Names

Coming up with a name for Baby Girl #2 was really hard.  We finally decided on naming her Penelope.  We haven't thought of a middle name yet but will hopefully decide on that soon!  Penelope is not a common name these days and I am so glad for that.  One of the names we first thought of was in the top 5 for names in 2011.  We also heard a story from a friend who had originally named their baby that name after she was born.  Her husband was looking at the baby in the nursery and the nurse said, "Yeah, she is the 5th baby born today with that name."  We decided to go with a different name.  It took me a while to get used to Penelope, but now I love the name.  I think it is perfect for her. 

After we decided on the name, I looked up the meaning.  I saw that it said weaver.  Well, I didn't think that was very cool until I looked up the reason it is associated with a weaver.  Here is what I found:

In Greek mythology, Penelope was the wife of Odysseus who waited for him to return to her for twenty years. She avoided remarriage by claiming she would not remarry until she had completed her father-in-law's funeral shroud; every night, she unraveled part of the shroud so that the project would take a very long time. In literature, her name has become synonymous with faithfulness. Also, it means duck.  My sister told me about that meaning.  Duck was Savannah's favorite word.  When I found out about that, it confirmed in my mind that I wanted to name her Penelope. Some nicknames for Penelope that I like are Pen-Pen, Ellie, Pen, Poppy, and I am sure there are more.   Penelope is moving all around now.  I can watch my stomach move sometimes.  I can't wait to meet her in June (or May.)