The Name Game

My Aunt Stefani has asked to hear the story behind the name, so here it is. Its not too exciting, but should be documented none the less.

For the last few months we've been reading the baby name book (I literally looked at every girl name in the book!), watching movie credits all the way to the end (Nate takes the left side, I take the right), looking at family names, asking my mom and sister (who both spend a lot of time with kids as they are both teachers) for cute names, and basically just looking for the PERFECT name. I don't remember when it happened, exactly, but I walked into our room one night and Nate was reading the baby name book. "What do you think about the name Whitney?" Now normally he would suggest a name, and I'd immediately say, "No," but this time, it caught my attention. I was quiet for a second, then said, "I like it!" But, us being us, we could NOT commit. Every once in a while we'd refer to her as "Whitney" but never truly accepting it as fact. I still loved the name Lyla (Rachael's almost name) and Nate still loved Kate (but we're foreseeing a boost in popularity because of the new Princess...). Whitney was good common middle ground. Middle name? LaRee, my mom's middle name. (Unless we had chosen Kate, cuz in Nate's ears Kate LaRee sounded too much like "cutlery." Weird, but I guess legit.)
So the big day arrived and we HAD to name her. We're pretty much forced to. It is STRESSFUL naming a child! Its their NAME! The list we had was: Whitney, Lyla, Kate, and Jenna (thrown in a few nights before because of a credit from a TV show). Immediately we tossed out Kate and Jenna, they just didn't suit her. Whitney or Lyla, Whitney or Lyla? Nate had never been 100% on the Lyla wagon like I always wanted him to be, but all the sudden he was. What the? Now what?? We had "Whitney LaRee Russell" and "Lyla LaRee Russell" written on our white board all day, and we'd just stare at them. Finally, FINALLY we decided. I don't recall exactly how, but we did. She just seemed more like a Whitney.
So there you have it folks, Whitney LaRee.
(P.S. The girl who took Whitney's pictures at the hospital's name was Whitney, the girl my mom picked up my pain meds from was named Whitney, our institute teacher's oldest daughters name is Rachel and his youngest is Whitney, and our Bishop has a grand-daughter named Whitney LaRee! CRAZY!!!)