Monday, October 20, 2008

SpaghettiOs

Everything is going well! Brenda returned home Saturday night and is feeling much better. The baby is doing well; he has been upgraded from the NICU to the Intermediate Nursery. He is no longer on any oxygen supplementation, and he no longer has a feeding tube. The only deficiency he has is the absence of a first name. She wants Thomas as his middle name after the Prophet, who has been her "favorite" apostle since childhood. But he lacks a first name! Brenda and I are at a standstill, and we cannot seem to arrive at a mutually satisfying name.

She brought one name to the table with no alternatives: Brady. To her, his name has been Brady the entire pregnancy. Brady means "spirited," an adjective he has demonstrated since early in the pregnancy when we were surprised that he hung in there. It's the first time in any of her three pregnancies that she has known what name she wanted. However, she has brought no alternatives to the table.

I have brought three names to the table, my favorite being Zach. The other two I like are Cole and Trent. She is not crazy about any of them. That being said, the only reason she doesn't like Zach is because it shares the same vowel sound as Matt. That's it. That's the hold-up, a single vowel sound. It's not like I suggested his name be Zatt or Max or Nat--names that actually sound similar to Matt. I just love the idea of Zach Miller. It follows our "one-syllable" trend. Zach is common but not over-used. And it has a great meaning: "the Lord hath remembered," which also seems to beautifully describe the early course of this pregnancy. Plus, you can call him "Z" or "Little Z." How cool is that?

I like to think of this whole scenario as a group of us getting together at a restaurant to order an entree. The only catch is that we can only place one order because we all have to eat the same dish. I have suggested at least three things from the menu that would be enjoyable--Filet Mignon, Alaskan King Crab, and Lemon Rosemary Chicken, but they have all been vetoed. The only thing my dearest treasure of a wife has selected from the menu happens to be an undesirable dish to me: Spaghettios. Certainly it can't be unreasonable to expect that she at least provide a few menu options to choose from... None of this "there's only one thing I like on the menu" nonsense. On the other hand, I could follow my Mom's advice to be more flexible and let her order her SpaghettiOs since it is, in a sense, our last meal. (Seriously, nobody can actually think SpaghettiOs are edible.)

Now we're at the point where we've been sitting around the restaurant table for five days, and nothing has been ordered. The tension at the table is thickening. We are all hungry. The waiters/waitresses are rightfully getting frustrated checking back at our table only to continually be turned away with no order to process. I am now more interested in just getting an entree on the table than to have my selected dish served. I told her to order what she wanted; it's time to end this five-day fast. Just get something on the table, and I will learn to like SpaghettiOs.

By writing this account I am making our marriage into somewhat of an open book involving readers. Maybe it's not maritally-intelligent to do so. That being said, does he look more like a Brady or a Zach?



13 comments:

Sarah C said...

Your comparison is funny. I am sorry it has been so hard to pick out a name. He is sooooo cute. Brenda and your baby look great. I am glad they are both healthy and doing well. Good luck selecting a name. I think they both sound good.
Congratulations!

kdance said...

Hmmmmm, I think he looks more like a Brady. I also like the way "Brady Miller" rolls off the tongue. Zach is a great name, too, though.

Anyway, CONGRATS you guys!!!! What a wonderful little blessing. I had a feeling I should check the blog, wondering if the baby had arrived yet. I'm so happy to hear things are going well. Brenda, you look great. I'm sorry to hear that the placenta didn't seperate, but so glad that you were able to bring this little guy into the world! Hope you are feeling well and healing fast! Miss you!

Carrie said...

First- congratulations! Second- good luck picking a name. I like them both. Maybe we will use whichever one you don't because we don't have any ideas for boy #3. We may call ours "Boy". You are welcome to use that also. :) good luck!

Wendy said...

I'm so happy that I found your blog just in time to vote on a name! j/k, really, all the names are great--and he is so darling! I never had a baby with so much gorgeous hair. Just as an aside, Karissa, Sydney and I really like Zach (but Karissa suggests a spelling of Zac, she says it's way cooler that way.) So there ya go. Love you guys!

{Erica} said...

I like zach but brady is a VERY close second. That being said, i told bret when we were deciding on names that if it came down to us having a hard time agreeing on a name I would win since all the kids would have his last name :)...although have yet to have it come down to that I'm not sure how that would fly with him.

Debbi said...

What a cute little guy! Glad everyone is doing better and things are going good. Hope you can decide on a name too - I like Brady Thomas, or Zachery Thomas, but not Zach Thomas so much.

the Smedley's said...

Congratulations! I am so glad that everyone is doing well! How are Drew and Matt taking it all in? Beautiful pictures...and my vote is for Brady (which thereby means that Jerry votes for Brady too ;)

Unknown said...

Sorry Ryan- My vote is for Brady. Sometimes the mom just wins. When we were pregnant with Savannah she was going to be Faith which we had both agreed on and one day I just said that she is going to be Savannah and could you imagine Savannah being called Faith? I don't think so. I loved the comparison though. Does Brenda have everything that she needs? I feel bad that I'm not there to help. She was such a help to me when we had Curtis. You guys will forever be in our thoughts and prayers. Love, Angela

Rhodenizer Family said...

Congratulations! I have to say, we love all the names...granted we have a Zachary (Zac) and a Thomas, and one of my favorite nephews is Brady. So, I guess we're not much help here! Good Luck! Glad to hear that everyone's hanging in there!
The Rhodenizer's

James and Jessica Ford said...

O.K. I love marital issues. I think the one that usually wins the arguments...should give in this time. However, it will probably be the person who usually gives in...to give in, unless however, the person who gives in knows darn well that the person who they are giving in to is going to choose the name that the other person wants becasue they just can't handle the guilt of thier spouse having to live with a name that thye don't like. So actually, you both kindof know what the name is going to be becasue you have been married long enough that you both know what the other person is going to say and do. Tell me if I'm right? I probably should have been a psychologist or something. Good luck you two. I am just happy to see a sweet, little boy...no matter who wins!

Ed & Natasha said...

He is so cute guys - and it's so great to see you with a "big", healthy looking baby - I like Brady too - maybe because it also seems like a little tie to "Brenda" almost like the male version of - which I think she deserves. Brady to me also seems like a big guy game, and Zach seems like a small guy name - and since he's the biggest of your precious boys - my mind is drawn toward that. Maybe a compromise of offical name being Brady, with a nickname of "little z"? huh? Whatever the name, he is a darling baby.

Brenda said...

The comments and feedback have been helpful. Tomorrow is our deadline for a name. Karissa, if we go with Zach, it will probably not be "Zac," as much as I love High School Musical. We'll post as soon as the name is decided. It looks like I am getting slightly outnumbered; although there were a few votes for my "little Z." Thanks again!

Carmen/Alan said...

I like Brady. No hard feelings :)
You all have such cute kids! They are so precious when they're born and after too. We are so happy to hear all is well. Brenda you look great!

Monster Mash

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