Willow Virginia

We had such a difficult time coming up with Willow's name. We didn't actually decide on her name for sure until the morning after she was born. On the one hand, naming each subsequent child seemed to be harder than the last. On the other, I felt like not deciding on a name was a coping mechanism for us. We were so nervous about everything turning out right this time. 

There I was, nearly 40 weeks pregnant, and Lane and I hadn't made any progress on choosing a name. I didn't feel that the names he suggested were the right fit, and he didn't like the ones I suggested. Finally about a week before her due date, we started making individual lists and Willow was on both our lists. We still didn't decide then, but at least we'd made some progress!

I just love the name, but I started to look up the meaning at the hospital to see if that might help us. Willow means slender and graceful. And then I looked up the symbolism of the Willow tree. Here's where I knew we'd found just the right name. 

"The willow tree gives us hope, a sense of belonging, safety and the ability to let go of the pain and suffering we have experienced and grow new, strong and bold. The image of the willow tree is our path to stability, hope and healing."

And then there is this baby's middle name, Virginia. We knew that would be her middle name. Lane's grandma Virginia Chaney died just in August. She was so happy to know we were expecting another baby. She would tell us how she'd prayed for twins, and just couldn't wait for everything to turn out right for us. Grandma Chaney always told us the story of how she cared for her little Laney when he was a baby and no one could get him to eat except her. We always looked forward to hearings her retell this story, and she never failed us. It felt right to honor Grandma Chaney like this. 

So Virginia is Willow's great grandmother's name. It's also the middle name of her other great grandmother, my dad's mom who died years before I was ever born. Auntie Cynthia and Willow share the middle name, Virginia, and it's where Lane and I lived some of our most fun years on the East Coast. So many reasons this middle name is just right for our littlest girl. 

She really is our little girl, smallest of all our babies at 7lbs, 14 oz but just as long as all the rest at 21 1/2 inches. Willow came with a full head of hair, just as we suspected she might. She is the most delicate, slender peanut of them all. Our hearts can take a sigh of relief now that she is home safely in our arms. We love you, Willow Virginia.