Dear Baby No-Name,

As of right now, you don't have a name.  Oh, we've got lots of ideas, but no one can agree.  Your sister....well her names for you are very interesting: Sunshine Rose, Delancy Devon (a character in a Barbie movie I think??), and whatever crazy string of letters she thinks of on a daily basis.  Your dad's picks: very, very normal, common, popular picks.  Not that I don't like them, but I don't think we can have an "Annessa" and a "Jane" for instance (don't worry, Jane wasn't one of his picks, I'm just sayin'...)

And mine?  Well Dad hasn't like any of them.  And I haven't been thrilled about any of my picks either.  The problem is that I want your name to be meaningful because you are so meaningful to us.  I am just hoping a name will drop from the sky or we might just have to call you Sunshine after all.

Right now we are toying around with a name from a character on the "Vampire Diaries" that Dad has been watching.  It's not a bad name, and it means light - so that fits since you are a light in a time of darkness for us, but I am still unsure....I mean, I never thought I would name my daughter after a Vampire lover...

Good news is you have a middle and an last name!  No worries though we'll figure something out sooner or later - hopefully by the time we take you home. 

Dear Baby Girl,

This is the first of many times I will write to you.  I hope that someday, you will treasure these writings as documents of your youth (although I'm fairly confident that at some point, say when you are a teenager, you will roll your eyes at my need to excessively document your life, but I am also fairly confident that you'll get over it). I must admit, it is strange writing to someone other than your daddy or your sister.  You and I will develop our own bond and very soon, I will struggle to remember I time when you weren't with us.

I am so curious about your personality.  I can feel your gentle kicks inside me and they remind me that you are your own person - God created you to be someone absolutely unique.  I can't wait to watch you grow into the woman God intends you to be.

I want you to know right off the bat that you are so loved.  I can't even find the words to quantify the excitement and love surrounding your arrival.  Annessa has been praying for a little sister for over a year now and your dad and I have spent the last 3 years yearning for you to complete our family.  And now you are here and your timing is perfect! 

For us, you are a gift.  A true gift.  Someday you will know the hell that we lived through the last two years and I hope you will realize that to us, your arrival means a new beginning.  I have come to understand that God had you in mind before the accident, and He held onto you until He knew we were ready to live in the here and now.

Love Always,

Mom

This is the moment we found out you were a girl - we were all soooo happy!