How Hazel Kate got her name.

I've been meaning to post how Hazel got her name. So now is as good a time as any...right when I should be getting dinner ready.  Well it all started Thanksgiving weekend, a couple short days after we found out we were having a girl.  Out of the three children we have, we had the hardest time deciding on her name.  Mitchell came from a very short list we had compiled, and we liked his name best.  Obviously.  Luke was the only name we ever talked about...and it went something like this...(1) ultrasound appointment finding out the gender (2) Todd calls me up a couple hours later and says, "I like the name Lucas, what do you think? (3) I respond, "ohhh, I LOVE the name Luke.  That's it!" (4) Todd says, "great!"

So, we're sitting on the couch at my sister-in-law's house, and Todd and I are coming up with several names for the list.  Keep in mind, this is not the first time we had talked about names, but it was the first major "pow-wow" regarding names. There were a few that rose to the top of the list- names like Lydia, or Claire, or Katherine.  As we're going to bed that night, Todd says, "what about Hazel?" Now, you may think this is simply another name to add to the list, per my approval. It was that, but this name was like no other on the list.  This name had some significant meaning. Now it's time in the story for some background information:

Everyone in my family gets a nickname from my Grandpa Hunter. Some of them are pretty ridiculous.  Some are pretty tame.  Jon is Gustav Adolf. Kenna is Bubba. Clark is Per Olaf, or C-lark. My nickname didn't actually come from my Grandpa.  My dad came up with it, and that's what stuck for everyone.  My nickname is Hazel May. Or as Jon likes to call me, Mazel Hay. I've had this nickname for as long as I remember.  People in my family still call me Hazel more than Haley.  I respond to Hazel like it's my name...well, cuz it is.

When Todd brought that name to the list, I wasn't quite on board with it to begin with.  I had to let it "soak in" for a little while before I really started to like it.  I hope it's not too arrogant to name your own child after yourself, but that's not really what our motivation was.  We love that her name has a special meaning behind it, but we also love the name Hazel.  It is old-fashioned, but many old-fashioned names are making a big comeback.  I hope that she grows up liking her name, and thinking it's neat to be named after her mom's affectionate nickname.

Now, for her middle name, Kate. We are completely in love with the name Kate.  We think it pairs well with Hazel. Doesn't Hazel Kate sound great? We think it does.  Up until her birth, both Todd and I had debated if her first name should be Kate, and her middle name Hazel.  We really love both names so much, it was quite difficult for us to really pinpoint which should be which. Additionally, I have a good friend named Kate whom I know from our time in California.  She is an amazing person, an amazing mother, a loyal friend, and I miss her all the time, wishing we lived close once again.  Since we love the name Kate, and I love the person Kate, it was pretty easy to go with Kate as Hazel's middle name. 

So, there ya have it.  Hazel Kate it is.