The story of names

Good morning folks,

Today I'll tell you the story of names: How we ended up with twins named Easton and Layla. I've had a few people ask the question so I thought it would be a good opportunity to share! Plus, if our twins ever get around to reading this multi-volume blog some time I want them to have the answer regarding where there names came from. We found out 6 weeks after conception there were two lint balls (babies) in Kendra's tummy and then we found out there was one boy and one girl after 18 weeks. So if you do the math, we had a LOOOOONG time to figure out names. Kendra and I spent hours surfing the internet and reading books in Border's searching for the perfect names.

We'll start with our beloved Easton who finally figured out this week how to use a hammer:

To understand his origins, i'll need to use some etymology on my own name. From what my parents tell me (since they have no blog or documented account of the origin of my name) I was named after a TV show... sort of... Apparently after having my older brother and sister, who are a year apart, my parents were content and happy with their own version of the 4 Webbs. 4 years later I was born as a "surprise gift from God". That last phrase is code word for a contraceptive malfunction, but I'm ok with how things turned out! :) Anyway, while at the hospital just before I was born Ma was watching TV. There it was as if by divine revelation... A rerun of the show called "Then came Bronson". Ma says they were deciding between "Bronson" and "Terry", but once I was born, my fists were clinched and I looked really intense and tough (I wonder where Layla gets her traits). Hence, the name Bronson.

OK, fast forward 33 years and now it's my turn to name my son. I decided to follow Ma's example. I had four basic criteria for the name. It had to be:

- known as a last name
- strong and masculine
- common enough that it is pronounceable
- rare enough to be cool and memorable

As I was looking through a big book of last names I came across Easton and it was the first one that Kendra didn't hate or laugh at. So there you have it. The runner up names for Easton (in order of likelihood) were:

Nolan
Shaden
Bronson
Ace
Braden
Kobe

Here is one last picture of Easton from play time with Marsha yesterday. The twins always have a great time with her and Kendra really appreciates Marsha's help with going to LapSit, shopping, and hanging out around our house.


It wasn't as if I had autonomy to pick whatever name I desired. Both babies have names Kendra and I both agreed to mutually. I just want to make sure that point is noted so everyone knows we jointly decided on these names. :)

And now on to our little sweetheart, Layla. The Curious George monkey (Thanks Jessie Cassani) is her all time favorite stuffed animal and she spends more time chewing on and drooling on him than any other toy.


The runner up names for Layla were:

Ava
Kylie
Summer

I can't remember how we found Layla exactly. I think it was from a character in a TV show oddly enough. Anyway, one evening when Kendra and I were finished looking for names at Border's book store we walked down the shopping mall row and went into a restaurant / coffee shop for some hot tea. As we sat at the table contemplating the name "Layla" a musician sat down next to his equipment, picked up his guitar, and began singing Eric Clapton's song named "Layla". We agreed at that moment that if divine revelation can come to my Ma through a rerun of a TV show, then why not a musician at a coffee shop? As Paul Harvey says, "Now you know the rest of the story..."

Almost every day during Kendra's pregnancy I would say, "Kendra what do you think about... blah as a name?" and based on her reaction I would say, "Yeah, we should consider that one" OR "Ha! I was just kidding... that's a stupid name".

Here's a picture of Layla holding and chewing on one of Easton's socks. Don't worry, it was a clean one. Just after this picture she said, "Hey, wait a minute... this sock doesn't match my outfit?!" OK, maybe she didn't say it, but i'm sure that is what she was thinking.


Can you guess which baby is feeling a little under the weather and has a temperature?


Nope, not the girl with her fist in her mouth. The other one... The boy who has snot running down his nose and was caught mid-sneeze in this picture! He's a little sick, but doing ok. It's difficult not to laugh because every time he sneezes it sounds like, "Ah CHOO! mmm nah mmm nah" as he moans and grunts after each sneeze.

That's it for today, but check back again soon! I'll post the video of "Playtime with Marsha" where the twins really ham it up for the camera.