What's in a name?

On occasion someone will ask us the meaning behind our name choices. M and I put a lot of thought into the names we've chosen for our children, so I thought I'd share our reasoning.

Liam Michael

Liam is a shortened form of the Irish name, William. In its Germanic translation, Liam means "will, desire, and protection." In its Hebrew translation, "My people."

Michael's origins are Hebrew and are translated as "Who is like God?"

We chose the name Liam based on its Irish roots. M's family is very proud of their Irish heritage, and we loved the name, so it seemed fitting. Michael was chosen based off its beginning letter; M. M's great grandmother, May, passed away a few years ago and we wanted to honor her with naming our son.

Molly Elizabeth

Molly means "uncertain, maybe bitter" in Hebrew and is considered a pet name of "Mary" in English. Mary means "bitter" in both Hebrew and English.

Elizabeth is considered to have roots in both Hebrew and Greek, both with the same meaning: "My God is a vow."

By choosing Molly for our daughter, we're bringing in M's Irish roots again. The song "Molly Malone" is the unofficial national anthem of Ireland. Molly is another name that M and I both really liked. It's not used to necessarily honor anyone in specific, but growing up I was very influenced by a very special woman named Molly. Elizabeth, like Michael, was chosen for its starting letter, E. My grandfather, Ernest, passed away a few years back and we wanted to honor him with our little girl. 

Taking the names one step further, they all have origins in Hebrew, and our middle names were influenced from those who are no longer with us. Both of these honor my family's Jewish traditions, as our first names honor M's family.

There ya have it. Our names and how we came to use them!

Drum roll please.....

We had our anatomy scan yesterday for T2 and not only are they absolutely perfect and measuring right on schedule, but IT'S A GIRL!!!

M and I are over the moon! We just wanted a healthy baby, we didn't care about the sex, although we both thought it'd be fun to have a girl, since we already have an amazing little boy. 

After some discussion, we've agreed on the name Molly Elizabeth. We've also agreed on the theme for the kids room. Liam never really had a nursery because for his first year, we lived in a one bedroom apt. Now that we have a house and he has his own room (for the next few months that is) we're going to be decorating his room in a Sock Monkey theme. I love the colors of the original/classic sock monkey and it'll be easy to transition from infant-toddler-big kid rooms. We've picked out fabrics and such, just need to order and sew, and we'll be underway! I'll be sure to share pictures of the progress.

Doctors visits part 3

I had my appt with my midwife on Thursday. Everything is looking good for T2! I've finally started gaining weight, which really made my MW happy. Gaining weight also means that I can continue nursing Liam, as long as my supply maintains! T2 is definitely like their big brother. When the MW went to listen to their heart rate, we were able to to hear it for about 3 seconds before T2 kicked off and ran away. She tried to follow them, so she could get an accurate reading, but every time she found the heart rate again, T2 swatted or kicked and moved away. In the end, we left without knowing the heart rate, but we knew they had one!

In about a week and a half we'll be finding out if we're Team Pink or Team Blue! I've got a guess, but I'll let you know if I was right after we find out :)

As far as the rest of the family, Liam is continuing his run as the most energetic toddler in the world. M starts physical therapy on Tuesday, plus his rental car is going back. We need to do some hardcore car shopping and soon!  

First Snow of 2012

Yup! The first real snow of 2012 hit today. Nothing serious, just a light, pretty snowfall all afternoon. The yard is covered but the roads are just wet, thank fully! Liam and I went out for some play time and he had an absolute blast playing in the snow. He wasn't too happy when we came inside, but he was soaked because he kept slipping on the deck.

Doctors visits part 2

Liam's 15 month well visit was today, even though he'll be 17 months old next week. Long story short, we had rescheduled and then canceled and then got sick and then the holiday's hit, so it completely slipped my mind to reschedule again.

We saw our backup doctor as our regular is out on leave. Liam is weighing in at 27.3lbs, he's 33 inches tall and according to his doctor, "he's too smart for his own good." Liam did pretty well, as long as he wasn't sitting on the exam table. I don't know what is was about that paper, but it completely freaked my poor baby out. The majority of his exam was done with Liam sitting in my lap. He ended up with 3 shots today, the final rounds of his HiV and Prevnar, along with his varicella. He did a good job with the shots, he did cry when getting them, but got over it pretty quickly and even gave his nurse a big hug before we left. 

He goes back in April for his 18 month well visit and if all goes well, he'll be seeing his regular doctor! We miss Sue very much and can't wait to see her again. Great doctors are hard to find and she's one of them.

Doctors visits ahoy!

The week before Christmas, M got rear ended while waiting at a stoplight on his way to work. The other driver had passed out behind the wheel from the massive amounts of PCP coursing through his system. He got arrested and M was able to walk away, thank goodness. Long story short, his car was deemed totaled, so we're currently driving around in a sweet rental (2012 Hyundai Sonata- we don't want to give it back, we like it so much!) until we get the settlement check for the car, Liam's (thankfully unoccupied) car seat, Liam's stroller (which was in the trunk, where the brunt of the damage occurred) and reimbursement for the $1200 worth of work we had done on it in Nov. No idea how much longer it'll take to get the check, but looks like we're going to be car shopping shortly. And car seat. And stroller.

As a result of the accident, M injured his back. The pain has been getting worse over time, and after several appts with his doctor, he started physical therapy this morning. He's going to be going 2x a week for 6 weeks and then they'll evaluate and see how he's doing, if he needs more, etc. I'm not going to lie, its really hard to see the man I love in so much pain. Its been difficult having to do all the heavy lifting around here, including Liam, especially being in my 2nd trimester with T2. Hopefully the PT will work miracles and I'll have my husband back to how he used to be soon!

On the Liam front, he's doing very well. He has a check-up at the doctors tomorrow, so we'll get a weight and height check, as well as a few shots. In the past he's taken his shot very well, brief cry of pain and then he's over it, fingers crossed he's over them fast tomorrow!

And in with the new!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe new year! We were very low key around here. Had a few friends come over, ate way too much Trader Joe's, and watched movies. We didn't even watch the ball drop, although we did watch the clock to appropriately say "Happy New Year." Once the day hit, we had lunch with Grandma, Pampa, four aunts, one uncle, and two cousins. Oh, and 2 boyfriends, can't forget them! It was loud and fun and delicious, much like many meals at Grandma's house. For dinner, we headed over to YaYa and FuzzFace's and were joined by Traveling Uncle Matt (yes, my brother is a Fraggle) and Aunt Nicki. Overall, it was a really nice start to what is going to be a great year!

Welcome to 2012!