Naming George.

Tim and I both cried when we found out Ben was a boy.  We were thrilled.  Having a little boy truly was the desire of our hearts.  That being said, we had a heckuvatime naming him.  We had some specific criteria.  We went back and forth, vetoed each other's first picks (his: Matthew, mine: George), second picks, third picks, and finally landed on Benjamin.  We both really liked it.  At this point, we both love it, and Ben couldn't be anyone other than "Benjamin."

At Christmas we found out another little boy would be joining our clan, and we were equally ecstatic.  Another little buddy!  Everything about it was exciting... except the prospect of trying to agree on another name. 

Every time I brought up the subject, Tim would wave me off with, "We'll figure something out..."  I was so frustrated!  A name is a big deal!  How were we going to "figure something out" if we never talked about it?!?

All through my pregnancy, I hounded Tim about the name "George." 

"Are you sure you don't love it?"

"Have you given any more thought to 'George?'"

"Isn't 'George' such a strong, 'Texas' name?"

"Just think of all the great 'Georges!' George Washington, George Bush, George Straight, George Bailey, George Banks..."

"Are you sure you don't love it?"

Every single time I asked, Tim would answer with something along the lines of, "I don't know, Babe..." and then change the subject.  UGH!

When we went out to dinner to celebrate our 9th anniversary, Tim had a special surprise for me.  He pulled several pieces of paper out of a box and gave them to me one at a time as we ate our meal.  Each piece of paper was a clue leading me to a surprise.

First: "He stopped loving her today..."  I'm a really bad Texan, because although I could identify the clue as a country song, I didn't know George Jones originally sang it.  I insisted I needed more than one clue, so several minutes later he gave me another one.

Next: "Frank and Estelle's little one."  I had no idea who "Frank and Estelle" were.  Tim is a much bigger Seinfeld fan than I am, so I never would have landed on "George Costanza."

Third: "71 St Martins, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2LB UK."  The address to The George Hotel of Stamford.  He knew I'd never get that one, he just put it in there to throw (read: frustrate) me.

Next: "... And the Dragon"  Never seen that movie.  Never even heard of it. 

I'm embarrassed to admit that the next clue was the shape of the state of Georgia.  Admittedly, geography was not my best subject in school.  I guessed "Georgia," but wasn't completely sure it wasn't one of the Carolinas, and without any other clues to build on...

Next: "James Stewart."  I got it on that sixth clue. George Bailey!  I said, "GEORGE! Wait.." Then I went back through the other clues and said, "I think... yes, GEORGE!"  Tim gave me the remaining pieces, and they all pointed to "George."



Tim's fun way to surprise me!

Tim's big surprise was that he had really "come around" (his words) on the name "George" over the last several months. He said that the more he thought about it and played around with it in his head, the more he liked it and thought it would be a great fit.  He definitely wanted to name this little guy "George!" I was so thrilled.  Tim knows me so well- what a sweet, perfect surprise.


Our 9th Anniversary dinner, right after we agreed on George's name.  Look how happy I am!

Even before we'd decided on George's first name, we knew what his middle name would be.  Benjamin's middle name is "Stephen," in honor of my grandpa, and we knew we wanted George's middle name to honor Tim's big brother, David.



David was Tim's best man at our wedding.

Most little brothers love and look up to their big brothers, but Dave is really special.  We both love him so much.  Tim remembers Dave always sticking up for him when they were kids.  The brothers went golfing one day, and Tim was mortified when the marshal yelled at him because his shirt was un-tucked.  Before Tim could answer, Dave yelled right back at the marshal.

Dave was cool, but never too cool to include his little brother when he was hanging out with. Tim wanted to be just like him.

 


Dave is a Cowboys fan, too, which wasn't a prerequisite in our child-naming process, but obviously doesn't hurt!

As an adult, David loves life and everyone loves Dave.  He is positive, upbeat, and really genuinely fun.  We laugh and laugh when we are with him.



Dave made sure to get a golf club in Ben's hands at an early age.

Dave is generous and ambitious, but still remarkably humble. He's a great brother, father, husband (and uncle!), and he loves the Lord.  If George grows up to emulate David, we will be totally great with that.

 We love our sweet George David, and we love his name, too!

Two Weeks.

Sweet George,

 

You are two weeks old already!  Some of my favorite things about you (in no particular order) are:

 

1) Your velvety smooth hair.  There's not much of it, but it's the silkiest hair I've ever felt. I could sit and rub your head all day.  I'll probably end up rubbing it all off and I'm really sorry about that.

 

 

2) Your tiny, soft little lips

 

3) You're scrunchy.  Particularly, your face and your knees.

 

4) You constantly make bleeting sounds like a little tiny goat.  Love.

 

5) You never cry.  Not yet, at least.  I don't think I've heard you cry since we were in the hospital.  You fuss a bit, but you are the happiest, most content baby and you are easily soothed by our voices or our touch.  The Lord knew I needed you and your brother in this order.

 

 

6) Your dark eyes.  I'm sure they'll be blue eventually, but they are still so dark and deep.

 

7) The way you curl up on us like a tree frog. Or a sloth.  Or a koala.

 

 

8) Your long, skinny legs.  They just kind of dangle there like the muppets' legs.  Did I mention your wrinkly little knees?

 

9) You're here.  At 8lb 9oz, I'm particularly thankful you came a week and a half early.