What's In A Name?

I love hearing stories about how people chose their child's name. Names can have so much meaning, and I have always loved dreaming about what I would name my children some day. What no one tells you is how huge it seems once you actually have children to name. I mean, this is something they will have for the rest of their lives. It's a huge decision and one we have never taken lightly, which is why it has always taken us until the very end to decide. Here are our kid's names and the reason we choose them:


Hannah Michelle
Meanings: Hannah means "grace" and Michelle means "who is like God?"

I have loved the name Hannah since I first heard it when I was about 12 years old. The neighbor across the street from us had a little girl named Hannah and I thought it was a beautiful name. I also really like the meaning. Rob and I thought the middle name Michelle went well with it and it is also my twin sister's middle name. I like that they share a middle name - it makes it more special to me. Hannah's first name was choosen a week before she was born and her middle name was choosen at the hospital before I gave birth. We often call her our little "Hannah Banana".


Hailey Isabella
Meanings: Hailey means "wise one" and Isabella means "my God is a vow"

Rob actually suggested the name Hailey to me when Hannah was about a year old and we started thinking about trying for baby #2. He said he thought it was cute and went well with Hannah's name. I agreed but told him if we did name a girl that and had any more children, the "H" names stop here. I suggested the middle name Isabella after a dream I had about a month ago. In my dream, I was standing at the top of our steps and looking down the stairs. There was a child who was maybe 6 or 7 coming up the stairs that I knew was Hannah. I looked around Hannah down the steps and standing there was another little girl who was about the age Hannah is now. She looked very similar to Hannah but different somehow. I said "Hailey Isabella, you come up here too please" and then I woke up (this was all before we knew we were having another girl). Isabella was actually on our top 3 list for Hannah's name but we didn't even discuss it this time. The meaning is special to me since we had some issues getting and staying pregnant. Hailey's first and middle name were choosen a few hours after she was born. We have started calling her our little "Hailey Belle".