... And We Have A Name!

A lot goes into choosing a baby name. Ideally, you choose a name that you hope will grow with your child, a name that suits them not only in their infancy but also well into their adulthood. A name that you don't mind screaming in public, despite how many times you may profess that you'll never be that mom who needs to scrape her writhing child from the floor of Target.
I promise you, your day will come but that is neither here nor there.  
It's no secret that we struggled big time when it came to naming our two sons. This isn't to say that we didn't have a difficult time coming up with girl names but for whatever reason we came about them much easier than the boys' names. 
In case you're looking for some fantastic girl names, might I suggest Delaney Pearl, Sheridan Paige and Eliza Jane. After the birth of our third son this Spring, the only hope I ever have of using any of those names is if we bring home a girl fish or three, an idea that isn't necessarily off the table yet. 
I should take a minute to clarify here just who has the difficult time naming our children. Even though I wasn't one of those women with a laundry list of baby names scrawled into a marble notebook shortly after getting my first period, it didn't take me very long to come up with pairs of names that I liked, some more than others. 
It was my darling other half who always had something to say about my name selections. Now, I don't want to be one of those women who sighs dejectedly while proclaiming, "WHY DOES HE CARE SO MUCH?" because as much as that may have been how I felt at times, my husband did play a vital role in each of our son's conceptions, not to mention the vital role he continues to play in each of their lives as, you know, their father. So although I don't think it's necessarily fair that his opinions weigh as heavily as mine, the man does have a right to share those opinions.
Just as I have the same right to declare my opinions better, more important and let's face it, superior because I'm the one who has to endure the weight gain, the morning sickness, the stretch marks and kicks to the vagina.  
How's that for mature discussion?
In all seriousness though, as I'm sure most parent's don't, we didn't take the naming of our sons lightly. It was often a battle of wills that lasted nearly the entire pregnancy with many an ugly cry on the behalf of yours truly. 
Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to naming their kids and by the grace of god isn't it great that we're only responsible for naming our own kids and no one else's? Personally, I'm a huge proponent of family names. Not so much naming juniors, thirds and fourths, considering I broke that streak when we didn't name our first born after my husband who is a junior, but I do like the idea of re-purposing a family name, be it a first, middle or even maiden name, as a special sort of nod to someone kind of awesome. 
Between our two boys, they share their names with my mother's maiden name, my husband, my father and this really cute boy I had a crush on in the third grade. As for this new baby? The one we've lovingly referred to as "M3?" Well, he finally has a name and a pretty awesome one at that. 
He will share his name with my brother who boasts a derivative of this name as a middle name. It was the only name during this Battle of the Baby Names that my husband didn't immediately veto. In fact, upon hearing the name for the first time, his exact words were, "I actually kind of like that." 
That was huge and it was then, many months ago, when I knew deep down that this name would be the name we chose. And unlike the naming of our second child, I didn't have to ugly cry once. 
So, the final verdict?
Collins Mason

Many thanks to my favorite baby boutique, Peekawhoo, for putting our sweet boy's name into print for the very first time. Needless to say, the above order that I placed nearly two weeks ago was merely a gateway order- now, of course, I want to personalize all the things. 

The ultimate deciding factor this time around? Collins will share the same initials (and therefore, monogram) with his older brother Carter making all of those monogrammed pieces re-usable. My husband couldn't be happier ;)

But between  you and me? I'm just grateful that we'll never have to name another human being again. 

So, tell me! Did you struggle with baby names also? Or was it an easy decision for you?