Alexa knows her name!

Today was a great day! We got up early and went to work-out with Stroller Striders. Then we met our friend s Kelly and baby Cobb for lunch. After lunch, we painted more pottery!

In the afternoon, Alexa played on her mat again! And check it out... She knows her name! Click HERE to watch a 30-second video!

Click HERE for a 45-second video of Alexa trying to crawl... And, click HERE if you want to watch a long video (2:30) of Alexa playing, rolling and just having a ball on her mat.

Finally, here is Alexa playing with her elephant toy that has flashing lights. She loves it! Thank you cousin Amanda for such a cool toy!

How we chose the name "Alexa Leilani"

We considered several names... Read a stack of baby name books... Scoured the Internet looking at baby name Web sites... Narrowed the list down to our top five favorites...

And the winner was Alexa Leilani!

Here is why...

We chose "Alexa" for Papa Bean's uncle Alan, who he was very close to and who I also knew well. He signed and read the Ketubah at our wedding. He was always ready with a smile and truly enjoyed life. Every time we were up in New Jersey, he was the first one over to Papa Bean's mother's house to see us and hear all about our latest adventures.

In December, about two days after we conceived, but several weeks before we KNEW that we were pregnant, he collapsed and died while playing tennis. He was 69. I have felt the whole pregnancy that Uncle Al has been watching over Alexa, like her guardian angel. We named her in his honor. We hope she is able to enjoy life with as much joy and zest as Uncle Al did.

We also wanted her name to honor Papa Bean's grandmother, Frida "Fritzie." I met her once when we first started dating. Papa Bean's aunt Sara described her to me in a recent e-mail this way: "She was very independent, though compassionate and thoughtful to family, friends, and strangers." Aunt Sara aded: "After having met your parents in Hawaii, I know Alexa will be immersed in those qualities from both sides of her lineage."

To honor Grandma Fritzie, we considered making our daughter's middle name "Frida," spelled like the artist Frida Kahlo, or even Singer, her maiden name. But I really wanted one of our daughter's names to be Hawaiian. My side of the family doesn't have any naming traditions, but I felt that choosing something Hawaiian would reflect my background and upbringing, especially since my first name is Hawaiian.

We discussed inserting the Hawaiian name "Kai" into the name or using "Anani" or "Aolani" in a name that would have two middle names. But I felt strongly that I wanted just one middle name. After getting married, I kept my full name and made my maiden last name a second middle name and took Papa Bean's last name. So I have a four-name name. It's been a pain.

Unfortunately, "F" names are very hard to come by and there are no F's in the Hawaiian language to use for Frieda! Doh! Frieda means "noble woman" or "peaceful" so we looked at the Hawaiian words with those meanings: Kalani (chief), Keilani (glorious chief), Malulani (peaceful sky) and Maluhia (peaceful). We also looked at Hawaiian names that mean "flower" to give us the F for Frieda: Pua (flower), Puakea (white flower) and Leilani (heavenly flower).

We chose "Leilani" because of its meaning, which gives us the "F" to honor Grandma Fritzie and also because the "-lani" in the name reminds us of the beautiful beachside place where we got married... Lanikuhonua, which means "Where Heaven meets the Earth."

We didn't finalize our decision on "Alexa Leilani" until the Sunday before I was induced. So I think Alexa was late because she was waiting for us to come up with the perfect name. It took us a while.

As an aside... I would add that another cool thing about her name is that all the women in my lineage have a name in which the 2nd syllable starts with the letter "L." My grandmother is Elena. My mother is Lillian. I'm Malia. My daughter is Alexa.

Our darling Alexa Leilani. I couldn't imagine her by any other name... It's perfect. Just like her.

Baby names galore!

Last week, we posted about the Social Security Administration's news of the top baby names in the U.S. Well, it didn't take long for someone to figure out that as long as folks are spelling the same name differently (Sophia and Sofia; Katlin, Catlin, Kaitlyn) then the TRUE TOP BABY NAMES had not been reported. 

So here you go. Here is the REAL Baby Name List for 2008, according to the math of a fellow pregnant lady. Yes, at times things like baby name lists do seem like the most important things in the world to us pregnant folk. 

According to this NEW list, the top baby girl's name is not Emma, but... Sophia/Sofia, followed by Isabella/Izabella/Isabela and Ava/Eva/Avah. This list also shows the immense popularity of names like Kaitlyn and Addison, which are both spelled in many different ways. 

A note about the spelling of names. From someone with a unique name that always requires me to spell it (except when talking to anyone at the White House), I have to say... Spell it the way it's supposed to be spelled. Yes, that's right, go for Jason and not Jayson. Spell the name Addison and not Addyson. Or Allison instead of Alison or Alisson. Get creative with the NAME, not with the spelling of it. 

A couple more things about names I have learned in the past week...

The authors of the wonderful baby naming book from Aunt Missy have been busy! After their groundbreaking 1994 book "Beyond Jennifer & Jason," they came out with "Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Montana & Madison" in 2006. Their newest book, "Beyond Ava & Aiden," is due out on June 23! 

They also have a great Web site called Nameberry that you can check for hot tips on baby names. 

Here are some other great baby name Web sites: 

• Baby Name Wizard, which has great information about the popularity of names and a NameMapper tool to see which names are more popular in different parts of the country.
  
• Nymbler, which provides name suggestions based on other names you input.
  
• You Can't Call It "It," a baby naming blog.
  
• Appellation Mountain, another baby name blog.
  
• Much Ado About Naming, another baby naming blog.
  
• A Name by any other Rose, baby name blog from UK.

Breaking News: Top Baby Names!

Just in time for Mother's Day, the Social Security Administration released today a list of the top baby names chosen in 2008!

Topping the girls list is Emma, which boots Emily off the No. 1 spot for the first time in a decade. Other names in the Top 10 are Isabella, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Madison, Elizabeth, Abigail and Chloe.

Jacob remains tops for boys, followed by Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel. Also in the Top 10 are Alexander, Anthony, William, Christopher and Matthew.

Momma Bean's name moved up from #400 in 2007 to #345 last year! We take full credit, although we acknowledge that a certain daughter living in the White House may also have played some role in the name's movement.

Papa Bean's name, meanwhile, has remained pretty popular at #14 on the list. The year Papa Bean was born, however, his name was the second most popular name in the country!

See this story from MSNBC for more.

The list is based on 4.2 babies born in the U.S. last year. And it's pretty cool! You can search for the popularity of any name, check which names were most popular the year you were born or see which names have grown - or fallen - in popularity!

You can also search for the most popular names in each state, see the most popular names that are also U.S. cities, search popular names by decade or see the Top 5 names over the last century.

So what does this have to do with Lima Bean?

Well, , as you can imagine, we can't very well call our little girl Lima for the rest of her life! So, yes, the search for the perfect name is on. Thanks to Aunt Missy for sending us some baby name books, we have been making list after list!

But choosing a name is hard. Duh.

You want a name that is well-known enough so that your child isn't an outcast (so Moonbeam, Mardge and Agnes are out) but not so well-known that your child is one of 6 in her kindergarden class (no Madison, Addison or Madeline...)!

You also want a name with class and sophistication (Victoria, Anastacia, Charlotte) that is also familiar and comfortable (Annie, Jessie, Sally).

Also, if our baby wants to be a professional baseball player, she needs a name that will work when the announcer says: "Now, batting for the New York Yankees ... "

And what if she is nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court? Or becomes president of the United States? She can't very well have a name like Trixie, can she?

So, anyway, we are working on it. And you are free to submit ideas and suggestions, but don't expect any feedback on your ideas!

And don't expect an announcement before Sept. 2 (or later if our baby girl is anything like her mother, who is a big believer in being "fashionably late.")