Stella, ella, ella, eh, eh

Name - a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought is designated, called, or known.

Many folks have asked Stephen and I where Stella got her name. I guess they assumed that since it sounded a little old fashioned, it was a family name. It is not. She is perfectly unique in our family at least.

When Stephen and I started discussing baby names, we instantly knew that we wanted to name her something different. Different without being weird. There is a fine line sometimes. We have so many family members, it would have been hard to name her after someone without hurting someone's feelings. I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a huge book of names. For weeks, I read while Stephen would watch t.v. calling out ones that might have a chance to make the short list. He would say yes or no. Around six names made the list. It really didn't take too long to settle on Stella. We loved the way it sounded. We loved the meaning, star. She is a star in our eyes for sure!

After we settled on Stella, it was time to choose the perfect middle name. The only family trend that I wanted to continue was for her to have an "R" middle name like Dawn and I. Stephen agreed, so I began to pour over the "R" section of the book. Honestly, not many sounded great with Stella. I was getting discouraged and thought that I may need to try something new. Then I found Rosalie. I thought it was such a cute little name, but one that would sound distinguished as she aged. Stephen loved it as well, so we had finally settled on a perfect name for our little sweetie. The meaning for Rosalie is rose, big surprise. But, the French origin is also special to us since we honeymooned in France.

Now that she is here, we think her name fits her so well. Yesterday, Stephen and I realized that my name, Layla the dog, and Stella all have 2 "L's." Her name begins with Ste just like Stephen. Even better! I am so happy that we were able to agree on one. I heard horror stories about couples that argued over names even after the child was born. Our only hope now is that she will love it just as much.

After the name choice was behind us, we Googled Stella & Rosalie. Bad move. Googling anything can be dangerous and lead to results that you wish you had never found. We realized that 3 Hollywood stars had recently named children Stella. And Rosalie is a Twilight character. . . .I assumed that people would think that we were creatures of pop culture. I even considered coming up with something new because I didn't want her name to sound trendy. Stephen assured me that we had made a great choice, plus he was more than tired of that baby name book! So far, only I have made those connections. Most people comment that it sounds southern or old-fashioned, exactly what we were hoping. Oh well - We didn't follow Tori & Dean or read the Twilight saga prior to naming our baby.

I like it more everyday! And as for the title of this blog, it's very easy to use her name in place of umbrella in the Rhianna hit. I switch it to "She's my baby Stella, ella, ella, eh, eh. . ."