The Name Game

I apologize for my long absence. To be honest, I'm not sure where I've been. But it feels like the weeks are really starting to fly by. I had to take a deep breath the day I saw the calendar flip from May to June. June??!!!? Really? That means it's summer, and summer means it's just about time to have this baby! Perhaps, that's a slight exaggeration, but that's definitely how I felt during my first few waking hours of June 1.

But, with the minor panic attack aside, our house has been full of excitement. Things are really starting to happen, and it's making this whole process seem so much more real. It's tough to deny the inevitable when you've got a crib sticking out of the room formerly known as the guest bedroom. Beautifully, it's now being called the nursery. And as soon as we move the queen-sized bed out of there, it will soon start looking like one - and I can't wait!

And, now for the 1-2 people who don't already know, I'd like to introduce this little girl by name....

Sophia Grace Acosta

It was actually a fairly easy process for us. For some reason, Herschel has always known that if he had a little girl, he wanted to name her Sophia. And, frankly, I have no objections to that. Another big plus, is that both of our families can pronounce Sophia. Laugh it up, but it's true. You have no idea what an ordeal that is. But yet it's important. In fact, we might just have to name any other kids we have Sophia also, just so we don't have to come up with any other pronunciation-neutral names. I kid....sort of.

Her middle name, Grace, is a name I've always loved. It was also my great-grandmother's name, which I just think is kind of cool. But when you put her name together it will mean "wisdom and grace." (Sophia means "wisdom.") And that is definitely our prayer for her - that she will grow into a woman full of wisdom and grace. No pressure, right?

We are so anxious to meet Sophia and learn all about her personality, her likes and dislikes, her strengths and weaknesses. But for now, we are enjoying feeling all of her kicks and punches. One thing that is already very evident about her is that she is definitely a squirmy little booger. The doctor mentioned that even before we'd ever seen an ultrasound of her. Even when they were trying to get her heartbeat the first time, she would barely hold still long enough to hear it for more than a couple of seconds. And that first prediction by the doctor has been confirmed in all of our ultrasounds. Every tech has commented on how much she moves around. And as she has gotten bigger and stronger I get to feel (and see!) evidence of that as well.

That has been by far one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. Being able to feel her move is absolutely amazing. And it's even more special now that Herschel can feel her, too. I love sitting in bed at night watching my belly bulge or twitch in one place or another as she moves around. It's funny, but it's also so reassuring, just knowing that there's life in there. So that makes me not mind when I get woken up by a swift kick in the side, because I know it's just Sophia saying, "Hey, mom, I'm still here!" As if my growing belly, sciatica, leg cramps and constantly full bladder would ever let me forget.