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Monday, February 24, 2020

Baby Names We Love (but didn't choose)

Now that our third pregnancy is coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to list out all of the baby names we've ever considered or liked for our baby boys and girl. I've scoured the books, I've read through the forums. Naming a baby is hard work! I loved all of these, but ultimately had reasons why we didn't choose them in the end. We've always chosen very Scandinavian names to honor my roots, so most of these also reflect that fact.


For Boys:

1. Sebastian: this was our top contender had this third baby been a boy.

2. Henrik: I always loved this name, but we were afraid that he'd be nicknamed "Rick", which we didn't want. Oskar turned out to be Oskar Henri instead.

3. Elliot: This was always my favorite, but I could never get Matt on board.

4. Otto: Another one that I advocated for HARD, but Matt was afraid it sounded like "auto", as in automatic. Hmph.

5. Samuel: One of our favorites, but we were afraid it was too popular.

Other honorable mentions: Oliver, Noel, Jonas. And of course, our second baby boy became August James.

For Girls:

1. Evelina: So pretty, but again, there are about 100 Eve/Eva/Evie/Evelyns in the boys' school right now. We chose to pass for that reason.

2. Margot: I love this name, but Matt never agreed.

3. Miriam: Also super pretty, but I ended up having a huge name association with this one, as I have a boss in Germany named Miriam who is essentially "The Devil Wears Prada" personified.

4. Liv: Short and sweet, we both liked this one, but it didn't really fit with our last name.


5. Mila: When we didn't know whether Oskar was a boy or a girl, this was the girl name that we went to the hospital with. Which is funny, because now I don't feel it fits at all. We went back to the drawing board for this baby girl. 

Other honorable mentions: Mia, Helena, Signe. 

In just a few weeks we'll have another little lady to name and I'm excited to come back and update this post. For now, we wait, and hope that what we've finally settled on fits her sweet little face when she's born. Stay tuned 😊.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

My Favorite Quotes About Motherhood

In a moment of mixed excitement and sadness that my last pregnancy is slowly coming to a close, I gathered all of my favorite quotes on motherhood that reflect what I've always thought but couldn't always so eloquently say. Talk about every single emotion being balled up and shoved into one person: struggle, gratitude, exhaustion, happiness, anxiety, love. There's nothing quite as complex as giving life and taking care of it, and then wondering if you're doing it well enough. Welcome to motherhood.



1. "Love me when I least deserve it because that is when I need it the most." -Swedish Proverb 

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So, so true on this one, especially for our oldest orchid child--sensitive, anxious, and in need of reassurance. This saying always comes to mind with him and I try my best to remember it.

2. "The funny thing about kids is, they are the reason we lose it, and the reason we hold it together." --unknown

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The latter part of this has held true during my miscarriages, during the loss of my grandparents, and for any hard times that we've had to navigate--always so thankful for their laughter and light.

3. "I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, yet I know I will tomorrow." --Leo Christopher

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This reminds me of my newborns and the journey of watching them grow. Also such a good reminder that THERE IS MORE ahead as babies develop into toddlers, and toddlers change into little people with big thoughts and words.

4. "Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become." --Brooke Hampton
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 We're big on affirmations in our house, and there is true power in words. What they say out loud, they will begin to believe. I'm sure of it.

5. "Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed." --Linda Wooten

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Never would I have thought I could endure years of interrupted sleep, or be deathly afraid of Influenza (or worse), or brokenhearted about my kids feeling excluded, or an advocate for them to the point that I'd move heaven and earth to make them happy. That's motherhood.


6."Making a decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body." --Elizabeth Stone


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Nothing more to add here, other than it's 100% accurate.

7. "And she loved a little boy very very much--even more than she loved herself."--Shel Silverstein
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I'm partial to this one, of course, but it couldn't remind me any more of my two boys.

8. "How they were raised is how they will love."--unknown
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Sensitivity, vulnerability, reversing stereotypical gender roles, and lots and lots of words of affirmation and love: these are what we try to personify for our 4 little eyes that are watching.


9. "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." --Mother Theresa
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Some of our most important work will happen inside of our house, and raising two (soon to be 3) kind little people is more important than so much else of what takes up our days.

10. "My identify rests solely and firmly on this: I am my mother’s daughter."


Her story will always be where yours began. 













 



 
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