What's in a name?

Have you heard about the 2014 popular baby names? There's a listing of the top 100 boy and girl names that Baby Center published this week and I have always loved watching the trends with baby names. Mainly because it is a good indication of names I won't use for my kids. I always felt bad for the kids I grew up with if there were multiple of their name in our class. Like I think I knew six Kaitlyn's (various spelling), Elizabeth's (or Liz), or Jennie/Jenny's apiece in my class alone. I always appreciated having a unique name but also a name that was easy to pronounce and spell easily. There was only one other Melissa in my graduating class which I appreciated a lot.

When we picked Hilton we knew it would be an incredibly unique name but one that everyone could say phonetically and spell properly because of the Hilton Hotel chain and my least favorite name sharing celebrity Paris Hilton. Now that I see the top 100 boy name list I feel very confident that he will be the only Hilton in his class (fingers crossed).

It's crazy to me how people choose their children's names, something that is lasting (as long as the child doesn't change it). Of course this is a very touchy subject. I even refused to announce our baby name choice because I didn't want to have any input from family. We had already decided on our boy name before we even knew we were having a boy. But it's crazy to me that so many people decide to name their child after the latest hot movie (really, Katniss?) or TV show they watch (Arizona or Callie from Grey's Anatomy), or worse yet from a reality TV celebrity (Kris, Kim, Khloe or Kourtney).

There were some research papers I wrote for a psychology class back in college covering this subject and an article the New Yorker published called The Power of Names highlighted some of the concepts behind name psychology (which is totally a real thing!). Basically it comes down to your name truly being the first image people see of you. If your name comes across as complicated or simplistic, masculine or feminine, people gauge you as such. This was a huge issue I found when doing research that linked very directly to job interviews and how people reacted to resumes. If your name was unique or well suited for whatever the job was they would be more likely to contact the applicant. It's an unfortunate way the world works. Likewise teacher's who see names that are difficult or overwhelming for children make assumptions about the child and parents of that child. I don't know if that is necessarily true, but I do think it's so basic that people don't truly realize they do automatically judge individuals off their names.

Think about it, how many people who you talk to in a day do you make instant assumptions about based off their name before you interact with them? If your name is James they are going to regard you as mature and professional. If your name is Iggy'Z they may not take you seriously (Yes, a real name). All of this research I did made it so even moreso that I never wanted to try and make a unique name by spelling it uniquely. If you have a name that is not phonetically spelled, it will make everyday a battle. In phone calls, people pronouncing your name, people trying to spell or write your name. Works interactions, doctors offices, banks, insurance companies. Anybody that has to say their name could and most likely will make a mistake in saying it. So think twice before you name your child Mcqenzy (Mckenzie), Rachuel (pronounced Rachel), Austyn (Austen), or Kaero (Cairo). Trust me as someone who deals with unique names on a daily basis at a doctor's office, there's a better way to give your child a unique name.

For me I personally prefer to use this fun Baby Name diagram that gives you an idea of if you're baby name choice is in the top 100 meaning you're child will be more likely to have classmates with the same name and also shows the trend of that baby name. Click here to test your own baby name.

Good luck and have fun!

p.s. am I the only one who is obsessed with names? I definitely have a couple names picked out for our next babies in the future that I will definitely check and make sure they are not in the top 100 names before we officially decide on names.

p.p.s. I love the name James but I will never name a child James because of this.

10 most popular boy names of 2014

1. Jackson
2. Aiden
3. Liam
4. Lucas
5. Noah
6. Mason
7. Ethan
8. Caden
9. Jacob
10. Logan

10 most popular girl names of 2014

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Isabella
6. Mia
7. Zoe
8. Lily
9. Emily
10. Madelyn

Link to list here.

You Eleventh Month

This has been a big month for you! You are already starting to balance without holding onto anything! We suspect you will be walking by the time you are a year old, but if you don't no pressure. I'm honestly OK to not have to baby proof more than we already have at this point. But it's not too far away that we will have to finally put hardware on all the doors and drawers in the kitchen and then baby lock them. I caught you opening the cabinet under the kitchen sink which is where I keep all my cleaning supplies. Needless to say I'm definitely not ready to be chasing a running toddler especially in public. I think I forgot to mention this but you have mastered climbing up the stairs. One day you just started going up a stair at a time and now if I leave the door to the stairs open you just cruise right up them and giggle the whole way.

Your flirting has reached a high, wherever we go you catch eye contact with somebody and start flirting. Today in the line at Costco you started cheesing at the sweet lady behind us, and started tilting your head to the side as far as you could and when she mimicked the motion of head tilting you started laughing so hard! We have also found a couple new ticklish spots, right between the thighs and hip bone on the inside and then if we stroke up your spine you squeal and squirm.

You have had four teeth pop up in the past week on the top! They are just under the surface and we think two have broken through just barely yesterday. You have been more fussy than normal and just wanting to be held all day. It's been pretty manageable with tylenol but we're definitely hoping that they're all completely through in the next week so you aren't in pain anymore. You're still in size 18 month clothing, I think they'll last for at least another couple months. You're also still in size 4 diapers which also will last quite a while longer.

We've almost got you completely switched over to whole milk which is so nice. We're just finishing up using the rest of our remaining formula and then you'll be completely switched over. Hallelujah! It's definitely been a rough transition but it's been so nice to not have to worry about packing it around if we go out and it's definitely forced you to start eating more and more solids and especially set meals. Or I should say it's forced us to have set meals and snack times, and restrict you to only having bottles when you go down for a nap or bedtime. You are loving muffins, pancakes, bacon, green beans, and pizza bites this month.

We love you so much little monkey! We can't imagine life without you and are excited to see how you change in the future.

Daddy: is loving how much you laugh being called 'Shark Bait oo-oo-ah' from Finding Nemo

Mommy: is loving your sweet smile and how you nuzzle my neck when you are tired and want to be cuddled

Puppies: are loving how you will literally throw food at them from your high chiar/are not loving how you've learned to take away their toys

Family Fall Photos

I harrangled Jared and Hilton into taking some quite fall family photos sans me because I wanted to capture some of the beautiful colors in our backyard. Unfortunately it was a little brisker than Hilton could withstand so we only got a couple good photos, but here are some of them.

Finding my 'mommy style' Part 1

 

 Shirt: Downeast Outfitters, Pants: H&M, Shoes: TJMaxx

Everyone warns you how the transition into mommyhood is going to take some time, but I didn't realize how hard it would be emotionally and physically when it came to stepping confidently into motherhood. I definitely know I'm Hilton's mommy. We cry tears together and giggle together, but I still don't register myself as 'mom' in my list of titles. I don't see myself as mom because I don't wear mom jeans and I don't talk all day about my children. Or at least I don't think I do.

The transition to embracing mommyhood has been slow. However the reality of my wardrobe quickly struck me. Like day one postpartum. Even though I dropped my baby weight quickly and was back to pre-baby weight three months postpartum, my body was NOWHERE near the same. I was up a size in pants because hello I all of a sudden got hips way bigger than what I'd ever had before, and shirts are just so much more snug I feel so much more comfortable in shirts a size up from my pre-baby size. So sadly the majority of my Nordstrom clothes from my year of working there no longer fit. And all the clothes I could still squeeze into from my high school days pre-baby were not even close to getting past my thighs-let alone buttoned-post baby.

When I was preparing to go back to work I underwent a dramatic downsizing in my closet to find what I could or would wear to work, leaving me with only three work pants and two pairs of jeans, and cleaning out our entire spare closet which was full of my old clothes and sending them all to the D.I. Unfortunately the reality of being a new first time mom is that there are still a lot of things to buy for baby even after the baby showers. Because a lot of my extra money the first five to six months was spent on baby clothes, formula, and diapers instead of replacing my own wardrobe immediately I have felt like the clothes I feel confident in have been in short supply around here and it's taken my a while to find and gather new items I'm happy to be 'mom' in. On top of that since I really didn't buy any new clothes for myself or keep up on trends while I was pregnant, I honestly feel like I've missed an entire year on fashion now that Hilton is already 10 months old. I have to ask coworkers if 'that's still in style' or what's popular for this or that now.

I'm slowly feeling out what I like and what I don't in the current fashion trends. What I feel comfortable in and what I don't. Unfortunately my old style of soft breezy blouses I used to love wearing I now feel completely self-conscious in. I prefer structured patterned shirts and blouses that make a statement by themselves. Also I don't have time to do my hair fancy nor do I wear fun or pretty jewelry because a) I don't have time for it and b) Hilton yanks on it or slobbers on it. Therefore my outfit needs to be able to stand on its own. I'm redefining what's a priority to me based less on just looks and more on function and comfort.

And slowly, I'm defining what it means to be 'mom' for me.

p.s. according to Jared this shirt looks like it was made by someone who didn't have enough of either fabric to make one shirt out of one or the other so they combined scraps. That made me laugh. I didn't really have any response other than 'it was cute' and 'I like it'. Which in this case is all I need I feel like. 

Your Tenth Month

You're still not walking but crawling like crazy all over the place and definitely starting to get into things you shouldn't like my tupperware cupboard, pulling out the outlet plugs, and playing in the dogs bowls. I had to actually remove the dogs water bowls from the kitchen because you decided you would play in it and tip it over and I think I actually saw you try to drink out of it. Super gross! You have developed some new facial expression, your scowling face and your flirting has really gone up a notch or two. You flirted with the cutting lady at Joann's the other day and it was so cute because you went between flirting and being grumpy about it being nap time.

You caught up again on length and weight and are back to the 90% for height again. You're still fitting into eighteen month clothing but I don't think you'll fit into them too much longer. We actually started to switch you over to cow's milk from formula because the doctor said you're big enough and I'm tired of paying so much on formula. So far you're doing great and are almost all the way switched over but still get constipated and uncomfortable so we're taking it slow.

You still only have two teeth, I'm kind of worried about when you will have more come in. But all in good time. We are still broadening your horizons as far as self feeding is going. You've had mashed potatoes, whole carrots that have been cooked, corn (you hated it), and a variety of crackers and other things. We stopped giving you almond or rice milk because you didn't really like them at all so it seemed pointless. I think they were just too sweet for you.

Your sleeping schedule has definitely improved, still sleeping through the night and your naps are almost always right on an hour and a half twice a day. Mom definitely looks forward to this time because it means a break and chance to do extra housework I can't normally do when you're awake (like unload the dishwasher because you climb on top of the door).

This entire month you have been sick unfortunately. You got your first serious illness of a double pink eye infection since the hospital visit in January. Thank goodness it was bacterial and you could use antibiotics to help get rid of it so that didn't last long but you also had a cold basically the entire month so it was kind of a rough one for you unfortuantely. Here's to hoping no more sickness comes to our house!

Love you sweet Hilton

Your Ninth Month

You are definitely and officially on the move little man! You can get from the nursery to the kitchen crawling faster than I can walking. Needless to say you are definitely getting into things faster than mommy can steer you away or remove them from your reach. We have started to truly baby-proof especially as you have started to find cupboards and become curious about what is behind those doors. You are starting to truly express multiple emotions and know when people are doting on you and you become a huge cheeser. You are walking along furniture and learned to crawl into people's laps.

You have finally slowed down on length growth but put on some weight, you are now only in the 80% for height and 59% for weight. I have a feeling you'll slim down again once you're walking. You have officially transitioned into your convertible carseat as we are already having to move the straps higher and take out some of the additional padding. We're now completely into 18 month clothing but they're just a tiny bit loose which is fine for me if they last you for more than two months time.

You still only have two teeth, and I'm really hoping that you break some very soon. You are able to self feed really well now, spaghetti o's, mac and cheese, toast, goldfish, graham crackers (these are your favorite). We've really basically stopped feeding him pureed food but have started introducing drinks other than water and formula like rice milk or almond milk. He seems to like them but definitely thinks they're weird. They're extremely sweet compared to his formula so it will be an interesting transition at one year to cows milk instead of formula. And I'm really looking forward to no longer having to pay for formula!

You are still sleeping through the night like a champ but we are REALLY struggling with naps of late. You get a measly half hour to forty five minute nap in the morning and then a super long two hour nap in the afternoon's. I don't quite know what to do to get them figured out but I think we're progressing to only one long nap in the day. You have all of a sudden started hating bath time, I can't tell if it's because you are bored with the toys in your bathtub or if you are just more interested in what is going on outside the tub but you try to climb out about five minutes about I put you in and then you are ice cold and freezing because you won't sit down.

Of late you love crawling up to the piano and patting on the keys, and anything with wheels. Needless to say almost every single one of your Christmas toys involves wheels of some kind. Well, besides that books that is. Happy nine months little man!

Parenting "Oh Dear" Moments

This whole journey of parenting has definitely had it's 'oh dear' moments. This past week has been chock full of them.

For example, I took Hilton to go grocery shopping and as I was lifting him into the shopping cart at Smith's in front of like ten checkstands after coming out of the bathroom from changing his diaper he decided to violenting spit up. On the floor. Leaving a nice white puddle. About two feet big. I could have died. But all I could say under my breath was, "Oh dear".

Second time this week was when Hilton was taking a bath Sunday evening and happily playing and splashing in the tub. I turned around to make his bedtime bottle in the sink while I watched him in the mirror. When I turned around and looked in the tub...he had pooped. "Oh dear! Get out of that tub right now!" Good thing he wasn't too upset, and I was able to rinse him off and sanitize everything.

Third was walking into His room to get him from a nap and he was standing at the edge of his crib, something I was hoping it would take him a bit to figure out! Definitely an 'Oh Dear' moment. We got the crib lowered right away. 

Last moment this week was that in Sunday school in our church now that Hilton is crawling like crazy I made the mistake of setting him down and before I knew it he was going down our row untying all the old men's church shoes...I felt so bad. Quite definitely "Oh dear" moment.

Good thing he's so cute and makes doing this parenting thing all worth it!

The Return

So you know how I had a baby nine months ago? Yeah, kind of crazy he's already that old. And me basically ignoring this blog for that same amount of time is almost as crazy. This is the obligatory post stating how I'm sorry I've forgotten or neglected this blog, and promise how I'm going to shape up. So there. I'm coming up with fun new ideas of things that I want to post about and life since baby et cetera.And I promise to try and blog more frequently, because even though life has changed SO much it's just a wonderful and fun in different ways.

And here's just the cutest face to end the shortest post I've ever done. 

Your Eighth Month

My goodness we have definitely had some big changes this month! You are not crawling...yet. You are definitely trying to and kind of have an army crawl you will do when you're super desperate to get to something far away. You only do it on special occasions. You are however sitting like a pro and can transition easily from sitting to stomach to back and vice versa very well.

You had a HUGE growth spurt this month, initiating a couple of changes such as you are now in a convertible carseat since you are already 30 inches long and you were able to fit into size nine month clothing for a whole...three weeks. So we've skipped twelve month clothing and just gone straight to size 18 month because I find it pointless to buy you all twelve month clothing in case you do the same thing. Along with this huge growth spurt and changes of clothing sizes also meant that you diapers got quite a bit tighter as well. While you are not close to the weight restriction for size 3 diapers (28 lbs I think?) they are just getting to short and narrow for you, so onto size 4!

You finally broke your first tooth on August 11th, two days before your turned eight months. And you broke your second one three days later so we officially are no longer gumming everything! But unfortunately with your second tooth you have started teething and wanting to be cuddled and held most of the day. But I don't mind. I love how you have started to lift your arms up when you want to be picked up and the way you wrap your arms around my neck and squeeze tight just makes my heart melt. My favorite is your slobbery kisses on the side of my face when you say hello.

You are still eating pureed baby food, but we are starting to introduce more and more true solids to you. So far you've had pancakes, graham crackers, strawberries, grapes, peach slices, pear slices, a couple fries (naughty daddy), and a bite of bacon (naughty mommy). You definitely are all about textures just like mommy, if its slimy or super rubbery/chewy you are not a huge fan. It's fun to see you experience things for the first time and decide if you like them right away or not.

Thank heavens you are still sleeping through the night, and you still take nightly bathes which is definitely fun to see you play in the tub sink. You still love your Dory, and typically because your the most tired during bath time since it's right before bedtime that is your loudest period when you squeal and gab a lot. It's fun to see you be more and more vocal and you have also started saying, 'mama mama mama' but it's to nothing particular but I like to respond, 'Yes, I'm momma'. Even though you can't understand I'm trying to train you in hopes that's your first true word.

We love you so much little man, you are truly the most special part of our family and I can't imagine our family without you now, it's like you were always a missing piece.

Daddy: is loving your sweet blue eyes and how you laugh at farting sounds

Mommy: is loving giving you raspberries so that you will giggle

Puppies: are loving cleaning up your high chair for you once you're done eating

Family Pictures 2014

Another thing off my bucket list and new years resolution list for the year! We had our family pictures taken the end of June by the amazing Amanda Castleberry, seriously I was so impressed! Hilton didn't cry or fuss once, and she got some of the best group shots with all of us I was so happy I can't even tell you. I'm so glad she was able to squeeze us in while she was visiting in Utah for possibly her last trip before her second baby is born. Thanks so much Amanda!

Location: Temple Square, Lion House and Fountains

Yellowstone 2014

Jared and I had been talking about making this trip since we got married and it just so happened that it all came together this summer. However it was not exactly planned out very well with a seven month infant. Let's just say an eight hour car ride was not the best idea when you have a baby strapped in his car seat the whole time. We did take a break every couple of hours but it still wasn't enough for poor Hilton. By the last stretch of our car ride when I went to put him in his car seat he started screaming the instant he saw it. But besides that it was a great trip!

 

Happy to be out of the carseat and in the wide open spaces!

We stayed in a small private little cabin north of North Yellowstone in Pray, Montana. The town is as small as it sounds. But it was just what we needed with it's own little fire pit where I roasted marshmallows and with a cute little deck where we could look out across the valley and hills.

At Patriot Cap

 

At Mammoth Hot Springs-a large crack in the earth's surface caused by a hot super pressurized water spring underground reaching the surface. According to the guide this one has been going on for almost one million years and will probably go on for a couple more million.

At the Artist Paintpoints-literally huge boiling pools of water or mud!

We spent the majority of the first day after we arrived seeing the west half of Yellowstone. We made all the major stops on the way down to West Thumb including Mammoth, Artist Paintpots, Old Faithful and many others. Hilton definitely had the most fun this day I think because we stopped frequently, probably every half hour and took quite a couple hikes so he had to spend less time in the car. We hiked to Artist Paintpots and everyone who walked by us kept commenting on 'how happy of a baby' he was and my response was 'anything to be out of the carseat'. But I do think he enjoyed the smell of the pines and all the amazing new things to see.

 

Random vents of steam became a very common sight as we drove along to our various stops

 

The Old Faithful Lodge

 

Good Old Faithful herself-so much taller than this picture gives justice to!

 

  

The second day we spent seeing the east half of Yellowstone. The only things we did this day was to stop at the Great Yellowstone Falls, specifically we hiked the lower falls-in our flip flops and Hilton in the stroller which wasn't the smartest idea but live and learn, stopped at a field between the falls and Yellowstone Lake because of a huge amount of bison, and Fishing Bridge at Yellowstone Lake. This was a bit rougher of a day for Hilton but still fun. Hilton loved watching the falls, and seeing the bison so close. We got him a stuffed animal buffalo and he slept with it every night during the trip which was adorable!

This pretty two point belongs to a herd of elk just hanging out in the north part of Yellowstone

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

We took Hilton down the lower falls hike in the stroller...not such a great idea.

But he sure enjoyed it! Even though daddy almost died trying to push him back up to the top

 

The Lower falls of Yellowstone

Hilton sure was excited by all the water. p.s. don't judge me that Hilton isn't wearing any pants...he leaked through a couple diapers already by that time and all four I packed for the day were already wet or spit up on

 

We got out of the car to let Hilton see the bison and then they started walking up to the cars...so we got back in the car but it was so cool! They walked within ten feet of the car and were crossing the road and had traffic stopped from both directions for a good fifteen to twenty minutes.

The rest of our trip we went and stayed with some friends in Yellowstone, unfortunately we didn't take any pictures while we were there, I wish we had. It was so nice to see them but once we were on our way home we were definitely happy to know we were going home. All in all it was a great trip and I'm so glad we finally were able to do it, but we will wait a couple years to go back.