If Lou Had Been a Boy . . .

In a previous post, I discussed the baby names that did not make the cut. We also had a third girl's name. Louisa Bryn Caroline was almost Zella Ruth Caroline. Zella was my paternal grandmother; Ruth was Bryan's paternal grandmother's middle name. Ruth too was my maternal grandmother's middle name. It was a grandmotherly fit. But in the end, that sweet girl looked like a Louisa. We knew that was her name the moment we knew she was ours.

When we announced our pursuit of a second child, we fielded a few questions here and there about the gender. Would we go for a boy because we already had a girl? For whatever reason, most who asked were surprised when we said no. In fact, while we were open to welcoming a boy into our family, we really wanted a girl . . . for no explainable, logical reasons other than we just felt like girls were meant to be our kiddos.

A friend of mine and former Fort Worth Moms Blog contributor wrote an excellent piece about our culture's obsession with having balanced genders in a family, "one of each," and still a belief that a "father needs a son." Certainly, in the adoption world that sentiment is less true because the root issue of genetics is taken out of the equation. You should give the article a read; it's interesting and makes a good point.

But I digress.

If God had given the Yourees a boy, this would have been his name: Silas Baker Joseph Youree.

Silas: When we were dating, Bryan cited his paternal grandfather (Forest Eugene) and his maternal grandmother (Betty Zane) as the two greatest influences in his life. As you likely know, our eldest daughter is named Anna Zane. So, for a boy's name we chose Silas. You know how Matthew and Levi are the same name? Well, Forest and Silas are the same name. Silas would be in honor of Papa Youree as we like to call him.

Baker: Baker was my mother's maiden name, the surname of her father Paul Albert Baker. Because he passed before I was born, he's always been mysterious to me. I've noted that no one in my family really ever had anything negative of consequence to say about him. Actually, quite the opposite; apparently to know him was to love him. And I'm sorry I never did. So, for me, the name means being a man of integrity, of empathy, of strength. It means all the qualities I imagine Papaw Baker possessing, all the qualities I hope he possessed.

Joseph: This is a family name from Bryan's side. Rumor has it Bryan was almost named Joseph. Thus, adding Joseph to the mix honors his father's dreams and family heritage. Joseph is also a nod to my dad, who's middle name was Joe. His initials were B. J. This little boy's initials would have been S. B. J. The name Joseph was for our dads.

But it doesn't look like Silas Baker Joseph will join our family . . . yet. (Hahahaha. Just kidding there, Bryan. Please don't faint.) I suppose, though, never say never.