Isabella Michaelyn

Dear Isabella,

I loved you the moment I saw you. In fact, I loved you way before then. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Whenever I dreamed about being a mom, I always pictured myself with a little girl named Bella. Grandma Sawicki always called me Bella, and I so wanted a little girl to call Bella. I know you're not supposed to hope for a boy or a girl, but I wanted a little girl so badly. Daddy did, too. We even told people when I was pregnant that we were secretly hoping for a little girl. We really shouldn't have done that. Thank goodness you weren't a boy. We found out on August 17, 2008, that you were, in fact, a girl.

Daddy and I don't always agree on everything. (I hope this doesn't surprise you!) But, we totally agreed on your name. Isabella, that's it. We did have a hard time with your middle name though; I hope you like it. One afternoon I went into the tub with a baby name book, and I summoned Daddy into the bathroom and we weren't allowed to leave until we came up with your middle name. We found it rather quickly. It took less than an hour. We kept your names secret, though. By the end, I think most people had guessed that your name would be Isabella, but nobody knew about your middle name, Michaelyn.

Another thing about your name, we haven't been calling you Bella. We call you Izzy, Boo, Boo Boo, Izaboo, and Izzard. Those are not very attractive names. I'm sorry. I really try to call you Isabella most of the time, but one of these other names slips out at least 50% of the time.