Our Little Girl's Name

When people find out that I am pregnant, one of the first questions they ask is, "Have you decided on a name, yet?" Well, since Casey and I have been waiting on a baby for a while, we have, like, 10 names picked out! In general, he picks the boy names, and I pick the girl names. I knew for a long time what our first daughter's name would be. When I tell people her name, I get many different reactions, from complete silence, or "Oh, that's cute!" and I even had one person say, "No, I don't like that. Let's pick out another one." I just smiled and moved on after that comment! Anyway, what is her name going to be, you ask?

Her name will be Stella Kathleen Eichhorn. Her name is derived from family names. The following are two descriptions of the awesome women that I named her after.

There is nothing like the love of a grandparent. As far back as I can remember, my maternal grandmother would come over to our house just about every week. Her name was Stella Ann Telega Yankle, but we called her Baba. I guess my cousin Joey (who was the first grandchild) couldn't say Grandma, so he called her Baba, and the name just stuck! Baba was a constant symbol of love in my younger years. She would help my mom clean, cook, and sew. She made us blankets, pillow cases, etc. She never criticized, but she sure did love the heck out of us! She was 100% Polish and spoke Polish with her sisters. She loved Polka dancing, and even when she was in her 70's, men would comment on her nice looking legs. hehe (I wish I would have gotten that gene!) She did her rosary every night, and she raised her family as a Christ-loving family, which love was passed on to me. She passed away when I was 13 years old. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that she was here, and sometimes it seems like an eternity since I have seen her. It's still crazy that 12 years later, I still miss her so much, that I cry sometimes just thinking about her. Right now, in fact, I am crying just thinking about how much I miss her. I have felt her presence many times in my life, and I know she watches us. I like to think that she met baby Stella before she was conceived, and they spent tons of time together! I am grateful to know that I will see my Baba again.

Baby Stella's middle name, Kathleen, is my mama's name. Like Casey and me, my parents tried for years to get pregnant, but were unable to. After many years of that, here I came along! I was born on my mama's 33rd birthday, so we share a December 23rd birthday. My mom is my best girlfriend. She has been with me through the ups and downs of infertility. She has cried with me, and has been supportive. We have been through trying times in our relationship, but I think that is normal. She knows me sometimes better than I know myself. People say that I look just like her. She is one of the most faithful, Christ-like people that I know. She is also more in shape than I am, and she is really cute. Her and my father's relationship is such a testimony to us of what works in a marriage. I remember the relationship I had with my grandparents, and I want my children to have that same closeness with their grandparents. I am so excited to share the common ground of motherhood with my mother. I have a great role-model to follow.

I have such immense love for these women in my life. I had to name my daughter after them, so that when she thinks of her name, she will think of her ancestors. She will think of the legacy of love and faith that they have left for their posterity. Now, I do want to tell you that I have the best mother-in-law, and I know I have the best grandmother-in-law, even though I did not meet her in this life. I want you to know that Casey names the boys after his family, and I name the girl's after my family. Now, if we end up with all girls, we will have to change that! I also want you to know that I was very close with my other grandmother, but she just passed recently, so if we have another girl, she will probably be named after her. I am proud of my daughter's name, and I hope she will be, too.