Baby Name Options #4 - Song Names

I grew up with a song for a name. Every time I was introduced to someone new, the first thing they’d say (or sing) was “Mi-chelle, ma belle…” As a kid it drove me nuts...but as I got older and started to appreciate music, I found it kind of nice to have my own personal theme song - sung by the Beatles no less! I’ve often wondered if I would ever be able to put my own child through the horror of having to hear the same song over and over and over again, and I think for the right song I probably could...

Caroline French “free man”  Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

Cecilia Latin “blind one” Cecilia – Simon & Garfunkel

Floyd Welsh "gray-haired" Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (Ok, so using a band name is probably cheating, but every night I wear a Pink Floyd T-shirt to bed and when I look down at my round belly labelled "Pink Floyd" it's hard not to think that might be a good name.)

Folsom Place name Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash

James Hebrew "supplanter" James - Camera Obscura (This one could also work as a family or biblical name, but I like this song, so I put it here.)

Jude Hebrew “praise” Hey Jude – The Beatles

Julio Spanish “youthful” Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard – Paul Simon

Lila Arabic “night” Lila – Bright Eyes (No mention of the name Lila in this song, although it does reference the meaning.)

Rocky German “rest” Rocky Raccoon – The Beatles

Tangerine Word name Tangerine – Led Zepplin

Valencia Spanish "brave, strong" O, Valencia! - The Decemberists

Clicking on a link will bring you to that song on Amazon's website. You'll have to click "play" to hear the clip.

Baby Name Options #3 - Biblical Names

I started to read the Bible once in high school and was bored to death by the never-ending lists of names in Genesis…might be worth another look now. Here are some of my favorites.

Adah (AH-dah) Hebrew “beautiful, adorned” The second female name mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 4:19

Asher Hebrew “fortunate, blessed, happy one” The eighth son of Jacob. Genesis 30:12-13

Delilah Hebrew “desirable, seductive” The woman Samson fell in love with, who cut off his hair and delivered him to his enemies. Judges 16:4-18 

Esther Persian “star” The Persian queen who prevented the massacre of the Jews living throughout her empire. Book of Esther

Isaac Hebrew “laughter” The son of Abraham and Sarah, born when his father was 100 years old. Isaac was later almost sacrificed to test Abraham's loyalty to God. Genesis 17:16-19, 22:1-18

Jonah Hebrew “dove” Swallowed by a whale and lived to tell about it. Book of Jonah

Levi Hebrew “united, joined” The third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of one of the tribes of Israel. Genesis 35:23

Olive Latin “olive tree” Noah sent out a dove...and it came back with an olive branch. Gen 8:10-11

Silas (SAI-luhs) Aramaic “wood, from the forest” Early Christian convert who accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys.  Acts 15-18

Torah Hebrew “teaching, instruction” Not a name in the Bible, but a word that refers to the first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Zipporah Hebrew “little bird” Wife of Moses. Exodus 2:21

Want more? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Biblical_names

Baby Blanket

I still haven't finished the Christmas stockings I started for Noah and I three years ago, but now I'm on to new projects for the baby. I've been knitting 6½ inch cotton squares that I will later stitch together to make a small baby blanket. Hopefully it looks good when it's finished!

Baby Name Options #2 - Family Names

Looking through our giant book of baby names, I had to pause whenever I came to a family name. These are a few of the more unusual options...

Abraham Hebrew "father of multitudes" Noah's grandma Illie was born an Abrahamson. Might be kind of cool to have a little Abe running around with cousin Lincoln...

Five English "five" This one wasn't actually in the book but a bunch of other numbers were. Made me think of the time we found a Five DuPuis in the phone book and dad told us it was a cousin of his whose parents gave all of their kids the same name and then referred to them by number instead. Still don't know if that was true...

Hippolyte (ee-po-LET) French from Greek "he who frees horses" This was the name of  the owner of the DuPuis house on the Sibley estate in Mendota, MN (http://www.sibley-friends.org/dupuishouse.htm), who was also grandpa Leo's great-great uncle.

Jerusha (jeh-ROO-sha) Hebrew "the married one" This one goes way back...to grandpa Ryan's great-great-great grandmother.

Llewellyn Welsh "resembling a lion" I'm not entirely sure but this could be where grandma Gail's middle name, Luellen, came from. It's a common boys name in Wales, and the last name of the late actor Desmond Llewelyn, who played "Q" in almost every Bond movie made before his death in 1999.

Wilfred English "desires peace" Noah's grandpa Kraft's name. Nice meaning. Also on the current list of hurricane names, and probably will be for awhile since the only retired name that starts with a W is...

Wilma German "resolute protection" Aunt Mimi's given name, retired from the list of hurricane names in 2005. Other family names that have been retired: Alicia (1983), Andrew (1992), Dora (1964), Ione (1955), and Michelle (2001). Names currently still on the list: Colin, Chris, Peter, Sebastien (spelled with an e!), and Sean.

Week 4-16

My baby bump is finally starting to show, and it's funny to see how my shape and posture has changed over the last 12 weeks. It doesn't look like much at 4 weeks, but even then my tummy definitely felt rounder. 

The best part of this collage is that in each picture I'm wearing a pair of pants that fit me perfectly at the time. I thought they were three different sizes but after checking the tags it turns out they're all size 2. Way to keep your sizes consistent Old Navy!

First Kick

So I think I felt the baby kick for the first time this morning. I was just waking up and had my hand on my  belly when I felt a little tap on my palm. At first I thought it was just my heartbeat, but then I felt another tap a few seconds later (not at a regular heartbeat interval), then something rubbed against my hand and that was it. It reminded me of someone trying to kick off their covers, and when that didn't work they just rolled over and went back to sleep...

Baby Name Option #1

Obviously, only if it's a boy...although I suppose we could substitute Roberta for a girl.

xkcd.com