What's in a name?

When we found out we were pregnant with baby number two, there was a lot to consider. Chief among them was this child's name. We had come to a boy and girl name rather easily and painlessly when I was pregnant with Ryan. If he had been a girl, he would have been Megan Elizabeth.

And though we had a boy name ready for this round, the girl name was a little trickier. We didn't want to just go with a leftover girl name from before. Even though we thought the name was beautiful, it wasn't as special. Baby number two, if a girl, needed a new name that would be all her own.

We (I) read every baby name book and list we could find. I stalked my facebook friends, friends to see if I liked any of their names. I strengthened the memory muscles in my brains, going back to high school, middle school trying to think of girls I liked in school (and of girls I didn't like) to get some inspiration that way. I read the credits at the end of movies and shows. I was obsessed.

We finally came up with a few names we liked and just needed to narrow them down to a winner. The top three names were: Megan (we couldn't help ourselves), Katelyn and Emily. Katelyn was quickly removed and we were staring at Megan and Emily. We finally just put the names in a hat (literally) and went with the name that was picked. Emily it was.

Everyone was thrilled with the name and was excited we had made a decision. Except me.

You know when you buy a new car and suddenly realize the whole world is also driving that same car? The minute we picked Emily it was as if every child I met was named Emily. There were three Emily's at the daycare, I was meeting Emily's at work. It was Emily overload and I didn't like it.

I didn't want my kid to have a weird name like Apple or Zuma. We like traditional, "normal" names. But I also didn't want my kid to go through life as Emily B. because there was also an Emily F., Emily S., and Emily C. in her class. So back to the drawing board I went. I looked up lists of names and started at number 100 on the list, to help weed out possible duplication. Finally, in a list from the mid-90's, somewhere around #364 on the list, I found Lindsey.

And though we love her name and think it suits her well, like any other child, she's adopted various nicknames along the way. All of which are iterations of previous nicknames. It started with Lindsey Lou. Then it was Lou Lou. Finally, it was shortened to Lou.

Some people kindly try to feminize it by typing it as Lu, but I think the masculine spelling of Lou suits her just as well. Because even though she is as girly as they come - she loves hair ties, dress up clothes, princess shoes, purses and baby dolls - our girl can evoke the very essence of a guy named Lou. She can be loud, irrational, grumpy and self-centered. For the record, I think we all have a little Lou in us.

But no matter what we call her, our little girl is amazing. She's smart and beautiful. She completes our family and has a sly little smile that melts our hearts. And today? Today she's two.

Happy Birthday, Lindsey Lou!