The Big Name Reveal

So, as I’ve mentioned, I have a wee obsession with naming my babies MONTHS before they are born.  Not days before, not the DAY they are  born, or God forbid, the day AFTER.  Way, way, way before.

So, the day before our ultrasound two-and-a-half weeks ago, Bobby and I had our final “name talk” to choose our baby’s name.  It was slightly contentious, and ended with Bobby telling me after we had both voted for differing favorites, “You can tell me what the baby’s name is tomorrow after the ultrasound.”  He was going to give in to me, but I couldn’t choose a name he didn’t like.

So we went to the ultrasound, and much to our surprise, the baby was a BOY!  I think we are both still a little shocked about that.  My pregnancy felt so similar to my pregnancy with Sophie, we were both really thinking girl.  But the little booger was definitely a guy.  And we were both thrilled, but we were having a much bigger difference of opinion on the boy’s name, so I was kind of bummed to have to make a choice on that.  But I did.

And his name is Jonah Laton Rapson.

I wanted to name him Laton, (rhymes with “Dayton”) which is my and Emily’s grandfather’s name (yes, our Frigidaire Grandpa) , and also my brother’s middle name.

But Bobby just couldn’t get on board with it, and he really loved the name Jonah, which means “Dove” and also “Peace” (the Dove being a peace symbol and all.)  And it does go awfully well with Joshua and Sophia, so that is what I told him, after the ultrasound, that our baby’s name is.

I can’t find “Laton” in any name books or websites (or apps for that matter!), though the name “Leighton” is pronounced the same way and means “From the meadow farm”, which is appropriate because my Grandpa was a farmer from the holler before he moved to Ohio with his wife and young kids.  I am pretty sure though, that when he was born in 1926, my great-grandmother just made it up.  Not bad, I say!  I mean his brother was named Roy and I like Laton a lot better than Roy (my apologies to any Roy’s out there.) But I digress.

Now I am sure all the comments on this post are going to be “Oh I know Jonah this and Jonah that and Jonah is getting to be so popular” – just don’t tell me ok? I screwed up enough with Sophie’s name!  I only know ONE Jonah, who will be two when ours is born and lives in NYC (Sorry Melcy, I didn’t mean to steal your baby’s name, my husband made me do it!)

But anyways, despite my earlier attachment to Laton as a first name, I am now totally on board with Jonah.  I love it! I love calling him that, I already have silly nicknames for him, and I can’t wait to put a sweet little face with that name.

And for the record, the little girl would have been Joanna.  Either Joanna Claire (Bobby’s choice) our Joanna Kathleen (after my and Emily’s grandmother). Jo for my aunt (Emily’s mom), it was her middle name, Anna for my cousin Anna, and my BFF Luanne – kind of sad I won’t get to use that name, but I’m thrilled to have my little Jonah on the way!  17 more weeks to go and  I can kiss his little Jonah face!

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A New Addition

Yesterday morning, we welcomed a new member into our family.

My little sister had a baby.

Anna, Doug and Lilly

This is Lilly.

Lillian Grace

Is she cute or what?

Joshua likes her.

Sammy does too.

Kate’s just glad she’s a girl.

We’re all so glad she’s here.

Welcome to the world, Lilly. We love you already.

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The Name Game

Today my famous Uncle Paul wrote a very funny diatribe post on what I should name my wee little baby. You know, after I find out it’s gender.   (I have an ultrasound today to determine how far along I am and all that jazz, and I’m gonna ask ‘em to look real close and see if perhaps my child has developed it’s genitalia early.  Just in case.)

What Uncle Paul may not have realized as he was writing said post was that once again, I have got this wrapped up.  Both my babies were named MONTHS before they were born.  Bobby and I had that all wrapped up and nailed down.  We called the babies by their names as soon as we found out whether that kid had a pee-pee or a vajayjay.  As a matter of fact, when we had our 20 week ultrasound with Sophie, and found out she was a girl, we didn’t quite have her name finalized yet, and I told Bobby we could not leave the doctor’s office until we had decided what our daughter’s name would be (we were pretty sure, so fortunately it didn’t take long.)

So, that’s  how we roll.  We already have a couple ideas that we (well, I) really like for this baby, but it’s not decided yet. However you can bet your sweet bippy it will be engraved in stone by July.

Then, there are some people (read: EMILY) who not only don’t find out the baby’s gender, they also have no name picked out before the blessed child arrives.  Even though they have had NINE MONTHS to think about it.  I will say in Emily’s case, that with both her babies, she at least took a SPREADSHEET of possible names with her to the hospital. While this is totally nerdy, at least she had it narrowed down to more than the entire contents of the Book of 10,000 Baby Names.

Now, continuing with her sister’s maddening tradition, my beloved cousin Anna is also carrying a nameless child.  HOWEVER!  She does know that it’s a GIRL, which is very exciting for me, because it means that I also know it’s a girl, and I am not DOOMED to wonder until she gives birth.  But although she and her hubby have known the baby’s gender for um, EVER, they still haven’t picked a name.  As you may have guessed, this is driving me bonkers.  So I thought I’d take a page from Uncle Paul’s book and suggest a few of our family gems from Emily, Anna’s and my shared family history.  At least you can add these to the spreadsheet, Annie.

America – our great-great grandmother’s name.  Patriotic!  And since the baby’s gonna be born in July…I think it’s a lock.  Or, you could name your daughter what America named her daughters -Florida and Alabama.  (Florida was our great-grandmother.)  That way your kid’s name can represent family history, Disney World, and the deep South all at once!

If you don’t like those, you could always name her after Grandma’s Aunt Shin.  Everybody loves a good baby-named-after-a-body-part.  Elbow, Clavicle, Uvula, I think you’ve got some good options there.

And of course, there’s always Jenny.  I mean after the late 70′s, I am pretty sure no one is ever gonna name their kid that again EVER, so at least she’d be unique for her generation!

But if you don’t like any of my suggestions, feel free to check out Uncle Paul’s post and steal some name ideas from the other side of the family!

How about you my dear readers?  Did you name ‘em months in advance or not ’til you saw their perfect little faces?

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