...Would Smell as Sweet.

Way back at fourteen weeks, I posted a blog listing potential names. Well, here we are several months later; we now know she's a girl baby, we now only have two more months to decide, and we still don't have a name.

Actually, that's not quite true. We do have a name....we have three of them. We just can't decide which name to use.

First potential candidate:

Harper Louise 

Why I Love It: The name Harper is pretty, whimsical, and feminine without being overly girlie. It makes me think of a mischievous little girl and a cool, artsy teenager. I like that it has ties to both literature (Harper Lee) and music (Ya know, someone who plays a harp) in honor of both of her parents' general nerdiness. Everyone I've mentioned it to seems to love it. I also was originally drawn to it because it sounds unique without being strange.

Why I Hesitate: Harper is not as unique as I once thought it was. I've been hearing it EVERYWHERE lately. US magazine even ran a story on the name because Tiffany Amber Thiessen and five other celebrities have recently named their daughters Harper. I read a post on a naming website about how one woman's preschooler was one of three Harpers in her class. We were at an Italian restaurant a few weeks ago and one of the little girls at the table sitting next to us was named Harper. One of the baby blogs I like to read is about a girl named Harper...appropriately titled "Harper's Happenings". So, I think Harper is on the verge of a name explosion, which is okay, but it kinda takes the edge off of it for me.

Second Potential Candidate:

Madeline Lee 

Why I Love It: The name Madeline is just plain adorable, and we could call her Madie for short. I feel like it's more feminine than our other choices and it makes me think of a sweet, shy, girly-girl. This is also Eric's favorite name. He'd be okay with Harper, but Madeline is really the one he likes. I realize Madeline is a very popular name right now, but unlike Harper, I'm going into the name perfectly aware that it's not at all unique.

Why I Hesitate: The pronunciation issue. We would pronounce it mad-duh-LINE not mad-duh-LYN. I feel that if you want it pronounced LYN then you should use the spelling Madelyn or Madeleine. After all you don't stand in LYN to get your Starbucks chocolate chip frappuccino, you don't go LYN dancing (Although I don't go line dancing either), and you don't got to North Caro-LYN-a. Unfortunately, that's not the way the world works, and there's a whole population of people who prefer the spelling Madeline but insist on pronouncing it Madelyn. Doesn't anyone remember the rule of silent "e" anymore?? I'm not really worried about it driving baby crazy. I assume correcting people's pronunciation would become like listening to bad season jokes is to me. (Where's your sister Winter? Have a great summer, Summer.) After so many times hearing it, it's not a big deal anymore. But as for her mother who specifically and painstakingly picked out her name...it might bug me a bit...or a lot:)

The Runt of The Litter:

Ellary Rose 

Why I Love It: Up until a week ago, I had never heard the name Ellery/Ellary before. Then my mom saw some organic farmer on TV with the name and mentioned it to me. I prefer the spelling Ellary because then she could be an Ella for short. Ellary is unique and it sounds good to say. I feel like it's feminine but with a hippie-ish twist.

Why I Hesitate: Eric is not sold...at all. Also, immediately after I mentioned it to him he said, "People will call her Smellery Ellary." He may have a point, but I'm not quite giving up yet, because other than that, I have no problems with it.


Ta-Da. Our three potential candidates. I guess the moral to the story is that we're kick-ass name pickers and have too many awesome options. Eric says we have to wait to meet her, but I don't think she's going to come out and say, "Hello, my name's Judy! Howdy-do!" Still, it looks like we'll end up waiting anyhow because I can't make up my ever-loving mind.