So I may be a bit biased, but I think Maggie is one of the cutest babies ever. To prove my point, head over the my good friend Rhonda's photography blog and take a look yourself. Isn't she just so talented?! She came over Saturday and took these pictures of Maggie. I love 'em! Thank-you again Rhonda :-)

What's in a name?

Names are important. It's who you are, and how others know you. It can also be a link to your family.

My middle name is Dawn, after my Grandma Brooks - I was the first grand - baby in the family. Sean and I have given a family name to each of our three kids as a middle name. We hope they are proud of the names they have, and exemplify the qualities of their namesakes.

Kaden Spencer Thomas - Kaden is named after his Grandpa Brooks (my Dad, Thomas Mark Brooks), who is also named after his Grandpa (my Great-Grandpa, Thomas Tew Mendenhall) I'm glad that we are living so close to my parents now, so that Kaden has a chance to really get to know the wonderful person he is named after.

Anise Maline - Anise is named after Sean's Grandma Wilde (Maline Wilde) Anise never did get to meet her namesake, as she passed away about 3 months after she was born, but I hope through the stories from others she can be proud of that name

Maggie Leone - Maggie is named after my Grandma Frache (My Mom's Mom - Rayma Leone Frache) She is named after her two aunts. Again, I'm so grateful to be able to be living so close to Grandma, so that Maggie can get to know her too.

As for the kids first names, we just liked them. But we did find out that Maggie is a family name on Sean's side of the family too. We also made sure that there wasn't anything too traumatizing that their names could rhyme with for other kids to tease them - Maggie probably has it the worst, but she also has two older siblings to protect her and make her tough, so I think she'll be OK - as long as the kids teasing her aren't her brother or sister!

How about you? How did you come up with names for your kids?