When I was pregnant with Shannon, everything was (of course) for the first time. First kicks, first bout of sickness, first unbelievable amount of blood drawn, etc... ( I learned to request a bed BEFORE they take all those vials of blood) So our first name choice for her can be written off as a mistake due to inexperience.

Cora.

Such an old but never-heard-much kind of name. I liked it. Tim, well, I don't really remember what Tim thought. He was wisely keeping his opinion to himself. (I believe) I really have no memory of what he thought. I'm pretty sure he was more concerned with relishing life as we knew it while he could. (correct me if I'm wrong, Tim)

I don't recall what boy names we had picked out. I was pretty sure it was a girl. I had the dream. With every child I have dreamt what it was. (not exactly correctly, but I'll get to that)

Shortly before the due date, (Nov.4) Tim and I suddenly decided we didn't like "Cora" and swiftly switched to Shannon. It came out of nowhere and had no meaning except that we liked it. So there she is. And I guess we still do.

When it was Daniel's turn, I knew I felt a little different and had inklings it might be a boy. I was scared of this idea and so generally convinced myself it was a girl. We had many lovely names we both liked. Meaghan, Sarah, Erin, Rachel... So sure was I that we were having a girl, I ignored the dream in which I gave birth to a lovely red-haired boy. Well, no red hair, but DEFINITELY a boy. We had only briefly discussed boy names during contractions, (his delivery went MUCH smoother than Shannon's thanks to a well-timed epidural) and so Daniel was so named largely due to the wonderful effects of a marvelous anesthesiologist named Dan. And "Danny" just sounded cute to me. (singing "O Danny Boy...") We still have yet to really call him that. But I do sing the song a little. (I really should learn the words)

By the time Katie came, we were pros. Girl would be Katherine Lucille and boy would be William... something. (I don't remember) So the only change was from Katherine to Katelyn. And the only reason was timing. Had she been born 10 mins. earlier (or later) she may have been Katherine. Labor with her was so easy (practically pleasant) and we felt no pressure to make a firm decision. It was a nice day and I think we were happy with either name. Her dream was a bit more odd. First, I dreamt that an old neighbor of grandpa's called to tell me it was a boy. I woke up thinking,"oh, OK." No excitement, just alright then. Later I had the dream she was a girl but I can't remember specifics other than she was about 10 and had long, dark hair.

So that's it. Why they are who they are. And of course, I couldn't imagine calling them anything else. (Except "pipsqueak" once in a while)

That's Katie on top and Shannon on bottom. I meant for them to be switched, but I haven't got the hang of this yet.