what's in a name.

One of my very favorite things about being a parent is being able to name this little human being growing inside me. A name she will have her whole life. A name that will probably have nicknames. A name that may even get made fun of [Hello, my name is Abra. Trust me I know this part.]. A name that will get rolled called off in every classroom. A name that may even get mispronounced [Again, see above- I repeat, my name is Abra.]. But sure enough, a name that she will carry.

If you looked at my computer history you would see A LOT of websites that have to do with "baby naming" "old-fashion baby names" "classic baby names" etc. I definitely have spent countless hours looking up names. I have also spent countless time saying baby names out loud to decide if I like how it rolls off my tongue.

One of the requirements my husband and I had when naming our children was to consider the meaning. In fact, there has been many names that we have considered and loved, but once we looked up the meaning we decided it wouldn't work.

Another thing we considered when naming- we want the middle name to be in the family.

And lastly, we wanted names that weren't super common, somewhat old-fashion like, and fairly easy to pronounce without ere. [Embarrassing side story: You know when you go to a restaurant and they ask for your name? Maybe, just maybe, I have said "April" before because saying "Abra" means repeating it four times and it still getting it butchered.]

So the verdict on our children's names:

Audrey Rose- Audrey means "noble strength" and Rose was after my mother, Rosemary

The Newest Addition to the Family- Naomi Fae- Naomi means pleasant and Fae is after Andrew's Nana

Audrey and Naomi.

I have already said that a thousand times today. It kind of sounds perfect, doesn't it?

[Also, it may sound like I don't like my own name. But I actually LOVE it. It fits me. And I don't mind if I have to tell people over and over what my name is because it is a good conversation starter AND I usually get remembered easily because of how unique it is.]

in case you haven't already heard...

We had our 18 week ultrasound this morning and....

IT'S [ANOTHER] A GIRL!

We couldn't be more excited! We are going to have two little girls just two years apart. Sisters are the best. [I should know, I have three of them. And I have two brothers, but who's counting.] And seriously, my love for this one just grew tremendously today. We saw her legs, arms, heart, brain, and oh my gosh, she looks perfect. Everything looks great (praise God!).

Andrew left this afternoon and said "take care of my girls." It sounded so right.

We also have a name. And we will share it. [I'm so not good with secrets, if you can't tell.] But I want to post on that later. :)

Tootaloo. I'm off to daydream about my little girls playing together.

Monday Rambles.

• We had a lazy weekend. It was so nice. My best friend came into town and stayed with us. We took a trip to the Farmer's Market and managed to walk away this time with just Chai tea. Although, next time I am definitely buying the rasberry honey spread my best friend got. Delish.
• Today is beautiful. Blue skies and green all around. It is a good day to celebrate the life of someone really special to our family. My parent's neighbor, Irene, passed away and today we celebrate her reunion with her husband in Heaven. She was like a grandmother to us. I am so glad I went to an afternoon tea with her back in December. Those memories are cherished.
• Audrey is going through a big attachment stage right now. It's like she flipped a switch in the last two weeks and has decided on only a handful of people that she wants to go to. Oh, and the toddler room at church, that's such an ordeal for her right now. So, anyone with toddlers (around 18 months), please tell me this is normal and just a stage and it will pass quickly.

Audrey enjoying a 'cup of tea' outside.
• You have tomorrow marked on your calendar right? I'm sure in big bold print. We get to find out the gender! I can't believe tomorrow has snuck up on us like this. I keep getting asked "Do you have a hunch? What do you think it will be?" I am not good with 'hunches.' But based on the symptoms I have had that have been really similar to my pregnancy with Audrey, I'm guessing a girl. (Major morning sickness and high baby heart rate.) Oh, and maybe, just maybe, I took one of those silly online tests about gender prediction. According to the test we have a 70% girl and 30% boy. And just so you know, one of the questions was "What direction does your pillow face, north or south?" So pretty much, I put zero faith into that silly test. But, I would love to know what you think we might be having!

Rambling is now over. Hope your day week is full of love and small moments.

these moments.

These are the moments I want to remember. Because the little things in life are so big.

Sitting on the edge of the back door listening to the mowers around.

Eating a peanut butter sandwich.

Finding a caterpillar on the ground.

Then being surprised by a worm that pops out.

These moments happen without planning. Without spending. Without rush. Without an agenda.

These are my favorite moments.

monkeys and pregnancy.

Don't worry, the two are not related. [Although, I did spend the last couple of minutes trying to figure out how I could make them related. Ha.]

When I went to Audrey's 18 month check-up we got a paper that said "Toddlers do not understand sharing. If a problem arises remove them from the situation and distract them with another toy."

I'd like to argue that Audrey DOES understand sharing. Here's proof:

See that monkey? See that oatmeal ALL over the monkey? Audrey shared her breakfast with the monkey by spoon feeding him. You know, cause the monkey was so hungry and Audrey loves to share.

*********************************************************************
Moving on to the pregnancy part of the post.

Here I am 17 weeks along (as of yesterday).

And just for good measure and fun, here I am 17.5 weeks pregnant with Audrey.

And now I'm going to eat Girl Scout Cookies (because as of yesterday, I am all out of Peanut Butter M&Ms).

Monday Rambles.

It's that time again. Time for me to release and write about whatever pops in my head. [It's like a cell-phone-chat-with-myself-session. But shhh, don't tell anyone].

• We had so many love moments this past weekend. And I have absolutely no pictures to prove it. And I think that is a good thing sometimes. As much as I love photography and capturing the moment, I like those times when I'm completely in the moment instead of on the outside snapping.  We had an imprompt family date to a park and a waterfall. Which was absolutely beautiful because it just rained and no one else was there. As we were walking back to the waterfall, I may have said something like "I feel like we are in the rainforest." Or not. I'll let you decide.
• Two words: Farmer's Market. This was our first trip of the season on Saturday and I can't wait to go back. We splurged on delicious chai tea, garlic and dill cheese, and a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. There was music and oh my, it's the perfect place to people watch. Not that I do such a thing riiiiight. Then for lunch we ate ice cream. And the whole day was spent with my siblings, which is always a hoot if you know any of them.
• I threw a baby shower on Sunday. I really enjoyed it. If you are curious, I am blogging about it each day this week over here. [You know, my other blog that I had high hopes for and great ambition and then I got pregnant and sick and focused on my survival skills instead. But now I am hoping to do better with keeping up that blog, feel free to leave me some love over there. Or here. Cause I love love, you know.]
•  I can't stop eating Peanut Butter M&M's. That's all.
• A week from tomorrow we find out that gender. Golly gosh, I can't believe it. I'm already 17 weeks. Which reminds me, I have done pretty much absolutely nothing for this next baby. However, I do have a dresser half dismantled sitting in the guest room ready to be sanded and painted so Audrey can have a new dresser and I can use the changing table for the new baby. [I started writing this during Audrey's nap time and now finishing it up. And I'm happy to report that the dresser is now sitting on my front porch, sanded, with one coat a paint on it. Productivity at 9pm rocks.]
• I have had two cupcakes today. Two yesterday. And most likely two tomorrow. That's what happens when you host a shower and have lots of goodies left over. Please come by and save me and eat them, or not, cause we all know I love food. Plus I am sharing with the baby. One for me, one for the baby each day. Logical, yes?
• I'm thinking about starting my etsy shop back up. I have some adorable hairclips I have made out of vintage fabrics and some jewelry. And maybe thinking about doing some apron dresses. But, honestly, I'm kind of scared. Of what, you ask? You know, the idea that I'm the only one in the world that likes my stuff. [Which is totally okay with me, it's just, I don't want to know that or not, by selling nothing.]
• Audrey is starting to talk a lot with 2-3 words at a time. I can ask her to say something and she will repeat more than just the last word. It is so stinkin' cute. Imagine a cute little 18 month old saying things like "here-ya-guh" "dere-it-is" "com-ear" "m-n-m-pease" "sit-dowhn." One of the best things about being her mom is I totally understand her, strangers may not, but I hear those words rolling out.

Alright, once again, I feel better after rambling. Now back to the second coat of paint on that dresser.

sometimes it doesn't take much.

Sometimes I wonder why we have any toys at all. Most of the time [many] just sit in her room collecting dust.

Because usually we ended playing with something like this.

A plastic bottle she pulled out of the recycling. And then what better thing then straws to put over and over [and over] inside.

Or we end up with the most fascinating thing ever...stickers. Coloring book. And markers. Which cost near to nothing found at the Dollar Store.

Toys are overrated. But these moments are definitely not.