Choosing a name...

We chose Gabriella's name immediately. We actually had it picked out before we knew if we were having a girl or boy. As soon as that ultrasound revealed girl, it was decided. We both loved the name and knew we wanted to use Grace as her middle name. We even knew we wanted to use 'Ella' as the shortened version if we ended up shortening it...which happened quicker than we expected!

Choosing a name for baby girl #2 has been so much harder! If a second name is this hard, I can't imagine the difficulty we'll have in the future, especially if we keep having girls!

Stephen and I liked the name Harper back when I was pregnant with Ella. We already had our name picked out, so we talked about saving it for the future. When we found out we were having another girl and started talking about names, it was one of many options. The only problem....Ella learned how to say it! haha! We'd talk about baby sister and throw around different options until one day she just started saying "Harper!" It was (and is still) the cutest thing! Once she had that down, there was no way we could consider anything else or even THINK about changing it. Now we know she doesn't really understand that she's getting a baby sister or that her name will be Harper. I'm starting to think she uses Harper as another word for Mommy's belly;)

So with that decided, we set out to choose a middle name. We had zero options, then 3, then 7...Every time we would narrow it down, one of us would think of something else! Last Sunday, I told Stephen that I really wanted to have Harper's full name decided BEFORE I go into labor! His response: "Ok, I have my favorite picked out." Just like that! I told him that we should just go with it, but he wouldn't tell it to me until I had my mind made up first. It's always a game with him! He told me that after church and my nap that day, I would know. He loves to make predictions like that.

The afternoon wore on and he asked me later if I knew Harper's name. I told him that, yes, if I had to choose RIGHT now, I could probably pick a favorite. So here goes. Only problem, the game must remain a game, so he made me write it down. I did. He then says, "Harper Olivia" I very dramatically turned over my sheet of paper which read: Harper Olivia:)

The whole ordeal was actually just funny, but at least we decided. We are on the same page 99.9% of the time so I wasn't really worried, but it's nice to be able to say her full name now:)