If you ever asked my parents, they'd tell you that they never quite know what to expect with me.  It seems I'm always trying to conjure up some sort of surprise and I dont just do things the way most people do them.  For example, the way we told them we were pregnant - through a webpage (of course).  Here's a link to that post.  So, as to not shake the boat, Miguel and I decided not to simply "tell" our parents the name we'd decided to give our new baby girl.  We had to make a game out of it, so we had an impromptu "naming party" with the grandparents.  Miguel's dad Julio even joined us on the telephone.

We announced that we were having a naming party that night with the works: cake and sparkling wine.  We asked everyone to put their suggestion for a first name in one bowl, and a middle name in a second bowl.  Then, we would pick names out of the bowls.  If we liked any of the suggestions better than our own, we would use them.  What seemed like a rather silly and benign game ended up being quite a hilarious affair.  Names came out of the woodwork like Sunnie, Bellebonne, Rose, Bella, Gertrude, Star and Chickadoodle (an entry from our chickens, apparently).  With Julio on the phone giving Miguel multiple suggestions - and even calling us on our second line to add others, we had quite a good time with all the combinations.  

In the end, Miguel and I decided to stick with our original decision, and our baby girl was "toasted in" with the new name of Linnea Evangeline.  Nickname: "Ellie" for her initials "L" "E".  I'd say that the reaction overall was not as grandeur as we were hoping for, but I think it takes a little time for names to sink in.  Now that a day has passed, and Linnea is sticking to her as a Pronoun replacing "Whose Its" and "It" and "Sweet Pea", I think it fits her perfectly.  Linnea stems from the name of a flower - the Linnaea Borealis (a small fluted white flower on a delicate creeping vine named after Carl Linnaeus).  Since I am named after a flower "Mountain Heather", I thought it would be fitting to have my daughter also named after a flower.  Evangeline comes from nothing other than the fact that Miguel and I both like it.  It also happens to mean "the bearer of good news".  We like the way it rolls off the tongue and creates a distinct separation before her last name.  

Grandpa and Miguel also celebrated with fine cigars in the backyard and fancy Argentine whiskey to seal the deal.  It was risky getting those cigars - originating from that small unnamed country starting with "C" - but apparently well worth the effort.

So there you have it - all you wanted to know and more.  Can't wait for all of you to meet Linnea.  She's wonderful and we look forward to loving her more and more every day.