Whats in a name (Pt. 2)

So there's a long winded explanation to the origin of Carter's name. For Ainsley - not so much.

We had gone through hundreds of names, and there was almost no overlap between the names that we both liked, our friends hadn't used, or one of us wasn't adamantly opposed to. Mandatory Venn Diagram:

See that little smidge in the middle? We knew it had to exist. We spent weeks going through websites trying to find 2 names we'd like. (At this point, we didn't know the genders of the twins.. ) I'd like Sloan, but she'd oppose it. She'd suggest Collette and I'd dread it. We had come up with exactly one name we could agree upon: Avery. I didn't love it, but I wouldn't have been opposed. I really wanted to give Lovanna more influence over her name as she had acquiesced on Carter. My main reservation on Avery was that it was nearing the top 10 of names and I prefered something a little more unique.

So there were names we kinda liked, but just weren't ready to use. There were others we really liked, but had already been taken. Then we came across the Baby Name Finder and began looking at names we liked. It actually showed us quite a few names I hadn't thought of.

This isn't the actual name map, but it was very similar to this:

When I saw Ainsley, it had a ring to it. I didn't say anything because I was so accustomed to having any name I liked shot down. Then it happened; Lovanna commented 'What about Ainsley?' and the seed was planted. I fell in love almost instantly. The name has a Gaelic root, meaning a wooded clearing or a Meadow. I liked the name Meadow, but I couldn't see naming my daughter after a Soprano's character.

Lovanna didn't instantly fall in love - in fact we went  back and forth for months. If we had ended up with 2 little girls, they would have been Avery & Ainsley. (Side note - if we ended up with 2 boys, it would have been a disaster. )

I think Ainsley took the lead one night when we were at the WORST STORE EVER buying fabric when a mother called to her daughter, Ainsley. We were almost in shock, as we had never heard it in real life before. I think the lady could tell because she looked at us. We told her we were thinking about using the name, and she explained that Ainsley had been the only one in her classes, and how she thought it fit her daughter (who, by the way, was very independant and was not about to let her mom pick out the fabric for her clothes).

As for the spelling, there is a tradition on my mom's side of the family that all the girls get a Y in their name - my mother was Martha Lynn, my aunts Mary Beth and Robyn, and my Grandmother Martha Evelyn. Ainsley will keep this tradition alive.

As far as her middle name - Mattox. This is my mother's maiden name. While I will always be a Nimmo, there is a large part of me that is a Mattox. When my parents divorced I was a small child,  and I spent alot of time with my grandparents. They provided alot of stability that I would not have otherwise have had. They became like a second set of parents to me, and for all they have done for me I will be eternally grateful. In this way their memory will live on through Ainsley.
And because I know this is why some of you come to the site, mandatory cute picture time:



Lovanna's first time changing Ainsley - and she got a surprise!



I throw my hands up in the air sometimes...