Friday, August 15, 2008

Baby Stuff

Rob and I have been tossing name ideas for daughter #2 back and forth and have decided that come December, we will happily welcome our new daughter into the world as Gomer.

Just kidding!  Could there be a worse name for a little girl?  For anybody rusty on their Judeo-Christian religious tradition, Gomer was the wife of Hosea, an Old Testament prophet.  She was a prostitute that God told Hosea to bring out of a life of sexual exploitation and abuse by marrying.  After several years of the social protection and growing love of marriage, Gomer was gradually sucked back into her old life, was unfaithful, and eventually abandoned Hosea (and their three children) to go back to prostitution.  Rather than saying, "Good riddance!" Hosea went on a search to find her and eventually discovered her sick, dirty, and under the control of a slave trader.  He literally bought her back, nursed her back to health, and restored her as his wife.  It's a story I've loved for a long time, both at the level of a story about human love and forgiveness and also as a picture of God's relentless love, even when I fail.  Anyway, despite the wonderful story, it's really hard to think of a worse name than Gomer to our English-speaking, 21st-century ears.  Could it be any more unfeminine sounding?  And then there's this Gomer?  And is naming a little girl after a prostitute, even an eventually redeemed one, ever a good idea?  I know Old Testament names are super popular right now (Noah, Caleb, Abigail, Jacob, Hannah, Elijah, etc.) but perhaps we should pass on this one.

So we have not made any progress on a name, nor much progress on how to decorate the new baby's room.  Right now it is painted a muted, pastel, grayish sage green; it's about as un-Julia a color as one could come up with.  Well, maybe a yellow-y cream color would be the MOST un-Julia color.  Or a really grayed-out dusty rose.  Anyway, I want the room to be painted a warm color because we have an abundance of cool colors in the house already (purple in Grace's room, green in our room, robin's egg blue in the living room).  I was originally really wanting orange, a light, almost-pastel tangerine orange.  However, Rob is really not feeling the orange.  After several discussions about it, it has become obvious to me that he really doesn't want an orange room and I've decided to stop pushing the issue.  I mean, it is his house too and I usually get to do whatever I want so surely I can come up with another color.  Right?  I would do pink, except Grace's nursery was pink and I want to do something different.  Maybe a light, clear pink?  That doesn't seem very different to me, though.  I am definitely not wanting yellow, for whatever reason, although I am somewhat open to an orange-y saffron yellow.  The front runner at the current moment is red.  This nursery is pretty cool, and our crib is even black like in the picture.


I've been browsing around Etsy looking for prints and artwork for both Grace's room and the new nursery and found this delightfully geeky art by Tiffany Ard.  I'm definitely either getting that H-R diagram print above or the ABC flashcards she has.  And we could spell out the new baby's name with the flashcards framed on the wall?  How awesome is that?  "G-O-M-E-R"  Ha ha!  Still just kidding!  Or am I...

A little part of me does wonder how important it is to actually decorate a nursery considering that Grace didn't spend much time in hers until she was pushing her first birthday.  Maybe this new baby will be a stupendous sleeper and be one of those mythical babies who actually sleep better on his or her own.  A pregnant lady can dream, right?  And anyway, we need to paint and organize the room, even if it functions more as a place for diaper changing, rocking, and storage than actual sleeping.

6 comments:

Amber said...

Oh my goodness, Julia, you're pregnant! Congrats! This is Amber Hennigan. Came across your blog on the Fulltons'. Expect me to be a frequent visitor... ;)

Emily said...

Congrats on the little girl! The red room is super cute, especially since the accessories are all from IKEA! How bad is it that I can recognize IKEA children's items? Secretly, I was hoping for a boy so I could get decorating ideas from you.

angie.a said...

Can I just say on the tangeriney color...I LOVE this color and painted my bedroom walls in it (Chinese Lantern I think was the name) a few years ago. I never felt "restful" in that room. It just wasn't peaceful enough for my bedroom, although I still love the color and think it would be great in a family room or kitchen. But I had to repaint, because I need peace & restful quiet feelings in the br!! What about a nice baby blue or aqua and then accent with red? (ooh, like cherries! That would be darling!)

As for names...LOL, I misread the first few sentences and thought you were naming her December. Which actually is kinda pretty!

Anonymous said...

Hey Julia! Just wanted to say that I love the colors in your new house! I'm an Etsy fan too and just came across the Tiffany Ard pictures not too long ago. We have the Prime Number counting chart for Henry's room. By the way, do you have an Etsy shop? If you ever decide to make cute boy's clothes, let me know and I'll be there in a flash! Mom's of girls have all the fun...

Unknown said...

oh, how deliciously dorky is that gorgeous artwork? i love it! and i want one!

Anonymous said...

gorgeous rooms! but oh, how I love the funny orange chair. :) I am entirely jealous of your permanent sewing area. I think you guys are more moved in there than we are here... a year later already. :/ Blessings to the Silges!