Puppy's First Day

We got up 4-5 times last night to take the puppy out or put fresh paper down. I was super tired from being so freshly surgeryed and the long drive to pick up the puppy. She did well all day too. Always pottying on the paper or outside. We decided to take her for a walk as a family before lunch. She'd never been walked on a leash before so I was worried we wouldn't make it out of the driveway. It went really well for her first time. Then later in the day we took her to get a few more toys and more puppy pads. She was incredibly well behaved in the car and the store. The salesman asked me if she did commercials. When we got to the check out the people ahead of were asking if they had any Golden Retriever puppies for sale. They're right to be jealous she's an amazing.

Puppy Names

• Lenore
• Aurora
• **Lucy
• Tinkerbell (Tink, Tinker, Belle)
• **Molly
• Monroe
• Capt Janeway
• Eres
• **Addison (Addy)
• Pepper
• Piper
• Daisy
• Estelle (Stellie)
• G'linda
• Ursula
• Nelly
• Gertie
• Wrigley
• Ripley
• Juniper
• **Penny
• Priscilla (Cilla)
• Kelly
• Pumpkin
• Starbuck
• Petals
• Leeloo Dallas

The ones with stars are my favorites. We're narrowing it down. She deserves a great name.

What's in a Name?

It's so funny to think about it over a year later, but deciding what to call another human being is a daunting task. I pondered names long and hard. I took a baby name book from the library at one point and wrote this list:

*Serenity
Huyana(falling rain)
Liadah
Kiernan(Irish saint)
Gwendolyn (blessed ring/fair browed)
Jessalyn
Ophelia
Penelope(weaver)
Repunzil
Saige(knowing, wise)
Saddie(princess)
Tatum (be cheerful)
Trella(little star)
Ilianora
*this list was never approved by Mike or even for the most part anything I was seriously considering

Let me just say that in my experience the name discussion is definitely one where you're gonna disagree more than you agree. When we first started dating we decided if we had a baby "someday" we should have a top 3 for each sex. We loved Serenity for a girl, it was a done deal for our hypothetical daughter. For a boy we liked Simon Oliver, Maverick, or our third choice completely escapes me now.

As soon as I got pregnant I suddenly hated Serenity. I just knew that wasn't who was in there. Just as suddenly Mike found ourselves in whole hearted agreement on Maverick for a boy. We focused our efforts on girl names. I had dreamt about my "fairy baby" so we tried to come up with uncommon names with an ethereal feel. When we had narrowed it down a bit we posted a list for friends and family to vote on.

Maverick Steele or Maverick Stone (Mav for short)Meaning Fiercely independent

Riley Grey or Riley Eris Meaning-Space in a rye field/courageous woman
Jessalyn Eris (Jess for short)Meaning-Woman of wealth
Aerilynn Sapphyre (Air A Lyn)Meaning-Beautiful air
Serenity Wysteria or Serenity Wyllow (Ren for short)Meaning-Calm/tranquil
Violet Eris or Violet Moss

By the time we entered the OR having long since decided on and abandoned Maverick Steele for the boy who wasn't to be. We had narrowed our girl choices:
Riley, Jessalyn or Violet

She came out and gave the NICU team a run for their money. They kept laughed and applauded her good weight and healthy lungs. One nurse called over "you got a feisty one here mama!" I said "Michael, you know what we have to name her." She named herself really.

Now after all the stress, worry and arguing I look at her and I can't imagine her with any other name.