Baby Girl Has A Name!

Week 23

After much thought and deliberation Danny and I have finally decided on a name for our sweet baby girl. Choosing a name for someone is a stressful and daunting task and since we usually have a hard time pulling the trigger when it comes to making big decisions (or should I say the Libra in Danny has a hard time making decisions) I honestly thought we would still be wavering back and forth on a name until she arrived. I secretly feared that her birth certificate would say "Baby Girl" because we wouldn't be able to agree on what to name her before she was born.

Over the past few months we have searched the Internet looking for unique baby names. From the beginning I have felt strongly about choosing a unique name for her. Even though I love my name and I adore the story about how my mom chose it (Hint: it was from a popular movie in the 70's and the lead actress was named Jennifer...any guesses?), I have always hated that I had to share my name with so many people.

Before I got pregnant I always thought I would name my daughter Lily because that was my grandmother's name and she had such a positive influence on my life. As a kid I spent as much time as I could at her house. Every time I got mad at my Mom and Dad I would call her and she would stop what she was doing and come right over and get me (she would also get on the phone with my Dad and give him the business for "upsetting her baby" - he he - I loved to get him in trouble with her!). She was so much fun and she was always down for an adventure. I can't tell you how many times we loaded up in her midnight blue Pontiac (AKA...The Blue Goose) and set out on a road trip with the 8 track cassette player blaring Kenny Rogers the whole way. She was full of life and I swear I inherited my "spit fire" ways from her. She also had an incredible sense of style. She never left the house without fixing her hair, putting on her makeup, or dressing up in a snazzy outfit. She could cook and sew like nobody's business and she always let me bring my kittens to her house when I came over to spend the night. Heck she even measured my cats and made dresses and bonnets for all of them so I could dress them up in their finest before I set out for a stroll with them piled up in my baby carriage. She taught me how to make homemade biscuits, pound cake, and Chef Boyardee Box Pizza (which I still make today in her honor) and she also passed on her love of clothes and shoes.

Unfortunately, we had to scratch her name as a first name option because 2 of my cousins named their daughters Lily in the past year. As much as this broke my heart, Danny and I agreed that we could still honor her by using Lily as a middle name.

The other front runner after Lily was Gracyn (I wanted to call her Gray for short & Danny threatened to call her Gracie which I hated). For a few months I really thought this would be her name because Danny and I both loved it and nothing else we found struck a chord. Nothing that is until my ever so hip and incredibly cool cousin, Tracy, sent me "the name" about a month ago. She told me that she had come across this particular name a few times in the last few months and because it was so unique she felt like it was a sign and she had to send it to me. There is something so magical and dainty about this name that as soon as I saw it I knew it was "her name". I also loved it because I had never heard this name (which was a major plus because remember we were going for the "unique" factor). Interestingly enough, within a week of learning about this name I started reading a baby blog written by a girl who named her daughter this too. It was a sign. I couldn't get away from the name and in my heart I just felt like it was meant to be her name.

Ok...Ok...I will stop rambling and give it to you...I have made you wait long enough!

Danny and I are proud to announce our baby girl's name...Miss Everly Lily.

Isn't it just perfect???

Mexican Fiestas and Morning Glory!

The squirrel's recent activities have led me to the following conclusions:

1. She LOVES Mexican food as much as her mama. Every single time I eat Mexican food she goes nuts (and here lately that is all I want to eat). Danny and I were actually eating at Pink Taco last weekend and about 10 minutes into the meal she started flipping and flopping around and then gave me the one, two punch about 8 times in a row! It was hilarious and we could not stop laughing throughout the entire meal. Danny says her battle cry is going to be "Salsa!"

2. She is a morning person. Every single morning about 5 a.m. she wiggles, squirms, and kicks for about an hour. As many of you know I am NOT a morning person. However, as soon as I start to feel her stir around I immediately open my eyes and revel in the magic that comes along with growing a person in your belly. I look forward to her little movements and our quiet time together every night as I drift off to sleep. It truly is the perfect way to wake up every morning.

Letters to the Squirrel

All of our baby books have a page for us to write letters to the baby before she is born. In addition to writing in the books, I have decided to start including my letters on this blog too so she will have an electronic archive of every moment and thought that led up to her arrival on this Earth. :)

May 8, 2011

Dear Baby Girl,

Today is Mother’s Day and all I can think about is how excited I am to meet you. Every day I find myself daydreaming about what you will look like and what kind of personality you will have. I wonder if you will have your Daddy’s piercing eyes or my button nose? Will you be shy or will you be strong-willed? Your Daddy and I can’t help but think you will be a sassy little rascal given the fact that you are a combination of both of us.

I have officially decided that waiting for your arrival is like waiting for Christmas morning. And just so you know, I am not good at waiting for surprises. I am sure one day your Daddy and your grandmother and grandfather will tell you the story about how I used to unwrap and peek inside my Christmas presents under the tree when I was a kid because the suspense was too much for me to handle. I guess waiting for your arrival is a good lesson in patience that will come in handy down the road.

As I reflect on what it means to be a mother, I am overwhelmed by the massive responsibility that comes along with this job. I know that you will not always agree with the decisions we make for you and it is inevitable that we will make some mistakes along the way, but please know that we will always have your best interests at heart. There is one thing I know for sure…we will always love you and support you no matter what.

As I sit here today and dream about the person you will grow up to be, I have come up with some promises to live by as we start this journey together as mother and daughter.

I promise to always encourage you to:

1. Be strong in your faith.
2. Have compassion for others and give back to those less fortunate than you.
3. Give people a chance to show you who they are before you make a decision based on stereotypes, rumors, or other people’s experiences.
4. Respect rules and authority but do not be afraid to challenge an injustice when you see something that is not fair.
5. Work hard in school and strive to be a lifelong learner.
6. Laugh at yourself.
7. Treat yourself to something special when you have worked hard.
8. Use your words to express your feelings.
9. Be a leader.
10. Dream big and do not ever be afraid to take a leap of faith.

And last but not least, never forget that your Mama and Daddy love you more than anything on this Earth. We will always be your number one fans!

Love,
Mama

"She has a beautiful heart!"

"SHE has a beautiful heart!" Those were our doctor's exact words at our 20 week sonogram on Thursday. Talk about music to new parents' ears! Not only did we learn that our precious little squirrel is indeed a beautiful baby girl, but more importantly we discovered that our risk factor for Down's Syndrome and other genetic abnormalities went down to 1 in 18,000. Her organs and bones are also developing perfectly. I know I am biased but she has the most beautiful profile I've ever seen and she is so active. Her little arms and legs were flailing all around and her mouth was opening and closing as if she was already trying to coo. She was also sucking her fingers and crossing her little legs. Danny said that she was crossing her legs because she is a lady and a future Southern Belle.

It is also clear that the little rascal has already developed a definite opinion of her own. She gave me the hardest kick to date during the ultrasound because she had clearly had enough of all the pushing and poking, along with the invasion of her privacy. She even stuck her index finger out and it looked like she was pointing it right at us and shaking her hand. I don't have any idea where she gets that sass. :)

In addition to all the good news we received from the doctor, it was also a special day because both of our mothers were able to make the trip out to CA to go to the appointment with us. Both grandmothers beamed with joy and pride as they watched their grandbaby's first recital on the big screen TV. I am so happy they were both there to share in this magical moment with us.

I can't even put into words how full my heart is today. People have always told me that I would never know this level of love until I had a child of my own. I now know exactly what they were talking about and we haven't even met our sweet baby girl yet.