A Name and a Blessing
The Name
When we found out last spring that we were expecting another baby, we were both overwhelmingly grateful. We hadn't had to try very long like we did with Olivia and felt truly grateful to God for blessing us so quickly. We wanted either the first or middle name to represent that gratitude. We chose Jane, which means God is Gracious, for her middle name almost immediately after learning that she was a girl. I have always loved the name (it was my favorite name to use when playing "pretend" when I was little and I love Jane Austen). Richard liked it, too because it was the name of one of his ancestors. And the meaning was perfect. Now we just needed a first name.
For me, there's more to choosing a name than just simply liking it. I'm a bit of a name-nerd and so to even make it on the list, a name has to meet a certain criteria:
#1 It has to have the right number of syllables and not too many Ls or Ms to sound good with our last name.
#2 It needs to be a classic, timeless name. Not too trendy.
#3 It has to fit with the name(s) we've chosen for our other child(ren).
#4 We gotta like it.
#5 It has to fit them when we see them.
#6 Good nickname possibilities
At one point I think we had over 20 names that we, one or both of us, liked. Not all of them met the above criteria but had stuck around for one reason or another. Whenever I would ask Richard his opinion he did a lot of hemming and hawing and we were getting nowhere fast. Richard loves sports and he decided that to make the process more fun for him, we needed to narrow down the names using a good ol' NCAA bracket. I loved the idea, especially since we had so many names. We started with our Sweet Sixteen and actually got it down to a Final Four! We didn't want to narrow it down to only one name because, as I mentioned before, we wanted to see what she looked like and try out a couple to see which fit best.
Eloise had been my favorite for awhile. A lot of people have asked about the origin. It's not a family name and we didn't name her after the little girl in the book, Eloise at the Plaza. I actually discovered it while reading a little nursery rhyme book to Olivia when she was just a baby. It was the name of the illustrator and it just stuck out to me. I had rarely heard it before and it just had a good sound to it and I love how it looks printed. Anyway, after some discussion and convincing, it was slowly becoming Richard's favorite, too. We took two names to the hospital, Eloise and another, but as soon as we saw her, we knew. Eloise it was! It is a beautiful, classy, old-fashioned name and not at all popular right now (one of the biggest selling points for me). It sounds like the name of a princess, like Grace Kelly or one that Audrey Hepburn might play. {Incidentally, one of our nick names for her is Princess}We love the name and it suits her perfectly!
The Blessing
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
When we found out last spring that we were expecting another baby, we were both overwhelmingly grateful. We hadn't had to try very long like we did with Olivia and felt truly grateful to God for blessing us so quickly. We wanted either the first or middle name to represent that gratitude. We chose Jane, which means God is Gracious, for her middle name almost immediately after learning that she was a girl. I have always loved the name (it was my favorite name to use when playing "pretend" when I was little and I love Jane Austen). Richard liked it, too because it was the name of one of his ancestors. And the meaning was perfect. Now we just needed a first name.
For me, there's more to choosing a name than just simply liking it. I'm a bit of a name-nerd and so to even make it on the list, a name has to meet a certain criteria:
#1 It has to have the right number of syllables and not too many Ls or Ms to sound good with our last name.
#2 It needs to be a classic, timeless name. Not too trendy.
#3 It has to fit with the name(s) we've chosen for our other child(ren).
#4 We gotta like it.
#5 It has to fit them when we see them.
#6 Good nickname possibilities
At one point I think we had over 20 names that we, one or both of us, liked. Not all of them met the above criteria but had stuck around for one reason or another. Whenever I would ask Richard his opinion he did a lot of hemming and hawing and we were getting nowhere fast. Richard loves sports and he decided that to make the process more fun for him, we needed to narrow down the names using a good ol' NCAA bracket. I loved the idea, especially since we had so many names. We started with our Sweet Sixteen and actually got it down to a Final Four! We didn't want to narrow it down to only one name because, as I mentioned before, we wanted to see what she looked like and try out a couple to see which fit best.
Eloise had been my favorite for awhile. A lot of people have asked about the origin. It's not a family name and we didn't name her after the little girl in the book, Eloise at the Plaza. I actually discovered it while reading a little nursery rhyme book to Olivia when she was just a baby. It was the name of the illustrator and it just stuck out to me. I had rarely heard it before and it just had a good sound to it and I love how it looks printed. Anyway, after some discussion and convincing, it was slowly becoming Richard's favorite, too. We took two names to the hospital, Eloise and another, but as soon as we saw her, we knew. Eloise it was! It is a beautiful, classy, old-fashioned name and not at all popular right now (one of the biggest selling points for me). It sounds like the name of a princess, like Grace Kelly or one that Audrey Hepburn might play. {Incidentally, one of our nick names for her is Princess}We love the name and it suits her perfectly!
The Blessing
After choosing a name and doing all the paper work for the birth certificate and social security, we wouldn't feel the process was entirely official until we gave her a name and a blessing.
Richard blessed Eloise this past Sunday at our church. It was a beautiful blessing. We were surrounded by family and friends and felt so much support and love from each of them and from our Heavenly Father.
Those who stood in the circle were her uncles, Mark and Greg, great grandpa Johnson, Daddy, Grandpa and Poppy.
.jpg)
We found a beautiful dress a few weeks before she was born but ended up exchanging it for a slightly smaller one. Even so, I was worried that it would drown her. I re-sized the headband and everything ended up fitting fairly well. And she looked beautiful!
.jpg)
We also found these sweet little white slippers for her to wear. Adorable!
.jpg)
After the blessing, everyone stayed for a potluck dinner.
How cute are they!? Olivia loves her cousins! Between Thanksgiving and the blessing, she's been able to spend a lot of time with both sides of the family and has been in heaven.
.jpg)
Then we took a bazillion pictures!
 |
| Another four generation photo |
.jpg) |
| Me, Eloise and Poppy |
.jpg) |
| Richard, Eloise, Grandma and Grandpa |
 |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
| Our new little family |
I LOVE her name! I guess I"m a bit of "name nut" too, but since they have to live with it the rest of their lives...it should be really really good. :) It does remind me of Grace Kelly too.
ReplyDeleteFun day, cute family!!
I love her! You have such a beautiful family!
ReplyDelete