Q and A, Take 2

Sarah asked me:

~ What are your kids' first & middle names? Any reasoning behind the chosen name? It's a long list . . . ready?

Kevin Grant: My first husband/Kevin's biological father had a brother named Kevin Grant. He was a jockey and was killed in a horse race at the age of 17. I never met him; he died a few years before I met my first husband. My first husband had always planned to name his first son after the brother he lost.

Joseph Michael: Joey's first name is for my father, whose name was Joseph (Michael's dad's name is also Joseph, but this is merely coincidental). I decided when my dad died that if I ever had another son, I would name him for my dad. I'm sure it would have meant a lot to my dad, as he was such an unassuming guy and never would have believed that he was revered that much. Joey's middle name, Michael, is for, well, Michael.

Annabelle Jeanette: The "Anna" part of Annabelle is for Michael's maternal grandmother whose name was Anna. We wanted to honor her, but neither of us were crazy about just plain "Anna." For a long time during my pregnancy, we had settled on "Annaleise" for her name. It wasn't until close to the end that we suddenly changed our minds and settled on "Annabelle." Her middle name, Jeanette, is for my maternal grandmother.

Daisy Estrella: We had some difficulty naming the twins, as we had to come up with four names! Annabelle ("Twin A") had a name long before "Twin B" did. I had always liked the name "Daisy" but never suggested it to Michael because I didn't think he'd go for it - I figured he would think it was too hippy or something. One day, however, he said to me, "Hey, what about the name Daisy?" I was floored. That sealed the deal. Her middle name, Estrella (pronounced "esTRAYuh") is for Michael's paternal grandmother.

Lilah Peggy: "Lilah" is the first name of our children's that came out of a baby name book. We had a tough time naming this, baby number 5. I remember that Michael was vying for "Lilliana" for a while. Nothing especially struck my fancy, so I resorted to buying one of those baby name books. I saw "Lila" and fell in love with it. It sounded so old-fashioned and unique - in fact, I had never heard the name or seen it written before that (of course, now I see all kinds of Lilas and Lilahs coming out of the woodwork), and that made it even more desirable to me. Michael liked the name too, but wanted to put an "h" on the end of it, so that's how we ended up with Lilah instead of Lila. Peggy was Michael's mother's name; she passed away while I was pregnant with Lilah.

Finnian Hendrix: Finnian basically came from a baby name book as well. I liked "Phineas" ever since Julia Roberts named her son that, but Michael didn't like it. We both liked the name "Finn" but wanted it to be short for something. I saw the name "Finian" in a baby name book and suggested it to Michael after months of debating what we were going to name this baby. He immediately liked it but wanted it spelled with two n's, which was fine with me. And funny thing is, it was all decided by text message (I also texted the news to him that I was pregnant in the first place!). Finn's middle name, Hendrix, is a nod to Jimi Hendrix. Michael is a guitarist. 'Nuff said.

Thanks, Sarah!

I'll try to get to some more questions later :)