Baby Names

One of the most important things to think about during pregnancy is choosing your baby's name.  Kris and I had names chosen for a boy or a girl before I even became pregnant.  We were more confident about the boy name than the girl name, so it's a good thing we are having a boy.  A little boy named Ethan used to follow Kris around church.  He called him his "little buddy."  He loves the name Ethan.  He said he was thinking about baby names (men do it too) and the middle name Lane sounded good with Ethan.  Lane is the boy who lives across the street from Kris's parents' house in Cullman.  This was another of Kris's little buddies.  Ethan Lane Griffin.  I think he chose a perfect name.  I'm glad I agree with it.
The girl name we had picked was Katelyn Elise.  At a birth defects screening at 12 weeks, the doctor told me that we were having a girl.  This is really too soon to tell parents what they should expect, but the doctor was so sure our baby was a girl, that he said he would go ahead and buy pink stuff and bows.  So we started buying a few things, but not too much.  I was going to keep it a secret until my OB visit at 19 weeks.  She said they couldn't tell me and be sure until the ultrasound this far along.  It was such a shock when we saw the ultrasound.  I told a a few people that we were having a girl, so we had to go back and correct the mistake.  Girl or Boy, I was so excited.  I have three brothers, so I am more prepared to have a son.  Kris was more excited about a first born son also.
We love the name Katelyn.  My initials with my maiden name are KAT, and Kris's middle name is LYN.  We started by spelling it Katlyn,  but later decided that Katelyn was better.  Kris said we could call her Kate, and she could go by either Katelyn or Kate, whichever she preferred as an adult.  I agreed.  My family and everyone I knew growing up calls me Kimberly, but when I meet new people now, they call me Kim.  I picked the name Elise by searching online for baby girl names.  I wanted something unique and pretty.  Kris liked it.  We also like the name Holly Faith.  Holly, after one of my cousins; and Faith, after one of Kris's cousins.  I have a hard time choosing.
There are lots of websites and books parents to be can use to help them find the perfect baby name.  Family names are popular.  Lawrence Robert Tabor is the name of my grandfather, dad, and my older brother.  Dayton is my younger brother's name, and he was named after my paternal great grandfather.  Ann is a middle name and a first name in my family and Kris's family.  My mom is Ann, my middle name is Ann, Kris's aunt is Ann, and her daughter's middle name is Ann.  Kris's sisters name is Julianne; she answers to Julie.
A girl I graduated with from high school named her son Griffin.  She said it was a family name on her husband's side.  Apparently he has a cousin named Chris Griffin, with a Ch, and they have a son named Ethan Griffin.  They also live off of hwy 280, and we live off of hwy 280.  I wonder if his wife's name is Kim, or if they have a daughter named either Katelyn or Holly.
A first name with the letter K, seems to be a new tradition for our family as well.  My name is Kimberly, my husband is Kristopher, and he has a cousin named Krissy.  Kris's real dad's name is Kenny.  My cousin named her daughter Katherine, my brother named his daughter Kelsey, and we will probably use the name Katelyn if we have a daughter.
I'm not sure if this was done on purpose, but in Kris's family, there is a Kristopher, Christi, and a Krissy.  Also, his younger sister is Virginia, and I have a great aunt named Virginia.  The last name, Allen, is a family name on Kris's step dad's side.  His grandmother is Judy Allen Page.  I believe Allen is her maiden name.  I thought it was neat because if that was Kris's last name, our son would be Ethan Allen.  In that case, we would have chosen a different first name.   
My grandmother's name is Amelia.  My cousin with the daughter, Katherine, named her first born daughter Amelia.  Their nick names as toddlers were A2 and Kaki.  It has been so long since I have seen them that I am not sure if they still go by these nicknames.  My older brother, Lawrence Robert Tabor III, is Trey.  He has been called Trey since birth.  When we were really young, about 4 and 6, my neighbor friend across the street from us called him Frey Neighbor.  She was too young to pronounce the T, and she knew he was her neighbor.  Also, a few of Trey's friends called him Ash Trey, and he didn't like this as a child.  In high school I got the nickname, Kimbo.  I didn't like that very much either.  Probably because Trey told me some body builder or wrestler or something is named Kimbo Slice, and this association did not make me happy.  Some of Kris's friends called him by his last name, Griffin.  Before we knew our baby's sex, I liked the name Holly Ann for a girl.  Then I realized that her initials would be HAG, so we immediately decided against it.
My grandmother told me a story about twin girls named Ima and Ura.  Their last name was Hogg.  She said this was a true story.  I just did a Google search.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg
There is more information on it too if you search Ima and Ura Hogg.  It says she didn't have a sister named, Ura.  Her name was Ima Hogg, and she didn't have a middle name.  Why do people do this to their children?
We are lucky and had some great names already chosen.  Some parents have a hard time with the baby naming process.  The best idea is to chose something you love, and you think your baby will grow up to love as well.  Don't name your child, Beauregard.  Kris and I like to joke about this and other possible ways we could ruin our son's life.  :)  We will not do it!