For years, we would discuss names we all would want to name our second child. Claire has been adamant that the name HAD to start with the letter "A" since Brenda starts with "B", Claire with "C" and David with "D". She agreed if our second child was a boy that we could name him Ethan, but she would call him "Ace". And if it was a girl, our family pick has been "Aspen". The origins of her name come from "mother earth". As a family we all enjoy being outside running, skiing, playing, skating, biking, hiking, climbing; just enjoying the great outdoors. In fact it was while we are all riding up a ski lift one winter day, that Claire first mentioned using this name for a sister. Then when we met with the birthmother the first time, she told us that one reason she liked our photo profile was due to a picture of the 3 of us skiing together, and she and the birthfather also love to ski. Claire was so excited when she heard her say that, she concluded that Aspen just had to be the name for her new sister! We hope to help Aspen appreciate this earth and the things we enjoy doing as a family. She has already brought a breath of fresh air into our lives.
As far as Aspen's middle name, Claire again has strong opinions. It must start with the letter "M" like her middle name does. And since Claire was named after Brenda's paternal Grandmother Maurine, she thought we should name Aspen after someone from David's side of the family. We thought that was a clever idea, so after much discussion, we are thinking of naming her after David's Maternal Great Grandmother, Maddalana, who was born and raised in Italy. However we are contemplating spelling it "Madeline" which is a more common spelling today. To be continued...
