After our long infertility journey, choosing our babies’ names was such a gift. We had babies, our very own babies, that we got to name! What a miracle. We wanted their names to mean something special, and it’s interesting where that journey took us. I kept a list of baby names that I would jot down when I heard names that I loved, and we didn’t end up using any of them. Funny, huh? If you need some help in choosing a perfect name for your baby, I have partnered with Pampers today to help you with that! Read on, friends.
GOLDIE EMMA PARCELL
When the embryos were transferred in December of 2015, the “Silver and Gold” song by Burl Ives was playing in the Utah Fertility Center office. You may remember hearing this song on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Tyler and I were singing along to it, nervously waiting for Dr. Foulk to come in and transfer the embryos. Tyler said, “if this is successful, and both embryos take, let’s call the babies silver and gold instead of baby A and baby B.” I laughed, and agreed! As you now know, both embryos did take, and we called the babies “silver and gold” throughout my entire pregnancy. Baby B, or “gold,” was our girl. The name Goldie just seemed so right!
My dear grandma Emma passed away in the spring earlier that same year in 2015. Many of my most cherished childhood memories are with her. We would go to her house frequently and make homemade noodles; there would be flour everywhere and she acted like she didn’t mind one bit. She would help us make the dough, then shape it into balls for us to roll out. We always loved the most fun part, where we would push the dough through the noodle press and turn the handle to flatten it more and more. We would eventually switch out the part so that the dough was formed into noodles. Eating those lunches and dinners after we made the noodles was always much fun! She was an excellent cook and I’ve never tasted a better pot roast in my entire life. She didn’t measure ingredients when she cooked; most of the time she threw in spices and just the right amount of whatever she needed. Everything always turned out perfectly. I always thought she was too humble about her food; we would compliment her about how good it was and she had a hard time taking a compliment. We still wonder if she knew what an amazing cook she was.
She was a hard worker, and had a wonderful business out of her home making Barbie doll clothes. You should see these clothes! The most intricate, beautiful little dresses you have ever seen. Growing up, I thought it was normal for my Barbies to have the most beautiful wardrobes on the planet. As an adult, I look at her work in awe!
We would go to dinner at her house at least every other Sunday, and my extended family was always there. Her home was my safe haven and I always felt welcome. The cares of the world seemed to slip away, and I was a kid again. I remember one of the last few dinners that we had when she was healthy. It was a Sunday afternoon with perfect Fall weather, and the windows were open slightly so that the curtains billowed away from the window softly when the breeze hit them just right. I sat on the tall white stool she had in her kitchen against her wall that’s still there, and I remember thinking that this is what heaven must feel like.
HARRIS WALTER PARCELL
Most of you know that my husband’s name is Tyler, but I’m assuming that most of you don’t know that his middle name is Harris. Harris Parcell was Tyler’s grandpa. I never got to meet him because he passed away when Tyler was young, long before I joined the family, but I have heard so many wonderful things about him. It’s interesting, because like I said, Harris wasn’t on our radar when we wrote down baby names, but it felt so right as the time got closer for me to deliver the babies.
Tyler’s dad’s name is Walter Harris Parcell, but everyone calls him “Walt.” There are many things that I love about my father-in-law, but two traits seem to stand out the most. First, I love that he puts his family first. He is very much a family man and Tyler has such incredible stories of growing up in his family with his dad taking him and his brother and sisters on fun adventures. I think the thing that is most impressive to me are the stories where he taught his kids to work hard. Tyler is one of the hardest workers I know and he isn’t afraid of hard work. He knows how to do pretty much anything around the house; I always tell him that he is my own Mr. Fix It. He owes all of this to his dad, who wouldn’t tolerate lazy children. Walt set him up for a life of success and knowing that he could accomplish what he worked for.
I think one of my favorite stories from Tyler growing up is when Walt found out that Tyler had gotten in trouble for something at school. From what I understand, he was a bit of a mischievous little boy. Walt found out just after Tyler had mowed the lawn on a Saturday, so Walt made Tyler mow the lawn again…even though it was already done. Work was a big answer to trouble, and Tyler grew to be a really hard worker! I think that is such a good trait to have no matter what role you are looking at; father, provider for your family, volunteer at church, husband, or friend. Hard work will get you very far in life and in your best efforts to do good in this world.
I love that my son has the same name as his great grandfather, grandfather (“Popsy”), and dad. I hope he follows in their footsteps and becomes a great man as well. He is already finding and giving Goldie her blankie when she is upset, so I would say that the little guy is on the right path.
FIND THE PERFECT NAME FOR YOUR BABY
The Pampers Baby Name Generator is so cool. You can click here to access this amazing tool to help you find a name for your baby that is perfect based on what you love. You can search for names by filtering based on gender, theme, length desired, first letter, and my favorite – origin. The Pampers Baby Name Generator can help give you some really great ideas! I love that you can choose by origin because you can find names based on your child’s ancestry to make their name very meaningful. You may discover names that you love that you didn’t even know came from that origin. It is so nice to have a tool like this in a really important decision – naming your little miracle!
This post is brought to you by Pampers, a brand that I absolutely love and use every single day!
We’re due with our 2nd in a couple months, and her name is Goldie Marie. ????
Aw I love it! I can tell she will be lovely already 😉