06 April 2012

y3w: the name game

Names are hard, right? The only name that was easy to come up with out of all 3 kids was Brynn. Because I've loved that name since I was 11, Bob really didn't have a say in the matter {though I did ask him and he did love it... lucky HIM ;}

When we got pregnant with Carter, we knew if it was a girl, her name would be Brynn. From day one. But we could not, for the life of us, come up with a boy name. There were a few we agreed on and liked, but none that we loved. We figured we'd just wait and see what we were having before discussing it further.

So, because we couldn't come up with a boy name, naturally we found out we were having a boy. Because that's the way it works. {Didn't you know?}

On our way home from the ultrasound, I looked over at Bob and said "He looked like a Carter to me" and Bob said "I was thinking the exact same thing." And there you have it.

Carter Robert
{after Bob, of course... and also he's favorite guy in the world, his grandpop.}

When we got pregnant the second time, I swore we were having another boy. Swore up and down that there was no way possible it could even BE a girl. But, in the off chance that it was a girl, we knew we'd name her Brynn.

We did discuss boy names before finding out what we were having and there were two names that we liked {one that I LOVED} but Bob wasn't really feeling it as much as I was. Again, we decided to just go back to boy names if we needed too. Well, to my utter surprise, we found out we were having a girl.

Brynn Sophia
{there was not ONE family name that went along with Brynn, which made me sad. All the family names were either 1 syllable, started with a B or just didn't flow. So we decided to pick a name that we liked and that went along with Brynn, but that we'd never use as a first name for a future daughter.}

And here we are. Baby #3. Starting all over with names. Team Green. Needing to come up with 1 boy name and 1 girl name that we can agree on.

Like most couples, we've been discussing names for baby #3 since before we were pregnant. We knew we'd eventually have 3 kids, so I wanted to kind of have it narrowed down to a few names early on so we could get use to them. In my opinion, if you like a name for a long time, chances are, you're going to love it for life {kinda like Brynn, for me.} So the sooner we decided, the better.

Now I know some think it's "trendy" to have surnames as first names, but the truth is, this is something that I've ALWAYS loved. Always. It may have stemmed from having a classmate with the first name of Smith growing up and I always thought it was the coolest thing.

Well when I married Bob, I took his last name. Which is a first name. But it's our last name. So what sounds good with a last name that is also a first name? A first name that is a last name.

Confused? Me too.

That's one of the reasons we decided on Carter. It just sounded great with our last name and I immediately pictured it on Sports Center or MSNBC {not as a "most wanted" but as a governor or senator, of course.} As for Brynn, well I already told you that story. I've just always dreamed of having a baby girl named Brynn :)

So with all that being said, coming up with TWO names for this baby has been a challenge. Bob agrees on the names but isn't IN LOVE with them. {Yet he offers zero suggestions... kisses honey! MUAH} But I'm just happy we are in agreement on the names and I highly doubt they will change at this point.

So without further ado, baby #3 will be named... {did you just skip right down to this part? You did, didn't you? Cheater.}

Reid Joseph
or
Emerson Mae

Okay, so Reid I've loved since I was pregnant with Brynn and Bob was just semi-on board at that point. But, thanks to my nagging, it grew on him. {Woo hoo!} Like Carter, it's just a name that I really love and think it's a strong name that he can grow into. The middle name Joseph is after my dad. :)

Emerson is a name I think I first heard while pregnant with Brynn and I fell in love with it and just tucked it aside for a future baby girl. I love it because it's different, but not impossible to pronounce or a name people would misspell often. It's just a great name that I can see as a future lawyer, teacher, doctor or CEO of a Fortune 500 company ;) Mae is after my great grandmother, who helped raise my mom, and who lived until she was 97 years old!

Another girl name I loved was Harper, but we took that off our list because I thought it sounded too much like Carter {which it does.} Another reason why we picked Emerson is because I just adore the nickname Emmie Mae. I mean, could that BE any cuter?? I think not. :)

So there you have it. Baby Reid or Baby Emerson will be here in September! Can't wait to finally meet them and find out who's in there =)

I hope everyone has a great Easter and/or Passover weekend!

33 comments:

Steph said...

For as long as I've known you, you've talking about having a Reid!

Unknown said...

Love your names...O has a friend names Emerson...and they call her Eme all the time...soo soo cute! I also love Reid too!!

My obsession is boys names for girls...IF we have another I'm 99.9% sure it will be named Parker, no matter what (B's name had she been a boy). I also like Sawyer too.

Andrea said...

OMG Emmie Mae might just be the cutest words to ever come out of my mouth! I do love Reid though, I think you have picked two definite winners!

Anonymous said...

Our daughter is Emerson and we LOVE it! We thought we might use a nickname for her but just always use the full name because it is so beautiful. Great name choices! Reid is also adorable for a boy. Love your blog too! :)

Mindi said...

Awww love both names. Emerson is sooo pretty!! Reid is such a strong boy name.

melanie @nowaqueen said...

Love them! I like the fact that they aren't "popular" names! Happy Easter!

Tracy said...

looove your choices, and of course i like harper, too (considering i am having a little harlow!) great choices, cant wait til september!

Sarah said...

So cute! Reid is adorable and Emerson was on MY list, if we have another girl, but I was vetoed by the hubs. Boo! LOL

Jeannie said...

I've been waiting for this post for a LONG time :) They are both GREAT name choices. I love them!! Can't wait to find out if Reid or Emerson is going to complete your family :)

Tracie said...

OH I have LOVED the name Emerson for so long! I never mentioned it to anyone bc I wasn't having a baby. When I did get pregnant with my baby girl, my best friend (also preg) announced that if she was having a girl, they would name her Emerson. Such a coincidence, but I was kicking myself for not mentioning the name sooner!

twentyfivedesignblog.com said...

Yay! I love them both!

Breanna said...

I love them both...and I didn't even cheat and scroll to the names! :) Congratulations! :)

Mandy@ a sorta fairytale said...

You guys are so good with picking names!! With both of our boys, we had a pretty shakey list of names that we liked, and didn't decide on a name until the baby was born. In some ways I love doing it like that, cause then I get to see their sweet face and for us, luckily, in both cases - we have just agreed quickly on the name. But in other ways, it would be nice to know the name ahead of time and start picturing calling the baby that name.

I do have to disagree with the theory about loving a name forever. There were SO many names I LOVED growing up, or loved when we first got married that I don't like anymore. In fact, there were names that I LOVED after I got pregnant and was sure I would want to use it - but when the time came... it just wasn't right. Ugh. Names are hard dude.

The funny thing? We liked Emerson for a boy :-) But now that I hear it as a girl name, I love it!!

kacy said...

i'm going to adopt a kid next week and name it emerson reid joseph mae. boy or girl. just bc i don't like you.

Love, Chelsea said...

Oh I just love them both! I am still getting my husband to get totally on board with our next baby's name (a girl) but I am pretty sure we have it. Emerson is beautiful, I love a lot of similar names, but our last name ends with "son" so that was out for us!

Anonymous said...

LOVE them both! Especially Emerson. They're both super cute. But my guess is girl. :)

Stephanie said...

I can't even tell you how much I love them both. Like LOVE!

Misty said...

Great choices!

natalie said...

We have such similar taste in names! My husband and I aren't pregnant yet, but Carter, Brynn AND Emerson are all on our list! Even crazier is that I love the middle name, Mae, too! Love all of your names!

Immortal Beloved said...

Very cute, love them both.

ashley said...

as the mommy of an Emmy Kay, I LOVE your girl choice. and Reid is so masculine, I love it!

Meghann said...

Our daughter is Emmerson Kate. We love the spelling with 2 m's. We call her Emme for short, but she prefers to be called by her full name most of the time!

sarah said...

My daughter's name is Avery Mae! Mae is also my mom's middle name. Fitting that both of their birthdays are in the month of May ;)

Can't wait until september (it's my birthday month too!)

Anna & Kirby said...

I love both choices... perfect ;)

Matt & Sabrina said...

You know I love both of these names since my last name is Reed and my sweet baby girl is Emerson! :)

Olivia's Mommy said...

I remember you liked Reid. I gave loved it since the guy on the bachelor was Reid , great name! Love Emerson! My friend just had an Emerson and Olivia's friend at school is Mae!

Emily @FamilyNLifeLV said...

Those are great names! Love them both! I have always loved the name Emerson - but it is too close to my name - Emily.

Shannon said...

I know we would be friends in real life based off of your name choices. Brynn was on our list and so was Emerson!

Mindy@FindingSilverLinings said...

Hey Jenni! It's Mindy (from thebump.com) *FindingSilverLinings*

I love both names! Love the blog!

xo
Mindy

Fran said...

I have a friend who has four daughters. She vowed not to name her children anything that was difficult to say OR spell. When trying out names.. she would act like she was holding the phone to her ear and say: "Law Firm of ______ ________" with the potential first name and maiden name. She said if it sounded good - they considered it! I thought that was pretty neat!

Suzanne said...

Emmie Mae is ADORABLE. And Reid is SUCH a good name - my best friend in the entire world's 2 year old son is Reid (he was just here this weekend for Evan's birthday!) and she's never had a negative reaction to it from anyone. Two super great names!!!

Phase Three of Life said...

Great choices! I especially like Reid. I'd never really considered that before. And Mae is super cute for a middle name. My sister-in-law's middle name is Rae, which I've always thought is pretty.

Two Journeys:One Life said...

I love Reid for a boy (but too close to Reese for us to use}. Both names are perfect! Can't wait to see if it's a Reid or Emerson come September!

© jenni from the blog, All Rights Reserved.

Designed by A Grande Life