What's In A Name?

So, the most coveted secret of the pregnancy, the name.

For background, back at appointment #2, Dr. Chen asked mom & dad if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Mom took no time at all to respond, with a resounding YES, while dad sat motionless for a moment (realizing this question had not been discussed) and actually responded no. Being that Manhattan is such a baby-friendly place, dad agreed it was probably wise to know and the decision was made (though you might say that dad saw the writing on the wall). Thus early on, we focussed in on a name for Daddy's little girl.

From the beginning we decided to keep the naming deliberations secret, not so much as to exclude everyone, but more to allow us settle in on the perfert name. It turns out Mom likes to keep her options open, several names had strong runs at the tittle but fell out of favor for one reason or another. As an aside, any rumors of Theodora are exagerations. However, had Ella been born on Christmas Day, all bets would have been off.

Mom was set on a choosing a pretty name and Dad was always trying to work in a history. Finally we settled on the perfect name: Ella Catherine.

For those that don't know, Marla's Maternal Grandmother is named Elsie and Michael's Maternal Grandmother was named Mary Ellen. Ella was the perfect way to celebrate the marriage of the two families and pay a little homage to our roots.

As to Catherine, it does give a little nod to aunt Kathy, but I'm afraid overall it just worked so well with Ella.