What's In A Name?

Jeff and I are working on finding the perfect name for little Meatball. Both Jeff and I are honing our lists and using our veto power to hone the other's list. We are not ready to make any disclosures, but I can share some names that ended up on the cutting room floor, even though they may have been one-time favorites for one of us:

Owen (I like this name, but it reminds Jeff of Danny DeVito's character in "Throw Mama From the Train".)

Griffin (Jeff is very smitten with this name, but I haven't come around yet. It sounds like a family name that doesn't belong to our family.)

Christopher (I love this name, but recognize it could complicate the whole interreligious nature of the marriage, considering the proximity to Christ and Jeff's proximity to his Jewish roots.)

Haden (I love this name, but Jeff finds it a little feminine. It was freshly vetoed this afternoon.)

Simon (I was actually lukewarm on this name due to some vague memories about a Saturday Night Live Skit involving Mike Meyers playing some naked British baby, so it wasn't a huge loss when Jeff gave it the old heave ho.)

Zander/Xander (I love this name, but Jeff, without explanation, declined to consider. Perhaps this is for the best since we really need to narrow down, not keep adding to the list.)

Jasper (This is the heartbreaker for me. I love this name and can picture a little cherub running around our house terrorizing us while wearing his monogrammed onsie. Jeff won't budge. Last I heard him say, "Jasper has the word 'ass" in it." I took that as a veto.)

This weekend we also got a chance to see how Sadie would react to having a little brother around. We visited our friends who have a 4-month old baby boy, and while I or Jeff was holding him, Sadie expressed her displeasure. Loudly. At first I tried to tell myself she was mad because she wanted to hold the baby herself, but she made it clear that she didn't want me or Jeff to hold any baby except for her. She also went on a bit of a sleeping strike this weekend, and I wondered if that was related. Our little Sadie seems to be deep in the throes of working on her attachment issues and object permanency, which is a lot of fun, until she starts shrieking in my ear as soon as she gets wind of the notion I might be leaving her side. On Sunday, I took a little quiet time alone in the bedroom while Sadie and Jeff were playing downstairs. Jeff said that as soon as she could hear my voice (talking on the phone) she was very upset that she could hear me, but that I was not with her.

And, the moral of that story is that I need to talk more quietly when I am on the phone.