Our newest little baby face...and her NAME! :o)

We could not be more excited about our sweet new addition, who we found out on Christmas Day is a little girl! 

I didn't have a specific preference as far as gender goes, honestly, because if it were a boy: (1) we've done a boy before...not that children are in any way carbon copies of each other, but it just adds a bit of comfort and familiarity to the whole situation, (2) Nathan has been so much fun: how could we not be excited for another boy? and (3) we have 29358 rubbermaids full of NB-2T boy clothes...can you say cheaper than buying girl clothes!?

However, we got a GIRL!!! When we were pregnant with Nathan, all I wanted at first was a girl (sorry, Nathan--obviously no hard feelings now!) because I am the oldest in a family of all girls. All I knew were girls. I had no idea what to do with a boy, and it still surprises me when he's obsessed with words like "gross" and "pee-pee/poopy"...it's an ever-learning process :o) 

In any case, when I thought Nathan was a girl, I couldn't be more excited to buy headbands, baby tights/leggings, dresses, and other fun little things that boys just don't get. It didn't take long for that to change, though. I love it on days like today, when Nathan is running around in little blue jeans that look like an adult's and a fun little shirt that could be his dad's also. He looks so grown up and adorable! I love how classy he looks on Sundays in his little sweaters or button-downs and sweater vests, complete with little leather shoes. I love the mini tennis shoes, etc. This whole girl shopping thing is just a completely different world! I have only looked at girl clothes a total of, oh, three times so far, but it is just different! And I tend to be picky. I hate how ALL baby clothes are cute as can be and then you see a stupid butterflies or puppies embroidered right in the middle. Just leave it plain! Anyway, I'm glad we have time to buy all these clothes because it might take me awhile :o)

As far as a NAME goes, we have put a lot of thought into it, since we got pregnant with Nathan and wondered if he were a boy or a girl. We used our boy name on him and saved our girl name for this little sweet pea! We like to use family names. Nathan is Nathan Patrick Dooley. Nathan is just a name we liked, but Patrick is my father's name, Mitch's brother's middle name, and their uncle's first name. 

Dooley is a weird name to match first names with. Larson was easier. But anyway...

This little girl name has quite a story behind it as well. Mitch's parents were sure they were going to adopt a little baby girl from China years ago, after they had their four kids. At just about the last minute, things fell through. My poor mother-in-law felt as if she'd had a miscarriage, losing a baby she was sure would become part of their family. So we picked the first name that they were going to use for her, in honor of the sweet little girl they never got to hold. As far as a middle name, that was easy: my mother and mother-in-law have the SAME middle name! So, we name our little baby after both grandmothers at once. Awesome!

So, come end of May/beginning of June 2013, 

Eliza Kay Dooley

will join our family, and we could not be more excited :o)

(Disclaimer: YES, I know that Eliza Doolittle is the main character in My Fair Lady, and Eliza Dooley is a close call to that character's name. I will also probably end up calling her Liza for short, it just rolls of the tongue easier, and I know that Liza Minnelli is a basket of weirdo. However, no one our little Eliza's age will know who either of these people are, so I don't really care! Ha!)