What's In a Name?

Naming children can be a little tricky sometimes, especially when said child is your fourth and you have set a precedent of giving your first three children two family/meaningful names each (both first and middle name). We knew this little girl deserved a special name and it took us nearly the whole pregnancy to agree on the perfect one...luckily we found it!

I never thought I'd have another little girl if I'm being honest because who can be lucky enough to have two little boys and then two little girls? That seemed like a dream I felt guilty to even wish for, which made it all the sweeter when I found out that I was having a girl and Quinn was getting a sister! My sister is my very best friend and the thought that my Quinn would now be getting a sister BFF of her own had me in mega tears. It became immediately clear to me that this little sister should be named after my little sister and hopefully would be every bit the kind, wonderful, funny and thoughtful person that Ashleigh Nicole has always been. I cried like a baby when I told Ash that this baby would be named after her. I said it then and I still mean it now, if baby Cora Nicole is half the sister, woman and friend that my Ashleigh Nicole is than I'll be forever grateful...and so will Quinn! 

We dove deep into genealogy charts in the hope that a name or story would touch us and we could pass it on to our baby girl for her first name. About halfway through my pregnancy we learned about Cora Alice Wigginton, James' great aunt who not only owned her own business (intelligent, hard working, dedicated) but also took in and raised her brother's children when he was unable to do it (loving, nurturing, selfless).  These were all qualities I wanted our baby girl to have and this name moved to the top of our list.

We're never ones to name a baby before we meet them, but it didn't take long in the hospital before we knew for sure that she was our Cora Nicole. A name rooted in so much goodness but is also hers to grow.