On pregnancy (#3).

I've been having brain problems today. I successfully paid for several bags of screws at Lowe's today (Paul's building himself an antenna...) and then left the store without said screws. I could not for the life of me understand our next-door neighbor when she talked about their day of boating. And I giggled through the entire closing prayer of stake conference because there was a superfluous woman perched on the stand for no reason that I could discern throughout the closing hymn.

Clearly, this brain malfunction is not my fault; it's pregnancy. But rather than focus on the woes of gestating, I'd rather discuss baby names (because it's fun). Indulge me.

[Disclaimer: Paul and I have a difficult time coming up with names that we can agree on. We named Caleb the night he was born (and the next morning Paul had second thoughts--which I obviously poo-pooed and totally ignored). So I'm not sure there's even a possibility that we will actually agree on a name before this baby arrives. What I'm saying is: this is just an exercise of listing.]

Names Only I Like

• Lucy. This is also the name my sister's cat goes by (the cat's actual name is Lucifer). The cat was a member of my family before Paul was, so no one supports me in this. I'm okay with it.
• Ruby. Turns out my grandpa wanted to name my mom Ruby, but Grandma nipped that in the bud. I feel his pain.
  
• Ellen/Elena
• Blythe

Names Only Paul Likes

• Beatrice
• Frankenstein
• Smithy

Names Only Caleb Likes

• Bono
• Leia
• Bellelle

Names We Can All Agree on (except Caleb, whose vote doesn't actually count)

• Leah: I've always liked it. My and my dad's middle name is Lee (so it would be a stretch, but not that much). But: I think the connection to the Old Testament is a negative one, and I would hate for her associate that story with herself. I also don't really like the way it sounds with our last name. (Maybe it's time to hyphenate!) Finally: Caleb likes to claim that he talked to the baby when he was in heaven and that she said her name was Leah. You may think that's hard to argue with, but when you're heartless and skeptical of your child's convenient memories, it becomes a lot easier. All these problems may not be deal breakers, though.
  
• Natalie: nothing to say beyond the fact that we both like it. But I'm worried that it's too popular (in the top twenty for the last six years according to the Social Security records).
  
• Nora: My grandma's name was Elnora Virginia (she went by Virginia). My mom tells me that Grandma will haunt us if we use the deeply hated "Elnora" to name a baby Nora after her, but, frankly, I'd be glad to see her.
• Cecily: My biggest concern here is that she'll get called "Sicily" instead, which would be a little annoying. But I might be able to overcome that just because I really like this name.