Baby Names 101

 

 

Today I decided to link up with Andrea from Momfessionals.  I have been  stalking reading her adorable blog for a long time.

 

How did I come up with the name for my little angel face? That was easy!!

 

I've loved the name Tatianna for as long as I can remember.  It was supposed to be my name when I was born. My Mom told me when I was a child and I always thought it was a unique and beautiful name

 

It may also help that it means "Fairy Queen" and anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE FAIRIES!!

                                 

I know you’re sitting on the edge of your seat wondering why it wasn’t chosen as my name.  That’s another story!

It’s all because of this:

                                                

You are looking at a drink called a "hot toddy". My grandfather said it'd be my nickname. So, he and my Gram convinced my Mom not to name me it.

 

  

Ha ha! Not to be easily swayed by others and because I'm pretty sure no one drinks these anymore- it was a non-factor for me. But, I'd like to also think it was fate. Maybe my Mom was saving the name for me: she just didn't know it yet!    

 

Luckily, Warren liked the name too and that was that.  We didn't even consider another girls name.   I let him choose the middle name and he picked Lee.  That gave me the perfect opportunity to  change it up and pay homage to my favorite movie character of all time. She is just gorgeous. So, I had to spell Tatti's middle name Leigh; not Lee.  Poor girl has 25 letters in her entire name. Just 1 letter short of the alphabet.

 

 

I should also talk about how I spelled her name. I spelled it Tattiana. There is a method to my madness. I'm a thinker. I think things through, play devil's advocate with myself and really try to look at all angles.  I knew her nickname would be Tatti.  I didn't like the way Tati would look if I spelled it Tatianna (the traditional way). So- TATTIANA. 

 

I sang her a song from the time she was a teeny-tiny tot.

 

She's the prettiest girl in the whole wide world

Her name is Tattiana

She's the prettiest girl in the whole wide world

My little Tattiana

T-A-T-T-I-A-N-A

T-A-T-T-I-A-N-A

My little Tattiana.

 

I'd like to think it helped her learn how to spell her name!

 

There are some other girl names  I love too. Here are my top 3:

1. Meadow- so pretty!!!!!

2. Caroline- How fun would it be to sing the version of Sweet Caroline from one of my favorite movies?- Beautiful Girls.

3. Briella: Ahh, the nicknames are endless- Bri, Elle, Ella, Brielle

Now, boy names: That's another day!! We literally had no idea what we would name a boy and we didn't know what the baby was until she was born.  We may have left the hospital nameless.

Warren like 1 name- Dawson. Me... not so much! It's a perfectly wonderful name. But, it reminded me of Dawson's Creek; plus we had 2 Dawson's in our school already (I'm a teacher) and I wanted something unique.  Here are names we threw around: Donovan, Tavian, and Holden. Now, I love Kash and Brody!!

On another note: let's take a minute to be thankful that I wasn't a boy because right now; McAuthor would be sitting here typing this????

 

My Mom  fondly recalls the night Tattiana was born (27 1/2 hours later).  She said Warren came in to the waiting room and said "You can come back to meet the baby" She said they all asked what it was and he said he'd let me tell them. When they walked in I said "It's a Tattiana."

 

My cousin likes to call her Tater Tot; which is ironic because I always thought a boy named Tavian would give me a Tater (Tavian) Tot (Tatti).

 

So, there it is. A super long post on names!!!

      

              

I'd love to hear how where your family names came from. Please share below!! And check out all the other interesting name posts.              

Christmas Cards anyone?

Yesterday we had a little snowstorm and had a day off of school. I decided to take advantage of that by doing a little Photo shoot!  It was snowing, it was beautiful and it was just too perfect to resist.  Here are the end results.

 

The hard part will be choosing which one to send! I'm so excited with the way they turned out!! I decided to go onto a photo site and make some  of my own  "inspired" cards.  

 

Do you have any favorites?  What do you do for Christmas cards?

Christmas Gifts for under $10

I have to admit that I was a little conflicted writing this  post.   It's because I LOVE Christmas. But, I only love Christmas- after Thanksgiving. You see, I have this little thing where I just cannot do Christmas before Thanksgiving.  But, the day after Thanksgiving- it's on. That's the day we decorate for Christmas. 

 

Anywho, since this is about Christmas shopping (and I may or may not start that right after the previous Christmas); I figured it'd be okay.   So... Here we go!  Here's my favorite finds for her under $10. Great stocking stuffers!

 

 

 Here's my new favorite nailpolish. It really does last long. It really does not scratch. I can take my other nails and scrape them along the front of my polish and it doesn't come off. I got a bright baby pink and a red color. I love them both.  They last long without chipping too.  There is a little catch to the under $10. You need the color and a topcoat (which is what makes it a "gel").  It still counts right?   If you haven't tried this yet- you need to.  I can't wait to get more colors!

 EOS is one of my favorite brands. You just can't go wrong with it. I love their lip balm. I love the hand lotion. It smells and feels great.  It's not too greasy- which is super important! I even love the shaving cream. It did take some getting used to though because it doesn't lather and it was weird at first. But, it's smooth and works great!  I even seen some holiday packs out right now. Hurry, the women in your life will thank you.

These pens- where have you been all my life? I am one of those people that  can have really nice handwriting (when I want to) or it can be super sloppy. The pen make a big difference! I need fine point. I always loved the regular Pilot pens, but these- I cannot tell you enough how much I love these pens. I cannot see myself ever purchasing another kind of pen again- they are that good!!!  They come in all kinds of colors and multipacks. And they are WAY under $10. Do you have a special teacher in your life? This would be a great gift. They will thank you.

Do you have any of these products? What do you think about them?

Veteran's Day Assembly

Our little school has a great Veteran's Day assembly.  A bunch of veterans from our town usually attend and classes do readings, songs and poems to honor them.  It's a really special assembly.

 

Soccer Championship

Our little Tatti's soccer team  was on FIRE this year.  It was the first year they played competitively against other schools.  It was a U-9 team and  there were only 2 girls who played on the team last year that returned.  It was an exciting year. The girls had crazy speed on their side.  We ended up winning it all!!

We are so thankful to have such a great group of kids, families and coaches. We got to spend the season together. There were some nail biters- but the girls played hard and with heart!! That's why : They are the champions...

After the game, the girls sat in the back of a truck and paraded through town. It was freezing so, they stuffed in our warm van before pulling out.

 

We had everyone over to our house for a little party for the girls. They had a blast!!

 

Trunk or Treat and Halloween

Our high school Stand Tall (against drugs) club hosts a Trunk or Treat for the kiddos. They go all out decorating their cars. It's a safe place for the kiddos to trick or treat, play games and enjoy some food.  It's a lot of fun and another reason we love living in a small town.

 

I had to do a close up of Tatti's makeup. The spider lashes were from Target. They were perfect because her witch dress had spiders all over it!!

 

She ran into some of her friends. Which just makes the night even more fun!!

 

Pam got her these cute skulls with money attached instead of candy.  Tatti practiced her best witch cackle. We ran into our cousin Khloe trick or treating. It was a great night!!

 The kids got to wear their costumes to school, but Tatti's class was doing a lot of activities so we didn't think a hoop skirt would be too comfy. We opted for an impromptu genie costume made from some dress up pants and Mommy's jewelry.

 

The Pumpkin Patch

I'm starting to realize that we have a lot of yearly traditions!  If we go somewhere as a family that we love- the girls ask to go back. I know those memories will be the ones they will look back on and treasure most. So, when we find a place we love- we return!

I love the pure joy on Tatti's face when she's holding the chicks!  We love to go to Cherry Crest. It has a huge corn maze and lots of ride and activities for the kids.  What impresses us about this place is that every year they add more activities and improve the look of it. It's very clean and well organized. A great family day!!

 

 

It had rained in the morning, so the place was totally empty. It was great! The kids got to do whatever they wanted. There were no lines for anything!!!

See you next year- Cherry Crest!