Show Us Your Life: Baby Names!

I don't typically participate in Kelly's (Kelly's Korner) weekly Show Us Your Life re-posts, but since this week's topic hit incredibly close to home, I figured I'd give it a whirl! This week is all about baby names and much to my dismay, Baby Boy M still remains nameless. Although, I will admit that I've already decided on his name and may or may not have used it outloud a few times, just to get a feel for it rolling off the tongue!

Hubs, however, still isn't quite as onboard the Baby Name Boat as I am. It's okay though. He's a man. And he doesn't have the awesome, albeit nameless reminder, kicking him in the ribcage 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Hubs is pretty much a part of the camp that feels like, "Hey! we still have two and a half months until Baby gets here! What's the rush?" and therefore, isn't in as big of a hurry to get this little guy named. And I can sort of understand that. In a hurryupandlet'snamethislittleguytomorrow sort of way.

Don't get me wrong, this is certainly NOT a decision I've (we've) taken lightly. Naming your unborn baby is a HUGE life-changing decision. I mean, this kid is going to grow up with this name! He's going to learn to write it in kindergarten, sign it when he opens his first savings account, mercilessly write it atop countless college applications and as a successful mother, you hope that one day, it will be adorning the desk of his very own Fortune 500 company, right? Needless to say, it's a big deal.

Let's start with girl names. Why are girl names so much easier to come up with? Hubs and I had a list nearly a mile long when we first started discussing girl names and within a couple of weeks (we're talking major progress here, guys) we had narrowed it down to a couple of our favorites. Hopefully there will be a Baby Girl M in our future and we'll be able to bless her with one of these beautiful names:

Charlotte Allen: I've always loved the nickname "Charlie" for a little girl and who can forget one of the best childhood book's ever written, Charlotte's Web? Allen takes after my Dad but with the spelling changed up a bit, making it a little more feminine.

Kennedy Allen: Kennedy, a unique name and a reassurance that she'd be the ONLY Kennedy in her classes at school. Disclaimer: If we end up choosing to name our son the name I've settled on, Kennedy will be off the table, as it is also a President's name. Just like the boy's name we've (almost) chosen.

Sadie Allen: I just love, love, LOVE this name. Hubs vetoed it immediately stating that it's too close to "Satan." He makes me chuckle. I love Hubs. I've also learned that it's quite the popular pet name. Scratch that!

And just the other day, Hubs turns to me and says, "I really love the name Leigh for a girl." So I guess we'll add that to the running for future M babies. Potential middle name? Perhaps. However, Hubs? Let's focus on the unnamed baby that's currently tap dancing on my bladder, ok?

Whew. Boy names. Just the thought of them makes me sigh heavily and go weak at the knees. I can't tell you how many names I've rattled off to Hubs. In the car. In church. Over dinner. In the shower. Via text message. The list goes on and on. I've downloaded Baby Name Apps and purchased top-rated books. I've wrapped them up and gifted them to Hubs. I've rambled through hundreds of names via iPhone on long carrides to and from Maryland. And New Jersey. And Pennsylvania. One would think by now that ONE of those names would've stuck. Well, hopefully one has. But we'll see. Here's what's currently on (and off of) the table:

I'm a huge fan of family names. Well, wait. Let me clarify. Not so huge a fan as to continue the tradition of naming my son Hubs. L. the III. Thankfully Hubs, who is a Jr., isn't rallying for that or else I don't know what I'd do. Probably cry my eyes out. However, let it be known that I do love the idea of incorporating family history into the naming of our children.

Before I proceed any further, I'd like to point out that rattling off baby names with Hubs is like playing the word association game. I would throw a name out and he would immediately tell me the first thing that came to mind. You'll understand why I shared this with you the minute you begin reading some of my favorites:

Carter Joseph: Carter is my mother's maiden name. I LOVE this name. Years ago, I had figured it would be the name of a future daughter. However, the minute Hubs threw it out there, I was sold. Paired with Joseph (a family name on both sides of our families) I swooned over a little "C.J." I'm 99.9% sold on this name and ready to drive to the nearest craft store to buy the little wooden letters I plan to hang above Baby Boy's crib. Hubs? Well, he's about 89% sold.

Nathaniel Allen: Baby Nate. How much cuter could you possibly get? I just love it. However, Hubs? Not nearly as much.

Noah Carter: "What? Does he come with an ark? No. We're not naming him that."

Grayson Nathaniel: "Grayson is the name of a 40 year old African American lawyer. Our son is not 40. And as far as I know, he is not African American." Seriously. I LOVED the name Grayson and it was my NUMBER ONE pick for Baby Boy. Imagine my frustration when Hubs filled me in on his opinion! Silly husbands.

Here's a couple of names that I thought had a nice ring to them. Not to mention, they sounded pretty awesome in combination with our French-inspired last name:

Mac: "We are not on CSI. Next..."

Miles: "That's a dork name. We are not naming our son a dork name."

Like I said earlier, every day it's like we're playing that god-awful word association game. It's okay though. I gave Hubs a taste of his own medicine with the few names he threw out into the mix.

Jeffrey: "Makes me think of Jeff Gordon. And although we live below the Mason Dixon line, this is NOT acceptable."

Gerald: "Listen, I know you have a buddy from work named Gerald. And it might be cool to call him "Gerry." But we are NOT naming our son that. End of story."

David: "And Goliath? That is not a cool name for a kid. Plus, I used to get bullied by this kid named David on the bus growing up. Too many bad childhood memories."

So there you have it. Our favorite baby names. Wish us luck. Share your baby-naming drama. Let me know how you and your Hubs agreed on a name. Email Hubs and tell him it's not up to him. Whatever you do, just pray that Baby M has a name soon!

Happy Friday!