The names

So, are you excited to hear about the names we picked? If not, then go away. I don't want your negativity rubbing off on this post. lol.

Nearly from the start, we were set on the girl's name. We had a much easier time picking a girl's name last time too. I'm not sure why that is, but we had a couple great names the first time we started talking about it.

Adel.ine Rayne

Adel.ine was Michael's grandma's name and we love how it has multiple nickname options like Ellie's name does. We can go for Addie when she's younger (like Ellie) or Adel when she's older (like Lori). Adel.ine also means "Noble" and it's always a plus to have a good meaning.

There is no story behind "Rayne." I just liked how it sounded and I've always loved the rain and the smells that come with it.

Our second choice for a girl would have been Danica. We love the nickname "Danny" but don't like the names Daniel or Danielle because they mean "Judged by God." I know that can be taken in different ways, but as a non-super-religious-person I don't want my daughter to be continually judged by God. I want her to be loved by Him. Danica, on the other hand, means "Morning Star." Isn't that pretty?

The boy's name was much much more difficult. Since we were picking a name from Michael's side of the family for the girl, I wanted to pick one for my family for the boy. My Grandpa went by the nickname of Nikki and so we searched for a suitable "Nikki" type name. Dominic, meaning "Belonging to God," was our favorite option, but it is also more popular than either of us care for (as Jennifer and Michael... we're anti-popularity... our kids will have to rely on their personalities to get them through high school).

There were a couple names that have stuck with us for quite some time and Asher was one of them. In fact, I think we can both say that Asher is our favorite boy's name. The problem with it is that I fear it's more popular than I think it is (I've heard too many people say "I know an Asher who was just born"). In the end, we decided to keep Asher as a middle name because it would be neat to have the siblings have similar names (Ellie's middle name is Ashlyn) and to keep the initial A (we all have A middle names). I didn't want to risk naming my boy with a popular first name.

Then what is the name?

Brennan Asher

I'm not sure where Brennan comes from but it was really the combined meaning with Asher that got me hooked. Brennan means "Tears" and Asher means "Happy" or "Blessed One". When my husband pointed out that the combination of the names would be "Tears of Happiness" I was hooked. No, it doesn't have nicknames like Dominic would, but a recent note from Cracker's Mom made me question whether or not nicknames were a good thing. So Brennan it is. It's not too common and not too funky - perfect.

So for now... and for the next 31 days (give or take)... our baby is either:
Adel.ine Rayne
OR
Brennan Asher
It's official - I've even made the scrap book page to finalize it!

There is a part of me that likes Dominic better than Brennan, but mainly for the Nikki nickname. I've heard of parents who go into the hospital thinking one name and leave with a baby named something completely different. I'm sure that both Michael and I will keep an open mind and will change the name if we feel like a different option would fit better. After all, the scrap book page can be redone, right?