her name

In case you didn't get the memo, Zach and I will be naming our daughter:

Finley Elizabeth Athans

I think from the time Zach and I were engaged we had decided that our firstborn daughter's middle name would be Elizabeth. For us, it was kind of a no brainer. My middle name is Elizabeth. Zach's mother's first name is Elizabeth. His sister's middle name is Elizabeth. And his grandmother's middle name was also Elizabeth. We felt that it would be only right to keep that little tradition alive in our family. 

So the hard part was coming up with a first name to go with her chosen middle name. Thankfully, tons of names sound really good with Elizabeth, which is why I think it's such a common middle name in the first place. 

Finley was always our first choice name. It's not a family name or anything, we just have always liked it. Before Zach and I even met, I stumbled across the name on a baby name website. I had been in a big phase where I really liked Finn as a boy's name and when I found Finley, I thought it would be adorable for a little girl. I've never liked super common names (although Finley is definitely rising in popularity these days), but I never wanted anything that was too weird. And I feel like it can double as a pretty name, but also a strong name--especially because we know we won't be able to help ourselves from nicknaming her Fin. 

When Zach and I got engaged, we talked about baby names and I mentioned that I really liked Finley for a girl. He then told me that one of his closest childhood friends was named Finley! I was shocked since I'd never met anyone with that name! He said he'd always really liked that name too and from then on it was always our number one choice. 

When we found out we were officially having a girl, we, of course, went through tons of other baby names. We didn't want to commit to a name too quickly. It came down to either Finley or Darcy. But in the end, we both felt that our girl was a Finley. And I think I would have really regretted it if we had chosen a different name. 

So that's how we chose our little girl's name. Finley is a Scottish/Irish name meaning "fair-haired warrior" which I think is perfect for her since she'll most likely be a little blondie while she's young and she's definitely been a warrior already throughout this pregnancy what with her SUA and her struggle to gain weight. Like I said, it's a good balance between pretty and strong. I hope that's something she can carry with her throughout her life.

We're definitely getting more and more prepared for Finley to come to our home. Her nursery is nearly finished, so I'll be posting pictures very soon! We just cannot wait for her to get here!!!