YOU NAMED ME WHAT???????

Our sweet baby girl was blessed this past Sunday. Russ gave a beautiful blessing and spoke loud enough for us all to hear...which was hard since Sierra cried quite boisterously the entire time!

Baby blessings are a beautiful LDS custom. Russ gets to place his hands on his little daughters head and bless her with all of the things any parent would hope for their child. Others are invited to participate in the blessing. We were so lucky to have my dad (Sierra's PaPa) come from California to help give her this blessing. It made it so much more special having him there. We also had some good friends of ours help cradle her as the blessing was given.

In the blessing, Russ asked that she be watched over throughout her life, that she will know how much her parents and her Heavenly Father love her, that she will be close with her siblings, that she will be an example to others around her, that she will eventually marry in the temple and have children of her own, that she will be mindful to those around her and help those in need, and that throughout her life she will always go to the Lord in prayer. It was beautiful. It was perfect.

Mere seconds before Russ was to walk up and give the blessing we didn't know what her name would officially be. We had our top three names selected, but I wasn't able to make a commitment. Silly me. I like to think that she's just so special that I can't pick a special enough name...but whose kidding who...the problem was that I'm mildly crazy. Russ took the bull by the horns so to speak and just went with whatever came out of his mouth. I think it was a great decision.

He blessed our sweet baby with the name: Sierra Isabella-Mae. We will call her Sierra with an occasional Bella or Izzy Mae thrown in there. We call Jayda the following names: Jayda, Jayda Grace, Grace, and Gracie. Whatever comes out of our mouth at the moment is what she responds to. So, we figure an extra long name giving us multiple options is great. Some may think it's too long or too much, but the name really gives us what we wanted. It gives us the name Isabella Mae (we love calling her Bella and we wanted to name her after my grandma), but we also love Sierra. So why not have it all? Celebrity babies get 3 names all the time!

Thanks to those who voted on our poll. Your help was appreciated.

We will call her Sierra, but you can call her Sierra, Bella, Izzy, Izzy Mae, or "cutest baby in the entire world." Any of those will work.

Name our 6 month old ---- PLEASE

As many of you know, we have never been happy with the name Sierra Bella.


I'll give the reasons we don't love her name in a future post.

Some of the time we call her Bella (which is great), but most of the time we call her "baby." The poor little thing needs a name.

We are frustrated not being able to decide and we are embarrassed it's taking us this long.


So, PLEASE take the poll on the side bar and help us pick a name!


Even if you don't normally leave comments - take our poll! We need help.

Here's a little bit of extra info to help or hinder you in your decision making...

Mae was my grandma's middle name. Virginia Mae Porter passed away the same day we found out we were pregnant. I adored and admired by grandma so the middle name "Mae" would be a tribute to her.

If we keep the name Isabella in there somewhere than we can still refer to her as Bella as we have for the past 6 months. Or we could call her "Izzy" which is super cute too!

Isabella was the 2nd most popular name the last two years in a row (this could be seen as good or bad - you decide).

I like the name Brooklyn - but I don't like "Brooke" or "Lyn" for nicknames (even though my middle name is Brooke).

Does Chloe sound too much like Cori or is it okay?

Anywhoo-this info may have helped or hindered or at a minimum sheds some light on why we are undecided (other than the fact that we are lame).

So, please cast your vote, leave me a comment if you'd like (please don't offer up new name ideas - I may go postal if I have to consider anything else...my brain can't take it!) and check back later for our decision.

We are blessing our sweet baby on Sunday, September 20th so we will have picked a name by then.

So, what will this little buggers name be?

Happy Anniversary

First Came Love...
First date - Sadie Hawkis.1997
Weren't my pants awesome? (ha) Check out Russ' bleached tips! (hillarious)

Russ' Senior Prom 1997

Then Came Marriage...

Wedding in my Grandparents back yard - September 6, 2003

Then Came Baby in a Baby Carriage...

Happy Anniversary!

Together for 12 years

Married for 6

Hand-in-Hand for Eternity

Amazed: Our Wedding Song

Every time our eyes meet

This feeling inside me

Is almost more than I can take

Baby when you touch me

I can feel how much you love me

And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything

I can hear your thoughts

I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I want to spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby, I'm amazed by you.

Our Wedding Dance song still rings true 6 years into this bliss. I truly love you more every day. Thanks for loving me and for being my best friend and for being such an amazing dad and husband. Thanks for working so hard to provide for us and for coming home and working even harder to help with the girls. Thanks for kissing me goodbye and telling me you love me every morning before you leave for work (even though you wake me up at 5:30am to do it). Thanks for making me a wife and mother. Thanks for holding my hand through laughter and tears...and morning sickness. Thanks for making me laugh even when I don't want to. I could go on and on about all of the things I am greatful for, but in reality it boils down to this: I love you more than anything or anyone and words can't express how blessed I feel to have you.

All my love,

Cori

Daddy Daughter Date

Russ sure loves his girls. He knew that our sweet Jayda needed some parent time without the baby around so he agreed to watch Bella while I took Jayda out for a mommy - daughter date. We had plans to go get ice cream and a pedicure.

That plan was short lived. Jayda saw her daddy come through the door after work and INSISTED that she go on a date with her daddy. She says with a high-pitched squeal, "I have a good idea! Mommy can stay at home with the baby and I'll go on a date with daddy for ice cream without anyone else!" Russ tried to talk her into going with me for pedicures because he figured I needed some "outside" time too, but she looked so sad about having to go hang out with mom that I thought she was going to cry. She just wanted to be the special girl in daddy's life and share some yummy ice cream. So that's what they did. And for Jayda, it was pure heaven. Although I'm pretty sure it was heavenly for her daddy too!

I hope she always knows how much this man loves her. I will never be able to truly describe to her how much she means to him. To us. To our family.

Frustrated, yet grateful...

Dear Pre-Baby Body:

I miss you. Terribly. I miss our shopping trips, our skinny jeans, and our shirts that buttoned over our boobs. I miss our normal bras and our t-shirts sans spit up. I miss our jeans hitting our waist without the "muffin top" that does overfloweth.

I miss our smooth skin that didn't break out as if we are prepubescent and our hair that used to be curly or straight or anything other than its current state of frizzy undecideness.

I am trying to find you again, oh pre-baby body of mine. It's hard work. You're pretty far away. You're somewhere through the valley of sweatpants, over sized men's t-shirts, and sensible shoes. But I'm coming for you, fear not. Be patient. I will find you. Somehow. And we will frolic again through the fields of high heels and True Religion Jeans.

Longingly,
Post-Baby Body



Dear Post-Baby Body:

You rock. I am undoubtedly in your debt. What an amazing feat you have achieved. My little baby thanks you for your life giving abilities, your food processing, and your sleep depraved circles that now rest under your eyes.

You were necessary, and appreciated, and valued for all you did.

But your work here is done. It's time for you to leave. Vacate the premises. Go on a looooong vacation. Perhaps permanently - I'll let you know if your services are needed again.

However, feel free to leave behind the patience you gave me that helps me laugh during bouts of sleeplessness, the ability to do 500 things with only two arms - all at the same time, the ability to love more than I ever knew was possible...and my bigger boobs. Those can stay.

Gratefully,
Cori - on behalf of her pre-baby body and all her clothes that feel abandoned.

More Jayda-isims

I found Jayda playing on the computer when she's not allowed to do it by herself.

Cori: "Jayda. You know you're not allowed to play on the computer unless you ask and I'm with you."

Jayda: "Well Mom, I'm talking to someone."

Cori: "You don't talk on the computer. It's not a phone."

Jayda: "I'm not talking on the phone. I'm talking by sending emails."

Cori: "Regardless, you're not allowed to do that whenever you want without asking."

Jayda: "Yes I can. I'm emailing Jesus and you told me I could talk to him whenever I want no matter where I am or what I'm doing!"

...well played Jayda. Well played.

__________________________________

I opened my eyes early one morning and was greeted by Jayda staring at me.

Cori: "What are you doing? Why are you out of bed?"

Jayda: "Mom. Get up. It's a beautiful day!"

Cori: "Jayda-go back to bed. It's too early to be up."

Jayda: "No it's not mom. It's a beautiful day. Get up. IT'S TIME TO GET ORGANIZED (she yells)."

Cori: "Get organized for what?"

Jayda: "The day. I am the woman."

Cori: "You are what woman?

Jayda: "I am the woman that is going to change your life!"

...Is Jayda watching self help tapes instead of Yo Gabba Gabba??? She cracks me up!

Sierra - 16 Weeks




4 Generations of Meredith/Porter women!