Oliver and Abigail

Here’s the post about how we picked out little Al Gore and Crabby’s names… Thanks to those of you that played along- we had a lot of fun hearing your guesses and were impressed how many of you guessed correctly.

When we walked out of the ultrasound on February 24^th when we found out we would be having a boy and a girl Matt said, “Let’s name them Oliver and Abigail.” We tried out many, many different combinations but this is the one that we could both agree on- here are some of the reasons why.

Oliver Matthew Whitmer

Oliver

The Stats:

Name Meaning: (French) Elf army/Olive tree- kind of an unusual meaning but I like the elf reference, and olive trees are very cool trees plus they have a good reference to the Garden of Gethsemane- overall not a very big factor in why we picked the name but still interesting to know

Name Popularity: 98- for 2009 up from 140 in 2008 about as popular as it was in 1900, much more popular in UK and NZ- we seem to like British names

Matthew- chosen for the sole reason that it’s his daddy’s name. I really don’t have strong middle name preferences and Matt did so there you go.

Reasons We Liked Oliver

1. Matt liked many “O” boy names-but Oliver was the only one we could both agree on.

2. I like the Oliver Twist and Oliver Wood from Harry Potter references. There have also been some famous Olivers like Oliver Cromwell, Oliver Wendell Holmes…

-I don’t really like olives so the olive reference wasn't my favorite- hopefully he won’t get made fun of for that too much

Abigail Whitmer

The Stats:

Name Meaning: English/German/Hebrew God is joy, Exalted Father, or My Father is Joy (appropriate since Matt was the one to suggest this name)

Name Popularity: 8- very popular for the last decade, then not so much even though you’d think it would be popular a long time ago. This was THE biggest qualm for me and why it took me so long to commit to this name. I have popularity issues. As a former school teacher I really hope she doesn't have 3 other Abigails in her class. Matt assures me it’s not too bad having a popular name, and Abigail is almost the same percentage that Erin was in 1985 when I was born.

Why No Middle Name: Charlotte didn't get a middle name either because it's my family tradition to not give girls middle names. I like not having a middle name and now I use my maiden name as my middle name occasionally. I think middle names are superfluous and it's hard enough to agree on one name.

Reasons We Liked Abigail

1. I liked the reference to Abigail in the Bible 1 Sam. 25:3 “Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance.” Pretty nice huh? I wouldn't mind being referred to as a woman of good understanding and beautiful countenance.

2. There have been two first ladies name Abigail (Abigail Adams and Abigail Fillmore)- I love names with good history

Things We Liked About Both Names:

1. Old Fashioned like Charlotte

2. Same # of syllables- although every other name on my list was 2 syllables or less and usually less than 5 letters.

3. Nicknames- with 3 syllables we thought it would be impossible to not have some nicknames and Olly and Abby would go really well together as “twin” names without being the same first letter or something they would be stuck with their whole lives. I also really like Gail as a nickname if she decided she liked that better because one of my best friends is named Gail. We will usually use Oliver and Abigail but Olly and Abby occasionally is fine. I like double letters and I wanted them to be short and spelled the same which is how we chose the nickname spelling.

4. Neither of us has known any Olivers. We have known a few Abigails but none that have been so closely connected that I minded too much. This is a big one for both of us. We don’t like knowing people with the same name as our kids.

I still haven't decided if I like everyone knowing better or if I like keeping it a secret. As soon as we posted the video I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I have commitment issues with names. I felt the same way the first time I heard Matt say Charlotte's name on the phone. I still haven't been able to call them by their names very much yet- they are still baby boy and baby girl to me.

37 Weeks Pregnant with Charlotte

36 Weeks Pregnant with the Twins-

Holy Cow am I bigger- here's the funny thing- I am exactly the same weight in both pictures- no joke- don't ask me how.

As of last Thursday's appointment I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced which is almost exactly what I was the day I had Charlotte. We started to get a little worried they were ready but so far they are hanging in there. On Sunday I had Braxton Hicks (Matt calls it false labor) all day long pretty consistently Everyone was watching me like a time bomb. Poor Matt had to change diapers and make dinner on Father's Day so I could stay on the couch. I did make breakfast for the poor guy before they started. I have a cold I'm getting over right now and I told the twins they weren't allowed to come until I felt better- I'm glad they listened. 36 weeks is really good for twins and next week I'll be considered full term. The ultrasound this week estimated the boy at 4lbs 10oz and the girl at 4lbs 1 oz. 36 weeks and 4lbs each was my minimum goal so every day and ounce more feels like a gift. I can't believe it's so close. I'd like the get off bed rest so I can clean my house once more- I'm sure that would put me into labor after 5 weeks of bed rest!

See post below about twin naming and take the survey to the right for fun >>>>>>>>>>>