about a boy...

when my sonographer told me that lillie was to be a girlie, i almost threw up. i did. because i was not only not planning on babes, i was also not planning on babes of the girlie variety.

to make matters worse, i couldn't even ask her if my future little dude was a little darkie like uncle sugar. i was planning on naming him black patrick, you see. and if she could just let me know if he looked like his thug italian daddy, i would much appreciate it.

ugh. i was also that pregnant girl whose first question to my doctor still turns me pink.

do you have any questions, karey?

i certainly do, doctor. can i jump-rope?

he followed up with a frowny do you jump-rope now?

no, i do not. i answered. but let's say i do. will anyone...fall out?

apparently, those little suckers are really in there. anyway. back to names. it was such a kick in the pants to name mrs. french's bébé bébé don't mean maybe, that amy said we could name her little guy coming in september!

now. if you don't know amy, i'd best describe her as a naughty artist hippie chick who's mad in love with love. she has two boys already, named finnian and blaise, plus a husband named joe. i've written about her before, right here. you love her, too, yes? yes. then let's name a boy.

i will begin by repeating my love for the name hely. pronounced helly. it's one of my most favorite literary character's names ever, but it would also be sort of fun to say all the time in a yell, wouldn't it?

i like old man names that would sound perfect in a back-room poker game. frank and hugh and gus and lou. gimme three, lou.

one of my most loved boys in the entire world is named theodore. my little italian nephew who is not-so-little anymore. theodore is pronounced tayo-door. shortened to theo, which sounds like tayo. but i always think of him in my head as ted.

i like winn because i think it's important for boys and men and everyone, really, to do exactly that. i like tuck because we got married on nantucket. i like cook because i once overheard a chubba-lubba little mom calling her chubba-lubba little guy on the beach cook. it sounded perfect. oh. and i like enzo. always have. and abe, as in lincoln. favorite man ever.

last summer, joe's dad died unexpectedly. i met amy shortly after in chicago as she was on her faraway to be by her joe's side somewhere in the u.k. his name was william.

my final suggestion, then, is william wild. she can call him william when she's super mad or just feeling nostalgic. and she can call him wild the rest of the time. because i imagine he will be.

your turn. want to play again? say yes.

beautiful boy found on kozan's photostream. well worth a long browse.