I Dream of Diaper Genie III

We have this thing called Diaper Genie II. Apparently it's the sequal? The thing is great because it's basically a garbage can that keeps you from smelling the dirty diapers. I gave the white plastic a rub hoping that the Diaper Genie would emerge and grant me three diaper related wishes. Nothing happened... Talk about false advertising! Anyway, I had prepared my wishes ahead of time, so here they are:

Wish #1: I wish diapers had a spoiler. You know something that goes up the baby's back. Many times Karis has wet her outfit and the entire changing pad by peeing while one of her parents holds her feet up in the air. An absorbent spoiler would catch much of this spillage.

Wish #2: I wish diapers had a feature that told you audibly when they needed to be changed. They should even tell you how badly they need to be changed. Some sort of scale of how full they are... "This ones a 9.5, better change it or you're doing laundry!"

Wish #3: The diaper genie II requires me to empty it every other day. Why did you have to make it so small? I wish for a diaper genie III the size of an oil drum!

There you have it. If I ever run into that Genie, I'll be prepared! Maybe I should call customer service?

History Repeats Itself

They say that there are no new stories. All the movies that come out now are just recycled plot lines dressed up with new settings and special effects. They say even history is bound to repeat itself. Perhaps there are limited number of permutations of events and eventually we are just bound to run out of new possibilities? Perhaps we just aren't very original? Well the same seems to be true for our pictures. We put a cute new outfit on Karis and took some pictures of her. When we looked at the picture, we said: "Wait a minute, we've taken that picture before..." See for yourselves:

I think we just aren't very original.

A Thousand Words

I realize that there are two types of people. Those that read and those that don't. Maybe it's busy people and bored people? Anyway, I know that some people are reading everything and others just want to see pictures. So, if you are one of the picture people, this post is for you! You can click on the links below to view all of the pictures that we have taken since Karis was born. No words. I promise. Wait a minute, you didn't read any of this did you? Well hopefully the icon and links are enough and you can figure the rest out... Readers, enjoy as well. We'll be updating this gallery periodically so feel free to check it regularly to see what we've been up to, without reading. It's fundamental. (just had to slip that in)

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Click For Pictures of Karis

Dave & Buster Clairvoyant?

Dave & Buster's, if you aren't familiar with it, is a restaurant / giant video game type place. They have everything from skee ball to the latest arcade games. When Tara and I were engaged to be married, we went to D&B with some friends and one of the "games" was "The Gene Machine". This machine would take a picture of two people and then spit out a picture of what their child would look like. I know what you're thinking: "That sounds very scientific." Well we recently remembered this experience and dug up the picture to see if D&B do in fact have the ability to predict progeny aesthetics. Behold the magic of Dave and his colleague Buster:

OK, so now that you have taken that in... Please feel free to click on the comments link below and leave your feedback on whether or not you think this picture resembles Karis or anyone else for that matter. Let us know what you think D&B are full of... Perhaps smarts?

Sienna - A New Friend

This past week Karis was able to spend some time with Sienna, her first friend. Sienna is about 6 months older than Karis. The two really hit it off as they have a lot in common. They both love to sleep and eat! They share a common hatred for being wet. Both consider discovering new things to be their favorite hobby. Who would have thought that two people could have so much in common?

Karis looks forward to many play dates in the future.

Karis Eats (rated G)

No need to worry here. I promise this has a G rating. It's even calmer than a Robert De Niro style feeding... It's our first video posting of Karis and it is of Karis having a bottle for the first time from her Dad.

Nala Wants Attention

Karis has been getting so much attention that Nala, our Yorkie, is very jealous. Before Karis was born, Nala was our baby. Embarrassingly, I must admit that we talked to her in baby voices. Now that we use those voices to talk to our actual baby, she is feeling very left out. Plus, I promised Nala a post...

So, Nala would like everyone to know that she was once a cute little baby also and she has video to prove it. (Yes, we're kicking the blog up a notch and trying out the video of the dog.) Here is a short video that we filmed a little over 2 years ago when we first got Nala:

Now I know what you are thinking. "Video of the dog! We want video of Karis!" So, video of the dog was easy because it's already on the computer from 2 years ago. I still have all the video on the camcorder and it's gonna take some work to get it off. So be patient and check back often and you'll get some baby video in good time.

My Girls

I didn't really expect to be outnumbered on the gender front in my own family. I have girls. Even the dog is a girl... Anyway, I wanted to share my favorite picture that I have taken since Karis was born. I printed this out in Sepia and it's hanging next to my computer monitor at work. Several times a day I look over and there are my girls. (sorry Nala, you'll get a post someday)

Karis Turns 21 ... (days)

We haven't let her hit the bottle yet, but Karis is now 21 (days old). To celebrate her coming of age, I have included the latest slide show for the first three weeks. They grow up so fast!

Cousins

This past weekend Karis met two of her cousins. Allyson and Caroline came to meet her and to give Nala some much needed attention. Karis also wore her first dress for the occasion. She greatly enjoyed meeting them and looks forward to meeting Nick, Samantha, and Natalie.

Springsteen Soothes

So I just had one of the most difficult mornings with Karis. She was crying and crying... I just could not get her to calm down and go to sleep. It's difficult to console a baby during the day, because there's a lot happening. We also want our daughter to learn the difference between day and night, so we keep day active and night very quite. Tara finally got her to calm down a little. As she lay in her bassinet, still fussing, I suggested that perhaps she didn't like whatever song was playing on the radio... No other explanation seemed to make sense. At that moment, she fell asleep and I think it was because of the music. You see, she had been listening for hours and had not heard anything that resonated with her or made sense to her, given her twenty days of life experience. She finally heard something she could relate to... "Born in the USA!" Thanks Bruce! Do you babysit?

Time to Work Out?

I'm sitting on the couch trying to console Karis our 2 week old. I think maybe the reason she is so fussy is that she always lays on her back. So, little Karis enjoys some tummy time with Daddy and sure enough she falls asleep. Tara, my wife, sits down next to me and gently leans her head on my shoulder. "This is nice family time", I think to myself. Nala, our dog, curls up on my legs that are comfortably propped up on our ottoman. Before I know it, my daughter, wife and dog are all asleep and I am apparently their pillow of choice.

I think it's time to exercise!

The Floyd Scale of Measurement

While in the hospital, Karis received many gifts from friends and relatives, all of which we love. I would like to single out one gift as it will be in the spotlight (if you can call it that...) for the next year or so. Karis's Aunt Marla and Uncle Charlie gave her a large stuffed pink dog which pancakes nicely on the floor. Per Tara's suggestion we are stealing an idea from my college roommate, Bob Smiley. He and his wife photographed their little boy every week next to the same stuffed animal. The resulting photo collection gave a consistent view into his growth over time. We will be doing the same thing with our stuffed dog.

With all of that said, our dog needed a name. It seemed obvious to me, Floyd...

So, every week we will be taking a picture of Karis with her stuffed dog Floyd so that we all can see how she is changing. I can't promise that the images will be added here every week, but at least every month. So here it is, your first shot of one standard unit of Floyd. Enjoy!

Oprah Inspires Giving

Tara and I have been watching the new reality show that Oprah created called the "Big Give". We started watching it because one of the contestants attends my parents church. Anyway, we're not big fans of reality TV, but this show seems to be one of the best concepts I've come across. The idea is that each week the contestants are given a challenge to "Give Big" to people in need. Sometimes it means raising money for a family that lost their father in a store robbery or cleaning a garage for a family that adopted 26 special needs children. The intention of the show is to challenge and inspire people to reach out and help their fellow man. We hope it continues.

In our first week home with little Karis, we turned on the latest episode of Oprah's show. About halfway through the show, Karis became inspired and decided to give big in the only way she knows how. Let's just say she gave to overflowing... Unfortunately, a simple diaper change was insufficient and Karis had her first unplanned sponge bath as a result. Thanks a lot Oprah!

Karis Ann Leamon Born!

Move over Nala! Your little sister has arrived.

Karis Ann Leamon was born March 24th, 2008 at 7:53 PM. Karis weighed in at 7 lbs. 13 ounces and measured 20 inches long. She was born with a full head of hair, Tara's eyes and Drew's monkey feet...




Both of our families were able to be at the hospital to welcome her into the world.

Many of you may be thinking, "Karis, that's a unique name". Well you are right and I thought I would head off your questions by giving you an explanation of her name here.

You see Karis is the phonetic equivalent of the Koine Greek word for grace. It is commonly spelled charis, but is always pronounced with the hard "K" sound. We liked the "K" spelling better and besides Koine Greek has a completely different alphabet anyway...

From Strong's Dictionary of New Testament words:

“grace” = 5485 charis (khar'-ece); from 5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): KJV-- acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace (-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

From Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament words:

GRACE = 1. charis 5485 has various uses, (a) objective, that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard.

The middle name of Ann was choose to honor Tara's Grandmother Ann Masar.

Please join us in welcoming Karis to our family and please check back for updates.