A Name for Our Daughter

Our daughter has a name!

Unlike Walt's name....  it did not come as easily, or as quickly.

It took hours of thinking, praying and deciding.

But I hope that in the end, she one day loves it as much as we do.

The process of naming a baby is all part of the pregnancy memories for me.  So for my own memory, I want to record what our girl list looked like at one point.  The "almost" names.

There were 3 names that held on for a very long time.  She was almost an:

Eloise
Gwenevere
Vivian

But we eventually found reasons to omit each one.

The name we couldn't let go of was, to us, the perfect one.

We feel it's dainty, feminine, elegant and sweet....

We think it has a classic, yet soft and delicate, sound to it.... which we adore.

And I think I fall in love with it even more, each time I see it.  Her little hospital gowns and such have begun to arrive, and I love the way her name appears.

Choosing her middle name took just as much thought and care.  I wanted so desperately to include a family name, like we did with Walt's middle name, and came very close.  But we just couldn't seem to make it work with Juliet.

What we finally chose, definitely raises some eyebrows.  People usually look at me like I have two heads when I tell them.  Of all the MANY people that I've shared it with....  I think maybe two have liked it.

But that makes it all the more special and rare for me.

Years ago (way before the thought of children!), I watched a fictional show on TV based in the south. There was a girl/character named, Magnolia.  I still remember grabbing my phone and adding it to the list of baby names that I had been compiling for years.  Most of those names added years ago, are long gone.

But for some reason, I never could let go of this one.....  and eventually....  Troy fell in love with it too.

A while back, we learned that Houston's nickname was at one time, the "Magnolia City."

Magnolia also happens to be one of the sections of our most beloved resort (Gaylord Opryland), and the name of the golf course at Walt Disney World....   which is fun.

But ultimately, I will always think of it as the nickname of  her birthplace.

It's no secret that Houston is not my favorite city.

But it's part of our story, and most importantly....  where Juliet began.

Which makes it one of the sweetest cities on the planet for me.

And I absolutely can't resist the way the sweet southern name looks next to Juliet...

I open her drawers often.... just to stare at her name and all of the pink feminine touches..

We've yet to buy the first diaper, and have yet to install the car seat.

But we have monograms....and we have bows.

Lots and lots of bows...

;)

....and the sweetest little magnolia headband too.

I still can't believe that I'm going to have a daughter!


Juliet,

We love saying your name.  We hope that you too will love it, and find it as sweet and special as we do.  We are counting the days until your arrival, and can't wait to love you forever.

Mommy