Is she named after anyone?

I have gotten that question (no joke) about a dozen times already. From doctors, nurses, strangers in the store, staff in the hospital, relatives, etc, etc.

I guess because Cora Evelyn is an "older" name, people just assume that she has to be named after someone.

But - nope, she is not named after anyone.

This is the story of her name:

We had a hard time picking names. We pretty much had our boy's name right from the start. We knew a boy would be named after my husband. But, the girl's name we had trouble with.

I like older traditional sounding names for girls. We wanted a "different" name, but not a weird name. Also wanted something that people would know how to spell, and pronounce.

So, we looked up the SS# Index from random years from about 100 years ago. The list starts in 1879, so I knew we could get some good options. That said, there are names on there that I would NEVER consider using - very old lady names. But, I knew we would get some to put on the list.

The names on our list were names from a variety of years. None were too popular, even back then. We had maybe 7 names on the "list" and all of them were older names, but also names that could seem modern.

Here are the other names: Adele, Aubrey, Estelle, Estella, Sylvia, Cora, Evelyn - and maybe one or two more that I can't remember.

It is possible that we may still use those names in the future if we have another baby, or we may get a totally new list :)

I guess I will have to get used to the question, "So, is she named after anyone?"

Merry Christmas from Cora

I took a few pics of the little kids the other day. Cora really was not too happy, but I did get a few good shots. Got a BUNCH of great ones of Lil J - but those I can not share.

Here are just a sample of the one's I got of Cora. I will probably attempt to take more by the tree and in her Christmas dress. But, we will see.

I want to send out christmas cards, I guess I should get on that.

Cora's Baptism

We had Cora's Baptism this weekend. It was really nice. After church we had a small luncheon with immediate family at a local catering place. The food was great and everything went well.

Last week, I had some pics taken in her dress. The dress is the same dress that all my sisters and I wore. In fact, Colin wore the same dress 15 years ago for his baptism.

We also had a friend who is a freelance photographer take pictures yesterday - I will post those when I get them.

But, here are a few shots from last week

I am thankful

Yes, I know - Thanksgiving was yesterday. But, for me, it is more fitting that I post this blog post today.

Today is November 27th. This day last year is when I had loss number 4. It was an unmedicated cycle, which I could not believe. I was pregnant after over 2 years of trying. Pregnant on my own. At this point, positive pregnancy tests really did not mean that much to me anymore. I had had 3 losses up to that point, and I was almost not believing that it could be possible.

It is at this point that we had already started the fost/adopt process. In fact, we had just finished our PRIDE classes just a few days before.

While we were excited to start our family through fost/adopt, the thought of being pregnant on my own was just wonderful. Of course that feeling was short lived and I can honestly say it was a really low point in my life. Loss number 4. 4th loss in 8 months. 4th of 5 losses in 2008. How could things be so unfair.

BUT - it is because of those losses that I have what I have today. I have a beautiful family, one I would not have if I did not have loss after loss. Yes, I would have had a baby - maybe even another one by now. But, I would not have Lil J, or Cora. It is THEM that makes my family what it is today, one year later.

On Nov 27 of 2008, I would never have thought that I would have yet another loss, or would have a great 3 yr old, or that I would EVER have Cora.

So many things have changed in my life since last year. I am so grateful for my family and I am so very thankful for them. They are my world.

My cute girl

I am a blogger slacker - sorry. Anyway, we have been putting Cora under this playmat thing for weeks. She would usually just stare at the things and kick her legs.

But, now she is actually grabbing stuff and trying to actually kick the things. She makes herself smile and kinda giggle.

She is also starting to babble TONS. Just thought I would share. It is not exciting, sorry.

Cora is 2 Months!

Sorry, this is a little late.  But, Cora turned 2 months on Friday.  We went to the docs today and she is a chunker!  She gained 4.5 pounds and grew 2.5 inches.

She is now 11 pounds 7 oz and is 22.5 inches long.

Here are some pics from her 2 month "photo shoot"

I guess someone is watching LOL

Make sure your sound is all the way up, the sound is not that great.

This is what we just heard on Lil J's monitor. You can hear us laughing in the background - too funny :)