No Name Brooks

When I was pregnant with Nicholas, we had his name picked out within days of finding out he'd be a boy.  Brandon was reading War and Peace at the time, and there were several characters named Nikolai.  Brandon suggested that as a name.  I responded, "no, but how about Nicholas?"  Then Brandon came up with Dean for a middle name, and we knew that our little baby was going to be Nicholas Dean Brooks.  Perfect name for that kid.

We were really excited when we found out we'd be having a girl next!  Renae was a girl's name we had thrown around as a possibility if Nicholas had been a girl.  Brandon and I still both loved that name when we were picking out a name for Renae.  Brandon had suggested the name Renae, but I was adamant about the spelling because I knew of some people I really admired who used that same spelling.  Initially we were going to use Kiley as a middle name (my mom's maiden name), but Renae Kiley just didn't sound right.  Then during one sleepless night, the name Autumn came to my mind.  She was a September birthday, and her beautiful red hair fits right in with the colors of autumn.  Renae Autumn Brooks was another perfect, easy name for us to come up with.

I was almost positive that Seth would be a girl, and we had picked out the name Adelaide Grace as being what we would name her.  Then we were surprised (but delighted!) to find out our baby was a boy.  We struggled for weeks to figure out the right name for him.  There were a lot of names we liked, but didn't necessarily love.  Maybe a month after we had our ultrasound, Brandon suggested the name Seth.  At least I think it was Brandon.  I loved it.  It felt right.  We had thought about the name Elliott, but never loved it as a first name for this boy.  But, as a middle name, it worked really well.  I can't imagine our Seth Elliott Brooks being called anything else.  Except for maybe Sethy Doo or Monkey Toes, but I'm sure he'll grow out of those nicknames soon enough.  :)

We are really struggling with a name for baby #4, though.  Once again, we had some great ideas for a girl's name (I loved the name Clara Paige), but nothing for a boy.  I can already tell that this little guy has a pretty special place in our family, and I want him to have a name that is as special as he is.  We thought we had a name picked out for him the day of the ultrasound, but after 3 weeks or so, I didn't care for it anymore.  Then we came up with another, but after 2 weeks  or so, Brandon wasn't feeling it.  Now with 10 weeks to go, we just hope our little man has a name by the time we bring him home from the hospital!  I'm sure we'll come up with an awesome name for him, but until then, we are definitely open to suggestions!