The Name Game...

So as this pregnancy progresses and Baby Bean continues to grow, I am getting more and more "large and in charge." My belly doesn't just grow. I get back fat. And knee chubb. And swollen ankles. It's awesome.

People often ask me how far along I am and while I have three more months to go, I am so tempted to smile sweetly and say, "Actually, I am a week overdue! With Twins. Don't I look fabulous?" If it wasn't for fear of getting caught in that lie, I might actually do it.

The second most asked question is, " What are you having?" ... followed by, "Do you have a name?"

NOW. I can answer most of those questions. I am six months pregnant. We are having a boy. No, I don't feel wonderful right now. Yes, the little squirmer moves all the time, etc. etc.

What I cannot yet address is the name of this child.  Because frankly, we have no idea. Let's just say there have been some serious roadblocks in that department.

Let me give you a little history behind our name saga...

Have I ever mentioned that my husband secretly wants to be a Spartan? Well he does.  He loves the movie 300 and is convinced that all little boys should grow up to be warriors similar to those we see in 300. In all fairness to him, he is not too far off from knighthood himself. He has such a gentle spirit, coupled with a brave heart and I love that about him.

A perfect example...
When we were dating, he came to OKC to stay one weekend at my parent's and while I was sleeping in Emily's room, he still wouldn't sleep in my bed because he wanted to be sensitive to my dad's feelings about any man in his daughter's bed...with or without her. I assured him that he was being ridiculous and that him sleeping on the couch would make people more uncomfortable. The next morning I went into my bedroom to find pillows at the foot of the bed. The evidence was clear. Sweet Jim had slept with his head at the foot of my bed because he felt that was less personal.

Simply put, I adore this chivalrous, knightly characteristic  my husband embodies. Having said that, he can sometimes go too far. Take the example of Baby Bean's name. When we found out another boy was in our future, Jimmy immediately wanted something bold. Something with meaning. Something that would make you think, "wow, that kid is gonna be somebody."

Clearing my throat.

Jimmy wanted to name our boy Leonidas. Promise.

For those of you normal folks, like myself, let me tell you a bit about who Leonidas is. Leonidas is the historical warrior king depicted in the movie 300 and Jimmy was convinced "Leo" would be totally appropriate for a kid. Jimmy's Leo campaign went on for a few months, he even solicited the support of some of his friends on this one. I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself actually putting that on a birth certificate and then I immediately began to picture a hairy infant with a deep voice. No. Can. Do.

Needless to say, Leo didn't make the cut.

So we moved onto something more practical, but still solid in its meaning. The next name we considered means "Warrior" or "Ruler of the Army", and is less offensive to the ears. The next name Jimmy pitched was Walter. Now, I love classic names. I love solid names. But this name left me a little worried about self-fulfilling prophecy. Again, I immediately fast-forwarded to the future and pictured Pearce in the schoolyard, defending his little brother from incurring additional swirlies and wedgies. Walter was too risky.

The only problem? Pearce loves it... And thinks his brother's name is already Walter. I blame Jimmy for that one. He can be the one to explain.

I am happy to report that we have all but officially declared the little Bean's middle name and if it weren't for the similarity between Pearce's name and this one, we would be sold on it's probability as Bean's first name.

You see, I once went to school with twins named Orlene and Orlena (pronounced Or-leen and Or-leen-ah).  I felt so badly for them because not only did they look alike, but they sounded alike and had to share so many letters of the alphabet in their names. Weren't they entitled to a little individuality? I always tried to be sensitive to them...until the day that Orlena knocked me off the monkey bars at recess. I didn't feel too badly for their name saga after that. Bygones.

Baby Bean's middle name has been unofficially declared as.... (drum roll please).... Price. And we love it. We chose Price for two reasons: 1.) We believe that we were all bought at a price, and 2.) Jimmy and I met at the Price College of Business. Cheesy, I know but we love the meaning behind it. Do you catch my dilemma here?

Price is a fabulous name and totally fits with the genre we have going here. Having said that, I keep thinking back to dear Orlene and Orlena and worry that the kiddos will be scarred for life.  Pearce and Price are just too similar.

I have a valid concern that once Bean is here, we may still be stumped in the name department. In that case, we'll just have to name him something catchy. Like Wheat... Or Oat.... Or Raisin. They go well with the last name Brann, right?