Names, names, names!

Alien does have a name... a real name that is. We call him Alien because in one of his first ultrasound pictures he looked exactly like some sort of extra-terrestrial being. We insist on using this name most of the time (except when we are alone we occasionally use his "real name") so that we don't fall out of practice. We decided, well before Alien was born, that we would keep the name hush-hush simply because it is amazing how many people think they should be allowed to voice their opinion about names we suggest for our child. AND, we aren't keeping the gender a secret so we are hanging on to this one thing that we can surprise our friends and family with.

That said, we are absolutely in love with Alien's name. It wasn't something we originally agreed on but, now that we've contemplated it, (and agreed) we can't imagine calling him anything else. Here's what went into our decision:

It couldn't be anything our friends had recently named their children so, unfortunately, we had to scratch a few really cute names off our list:

• Gavin
• Liam
• Noah

Then we had to take off names that I liked but Aaron didn't:

• Casey
• Shawn
• Quincy (I still looovvvee this name!)

Then there was the name that Aaron liked, but I did not:

• Roland (I know, WTF?) Sorry to all the lovely "Rolands" out there.

Still up for discussion (and on our list) were the names we BOTH really liked but had to be cancelled for one reason or another:

• Shamus (my in-law's dog's name.)
• Wyatt (it became insanely popular [and for some reason whenever I said it I would hear it in Elmer Fudd's voice.])
• Eli (unbeknownst to me, one of my friends said it was her #1 boys name so, it would have been terrible of me to use it anyway.)

It was back to the drawing board. I still had a name in my arsenal that I really liked but Aaron wasn't sold on it so, I did what any insane person would do and I just started calling the baby by this name... like... non-stop. Finally, Aaron started calling him by the name too! He ended up loving the name (and even made up cute little nicknames.)

After we decided we both liked it there were a few things left to determine:

1. That it was a name that would last (a good name for a baby, a toddler, a teen, an adult and an old man).
2. That it wasn't the name of a miserable client I once worked with or a terrible student Aaron once had.
3. It couldn't be something in the top 100. (As someone named "Jessica" I have every right to make this a formal and enforced rule.) 
4. It couldn't be the name of that weird kid in high school or the bully on the soccer team from our childhood.
5. Lastly, and this is my own weird thing, I couldn't be able to do something obscene with his initials. Whenever I meet someone I usually find out their middle name and do some sort of mnemonic with their name. For Example: Pamela Marie Brown = PMB. The first thing that comes to my mind (without effort) is "Pick My Boogers." I do this with EVERYTHING. Sometimes, unfortunately, it's something really dirty. Luckily, Alien's initials came out okay when I tested them (Although, that could be due to a biased testing environment) ;)

Here are a few tiny hints because I have been asked by many of you to divulge.

• It's not Ethan, Nathan, Mason, Seth, Thomas, or Otto (McPepe's guess).
• It's not in the top 200 and hasn't ever been in the top 100 (according to research I have done.)
• There is a "T" somewhere in the name.

So, a lot of thought went into our decision; we are so happy with the name and can't imagine calling him anything else. What this basically means for you, dear readers, is this: if you didn't contribute anything to his conception (like, ummm, DNA) and you don't end up liking his name, keep your damn mouth shut! ;) Therefore, until his spaceship lands, you can call him Alien.

There really isn't anything else to report on the Alien front (I won't bore you with talk about my terrible heartburn). I'll try to post next week when I'm 28 weeks and in the LAST TRIMESTER! (But, we're knee-deep in remodeling his room so, I make NO promises) until then, here is his most recent ultra sound picture...
;)