What's in a name?

Well, a lot if you're trying to name a baby....much less two at a time! 

We have been going back and forth on name choices for awhile now.  And it's pretty much my fault.  Well kinda.  I say "my fault" because before I even had the embryo transfer done, I felt like #1, we would have twins and #2, they would be boys.  So I always had the names Cooper and Jackson in my head from before day 1.  When we found out that we were in fact having two boys, I assumed this would just be their names....surely Brandon would like them, right? 

Wrong.  Luckily he did like Cooper, but Jackson....not so much.  I do agree that Jackson is getting to be pretty common which we tried to avoid when naming M and I wanted to avoid this time around as well.  But I've also loved that name forever - or since I first saw Steel Magnolias.  It just sounds like a good, strong Southern name.  Too bad so many other people think so too. 

One thing was for sure - we weren't going to name them anything starting with the letter M or even the same letter just for the twins.  And definitely nothing too matchy sounding or names that rhyme.  Those things might be cute as babies, but they are individual and we want their names to reflect that as babies, teenagers and adults.   

So after determining that the name Jackson was a losing battle, I set out to agree on a name for poor Baby B.  The list included several names but most were quickly whittled down:  Levi - my 2nd and only other choice, but I wanted a name close to the same length as Cooper and longer than our last name (yes, I'm picky!).  Brandon's picks included:  Parker - on my list of potential girl names (same as Hayden and a few others).  Preston - my neighbor Preston in college was arrested for drug dealing, OUT.  Carter - starts with a C and doesn't sound good with Ware.  Brody - sounds like a dumb jock.  Colton - starts with a C, a little country sounding, and I do NOT want people calling him Colt.

*sigh*

We also knew what the middle names were going to be:  William for one and Michael for the other.  Michael is B's first name and William is the first name of my dad, brother and grandfather.  So whatever names we picked had to "jive" with the middle names.  Finally after a lot of persistence and campaigning from both sides, we came to a concensus (or me giving in to a name that I hated the least).  I shouldn't say that and I would never ever tell my precious Baby B that I picked his name because I "hated it the least".  But it just wasn't the one that I've had in my mind for months now.  I know I will grow to love it and the second I lay eyes on my sweet baby I will love it even more! 

...And drumroll, please.

FINALLY, the boys have official names (or official as of today!):

Michael Cooper Ware  and  William Garrett Ware

Although Brandon isn't crazy about the whole call-them-by-their-middle-name thing, the names flow better this way.  He is Michael Brandon and is forever getting calls for "Michael Ware" and having to say "This is Michael, but I go by Brandon".  My brother is the same way, as is B's brother.  But this is the way it is, and I suspect that they'll survive.  And I'm just happy they finally have names that we both agree on!