Banana-fana Fo-fa--

It's no secret that baby boy has a name. He's had one for years, long before he was even conceived.

Choosing a name was simple. When I was bored one day, I made a list of about a million names I loved, then asked Danny to pick out all the ones he liked (clearly, I'm 12 years old)--and we'd narrow it down from there. He liked one. No narrowing down was necessary. That was that. (Don't ask me what we'll do if we ever have a second son.)

And now, we get to use this name we love so much. I smile when I say it, and I swoon when Danny says it. I'm not going to reveal the name, but I can tell you it's not very common. Everybody's heard it before--and it's gaining in popularity--but I don't see it making any top ten lists anytime soon. I'm not a top-10-list kind of gal.

We're not keeping it a secret to be annoying, I promise. We're not trying to be suspenseful or dramatic. In fact, when somebody asks me if we have a name picked out, I feel like a jackass when I say, "Yeah, but we're not telling." I think people are actually hearing, "Oh, we totally do. Now, you go home and lie awake for hours, trying to guess what it could possibly be!" I could say no, but people know I'm more anal than that. Of course I have a name picked out.

I think my mother-in-law really sealed the let's-keep-this-name-to-ourselves-until-this-baby-is-born deal for us. When Danny blabbed the name to her (Danny!), she looked like this:

This cat has come in handy on so many different occasions.

She was appalled. She said, "What kind of made-up name is that?? What's wrong with a nice, normal name--like Dean?? My God, he'll be picked on his whole life!" 

Needless to say, one reaction like that was plenty, so we'll be keeping this name a secret. Oh, and please don't let that story make you think baby boy's name is horrendous. It isn't, I swear. When I hear it, I imagine a kind, mellow, clever guy that everybody loves--and I think you'll like it.