it is appropriate and will work well. It can be used for either a boy or girl, it is delightful, charming, and happy in its sound... and... the meaning of the name is profound.
To me it means: "Dear-one, overflowing with affection, full of joy."

Dad

Baby name idea #9...

"Gazi", or, "Gaze." (Gha-zee) Anyway, for a great while I have admired the studies and research of college student, Gazi Ayyad. I promise I didn't just Google the name "Gazi" and pick the first Gazi I found. Back to my story. Since I am such an avid anthropologist, what better way to honor my favorite branch of science, than naming my first child after one of anthropology's greatest young minds.

Lauren Wallace suggested that an excellent nickname for young Gazi would be, "Gazi-bo." I concur. Gazebos bring shelter in stormy weather, shade in extreme heat, and comfort in pretty much any condition. They also spend most of their time by a pool, which undoubtedly, young Gazi-bo will do as well.

On Monday, Robert F. Calame and I watched the season finale of 24. The season as a whole was kind of a letdown. They killed off Curtis, Palmer #2 is on his deathbed, and Audrey went crazy. Then, Jack almost offs himself. We get it, he has had a long day. Next season, try to make it more exciting. According to this article, that is what they have in mind.

Baby name idea #8...

"Arrowand." I know that this name is a bit unorthodox, but hear me out. Much like "Bil-bo" before it, Arrowand has a Lord of the Rings feel to it. Melissa and I are looking for a unique name and this one fits the bill. Another intriguing aspect of this name is the nickname possibility, "Arrowand-Bo."

Justin and I used to watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at least once a week when we were growing up. What better way to pay homage to my favorite childhood movie than to dedicate my firstborn child's name to Mr. Hood's weapon of choice. I really don't see any way around it. Arrowand-Bo will no doubt be skilled with the bow like his or her father before him or her so it only feels natural to name him or her accordingly.

Last night Melissa and I had Allison and Jen over for dinner. It was splendid. The weather has been ridiculously nice so we ate outside on the Perry's patio. We talked a lot about what is going on in Hungary and Ukraine and I showed them my pictures. They brought Izze (sp?) over and she played with Bauer which was a pretty funny thing to see. City dog meets country dog. Luckily Bauer is fixed. Anyway, it was fun to spend it with them and it really made me really look forward to summer.

Baby name idea #7...

"Gum." Everyone loves gum. It's a fact. It's a breath of fresh air (or at least a breath freshener!) much like young Gum will be to everyone he or she encounters. Gum will be multi-faceted, possessing various skills and abilities, much like gum comes in different flavors and tapes. Like Bubble Tape, Gum will be "long on fun", and like Big League Chew, Gum will be a fun and playful alternative to chewing tobacco.

Due to the fact that Melissa loves Southern names like Peyton and Cade, we will likely refer to Gum as "Gum-bo." I am not as big of a fan as Southern names (i.e. names that you would likely hear in Memphis, Dallas, etc.) as Melissa is so by calling our child Gum-bo we would reach a lovely and palatable compromise. Melissa and I both enjoyed our time in New Orleans last year and this nickname would be a special homage to the time we spent there and the people that we met.

If you are looking for a cheap laugh (literally cheap) and a few seconds of humor, then look no further than this item that I am selling on EBAY. If you are looking for a gift for that special someone or perhaps you just want to spoil yourself, then this is the gift for you!

Melissa is doing well. Gum is making her sleepy but other than that we are pretty fortunate that she hasn't had any morning sickness or anything. The first ultrasound is on April 9th so you can be praying for that.

Baby idea #6...

"Rain." This lovely idea came straight from Amy and Cody Moxley. They suggested it due to it's obvious correlation with the gloomy weather we are currently experiencing. The present gloominess parallels their feelings over the fact that Melissa and I are going to keep the baby's name a secret until he or she is born. Amy also noted that my other name choices and explanations came across as ornery, and, well, arrogant. I have to disagree. It is not arrogant to say that my future child will excel in life, be admired by his or her peers and will likely have a multitude of nicknames and songs written about him or her. It is factual. If we were to choose Rain as our child's name I would definitely dedicate it to actor, Rainn Wilson, aka, Dwight Schrute. His work on The Office is admirable enough to warrant such a name dedication.

For a nickname, we could use the ever-popular, Rain-bo. This name would be in reference to God's promise to mankind (I actually talked about this in Middle School yesterday morning, as we continue on our journey through the book of Genesis). This nickname could help reestablish the true meaning of the rainbow and help take the focus off of the current slaughtering of the symbol. "So socially aware will young Rain-bo be." (Yoda said that to me in a dream once)

Speaking of Amy...I dug this treasure of a video up from my collection this weekend. It is rather embarrassing, both for her and myself. This was shot in 1997, at the beginning of our Sophomore year. Melissa Conley (currently Bowen) is filming. Mel and I weren't even dating at the time, let alone married, which makes Amy's immature comment at the end all the more funny.

Baby name idea #5.

"Bo." Aside from the obvious similarity to the child's last name, this yet-to-be-born baby would have the luxury of being named after one of America's greatest icons, Bo Jackson. Just as Bo knew baseball and football, our Bo will be well versed in the ways of travel, music, and linguistics. For example, during playground discussions, if a question about guitar playing were to come up, the children would surely summon Bo because, as they would say, "Bo knows guitar." Another possible scenario would probably involve a teacher asking Bo what the capital of Lesotho was, because of course "Bo knows travel." Bo would respond by saying "Maseru", and then follow by saying, "I've been there multiple times with my family."

If Bo's musical abilities were to blossom to the level of expertise, he could join famed rock band "Bo Bo", because Bo-Bo, of course, would also be his nickname. He or she would likely play lead guitar and perhaps even sing, because accordingly, he or she will have the singing voice of a hummingbird angel.

Today I had an epiphany. I now know what I am supposed to do in life. I found this amazing video on YouTube today about this guy who traveled around the world and taped himself dancing everywhere he went. Stride (the gum company) saw his original video and ended up sponsoring a second trip to even more places. Check the video out if you have time. It is pretty amazing.