The New Baby's Name Will Be . . .

Zoe Elizabeth!

Long before I was pregnant, Paul said he liked the name Zoe. It is Greek for 'Life', and he came across that while researching Sophia's name, which means 'Wisdom' in Greek. He thought they were good names together and suggested it as a name if we ever had another girl. So, once we found out it was a girl I searched for lots of names, but nothing really stuck out and Paul kept going back to Zoe. I asked Thomas and Sophia what they thought and they immediately started calling the baby Zoe, so the name just kind of stuck. Other bonuses of the name Zoe are that I've never had a student named Zoe and none of my friends/relatives are named Zoe or have kids named Zoe. It's kind of different, and not something I ever thought I would choose as a name for my child, but it just happened. I also was somewhat partial to a short name and so it worked out.

Elizabeth is Paul's grandmother's name, and Thomas and Sophia both have names from my side. Paul wanted a family name and of all the names he suggested, Elizabeth sounds the prettiest with Zoe, and it sounds like his grandma was a pretty neat lady (she passed away years before I met Paul).

So, for a little background - here are the other kids' name explanations: Thomas is my Dad and Brother's middle name, and Paul really likes the story of St. Thomas (doubting Thomas). His middle name is Vincent and he is named after my cousin who I grew up with and he passed away in an accident in 1999. Vince was 10 years older than me and tortured me like an older brother when I was younger, but I was growing up to be alot like him. I miss having him around and wanted to honor his memory.
As for Sophia's name, we picked it mostly because I really liked it. Then, Paul did a bunch of reading about Sophia and how it means Wisdom and its significance in the church. Her middle name is Vallerino, which flows nicely with Sophia, and is my Mom's maiden name. There are no more Vallerino desendents - my Mom only had one sister and my Grandfather had all sisters who married, so no one carried on the name.

So, that's the story of the new baby's name! I'm 20 weeks along, so I'm about half way there. Baby Zoe is moving around alot, and my nausea has pretty much gone away. My students comment nearly daily that my belly is getting bigger, and I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable doing some things. But, so far so good! I'll keep you posted!