word to the people.

holy cow so much is happening. we are busy making preparations. for cate. we are making tons of progress in acquiring goods, etc. the nursery will be painted next week. as well our master suite. yea!

though we are not making much progress with a middle name! help! i heart suggestions. (if you are in the mood.)

general concerns-her middle name has to be short and begin with a vowel. i am going to add my last name (i kept mine when we got married) as a second middle. only on paperwork. i just don't want anyone to think that i am not her mother.

-catherine sophia (so popular almost to the point of boring)

-caterine isabel. same as above.

-catherine elizabeth-so formal don't ya think? but i love the idea of giving her the family nickname of izzy. 

-catherine aila. aila means grace. it's scottish. but i belong to the American Immigration Lawyer Association. weird, no?

-catherine anais is my favorite. k thinks it is pretentious. and reminded me that we are poor children from the south.

ANY ideas are appreciated.

i am a crafting maniac. okay, i am going to post pictures next week. i promise. my current project is a front carrier made out of olivia the pig fabric. i love her. really.

we went out with 'forty year old woman who wants to get pregnant but hasn't gotten referred to an RE in two years' last night. she kept asking about our baby.  i tried to only offer enough to not sound like i was holding back. which i was. of course my favorite thing in the world is to talk about c. so, it's hard for me. you know what else is weird? she has something negative to say about every.baby.in.the.neighborhood. such as "their baby's head is so big! and did you see him in that freaky helmet (he has crib head from SIDS prevention )!?!?!"  And, "what is up with his little brother? he is waaaayyyy to smaller?!? (he is 9 months younger!). Lastly, "what is up with the Daniel's youngest? he is waaayyy to small. seriously. (he is five months old!?!?!). maybe it's a coping mechanism. but she will not be seeing my baby for a loooonnnngg time. b/.c g-d forbid she say something.

must go sew. i am working part-time today. i need practice right?

Comments

[D]

Perhaps Alexis? Catherine Alexis has a nice ring to it.

[niobe]

Since you seem to be considering several Scottish names, how about:

Adair
Ainsley
Iona
Ione
Lennox (though I know it doesn't start with a vowel)

[flmgodog]

my duaghter's name is Isadora and we call her Izzie. I know that was one of your choices.

I really like Aila or the other way that you spelled it. All good choices. I also really like Sophie rather than sophia which I think you said.

We wanted something unique.

And as I told you in another comment, we LOVE Olivia the Pig!!
Izzie likes to hear that book.

[myles]

Here are few more suggestions:

Eva
Odessa
Elena
Oona
Ione
Anya

:)

[erin]

My aunts name is Ida, and is unique. just my two cents!

[Heidi]

OMG I AM SOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU>>>>> WOW>... I used to read your blog and it's been awhile since I stopped by. and I just did and WOW. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy for you and K!!!! DAMN!!!!! I just had a baby girl 3 months ago, I TTC for a year. So, life is great. My baby girl is just awesome and I know yours will be too. I will keep coming by!!

-Heidi

[Hilary (The Trying Game)]

Of the choices you've laid out, I like Aila the best.

And I know you're going to think I'm crazy but one of my favourite middle names for a girl is James. I know it's a boys name, but it can totally work for a girl too!

Catherine James has a nice ring to it. Just my two cents...

Good luck hon!

[Road Blocks and Roller Coasters]

I really like Elizabeth, even though its formal it has a very regal sound to it. I like Catherine Isabel as well! :)

[Erin]

What about Grace? My daugher is Sophia Grace and people love it. Grace means wisdom. But my middle name is Elizabeth and I am partial! By the way, love your writing style, I am usually a lurker and your anon poster sux!

[Lassie]

I love the name Anais.

Tops on my list was Mira or Miriam

My personal notecards have Olivia on them. I love that pig!

[My Reality]

I suck at names. I have a blue bird called Blue Bird. So if you follow my naming, her middle name would be girl or baby. Probably not the best choices. :)

[Cibele]

I like catherine aila. Have you seem this website? http://www.babynamegenie.com/

[kate]

I like elizabeth, but then again, it's probably what I'd choose for a first name should that blessing ever bestow itself upon us.

And if you want to embrace the poor Southern thing, how about the middle name Jo? The rustic/sassy southern girl thing is in right now, and in Scotland, "Jo" can be used to mean "sweetheart" or "dearie". My mother's mother was katie jo, and my other was mary ann (I got one name from each- I'm glad I didn't end up mary jo!).

Or how about Jane? It falls in line with the era of Catherine (I think of Pride and Prejudice sort of time), but also had a rise in popularity in the 40s, so it's got that kind of "old" feel to it that also seems so en vogue these days.

Feh. Those are my suggestions. Hopefully, they will be so offensive to you that they will simply solidify your resolve for one of the choices that you've come up with yourselves.
But not Anais. It's beautiful, but K is right- it IS just a bit, um, pretentious... maybe if you were French, it might work, but not here. Somehow it just doesn't seem right.

And you've probably been here before, but if not, it's a good way to waste a few hours thinking about names:
http://www.nymbler.com/

Type in your chosen name, and it will bring back others that are like it in some way (one of the names it suggests that is similar to Cate is Nina... interesting...)

[Rebecca]

Oh, Catherine Anais is just beautiful :)

[Sue]

As I started to read your post, for some reason the middle name Anais popped into my mind...and then I read further and saw that it's your favorite. It is a little pretentious, but who cares? It's a middle name and you've more than earned the right to name your kid whatever you want. Elizabeth is good too. So many women have that as a middle name, myself included, and it's fine.

[christina (apronstrings)]

jj- i just thought about marie. how funny. i like it too.
emily-i like alia. and i love Isla. but guess what? it's my grandmother's name and my niece's name. that would be it, had my cousin not gotten to it. what a kinky dink.

[Emily]

How about Catherine Alia? Its close to Aila but seems stronger to me somehow. Or Catherine Ilsa (pronounced Eye-La)?

How fun to actually be at the name picking part!

[JJ]

Im partial to my middle name, Marie--seems like everyone has that as a middle name=) But its flattering to a lot of first names.
Best of luck deciding!

[Farah]

I suggest Lynn, Belle, Nicole ?!?..

I am sorry you had to endure that poor woman. good luck with names. I still haven't commited to one

[christina (apronstrings)]

thanks jess. a friend who kept her name told me to go ahead and plan on it-because after labor, i would insist on it anyway.
elizabeth isn't a family name. though it is a name of one of my close friends when i was very young. she was a child of my babysitter. she loved to play cards although she cheated. she had moderate down's syndrome.

[jesspond]

I like Elizabeth (esp if it's a family name) and anais.

I really adore it when middle names have meaning....but if you are also giving her your last name, it's already meaningful. But for the record, those are the ones I'd choose! :)