In case you didn't already know...

My mom was in town for the week after Christmas and I was surprised that we had never told her why we chose the name "Kate." Since the most common comment I get from people about this blog is how great it will be one day for the girls to read about the first few years of their lives, I'm going to take this opportunity to explain to them where we came up with their names and the names of things around them.

Clara


Your mom and I met, fell in love, and got married on the campus of Santa Clara University. Your Papa (Piazza) is also a graduate of Santa Clara. We couldn't think of a prettier or more appropriate name for our first daughter. As I write this, you are four years old, and think Santa Clara is someone related to Santa Claus. I hope we haven't pressured you too much to attend Santa Clara, but it is a great school in a great part of California, the California Bittles will be just a short drive away, and it is filled with Jesuit scholars like Father Tom Powers, who baptized you. No pressure.

Kate


I'm kind of a fan of William Shakespeare, and when we were deciding your name, we wanted a longer name that had a short nickname. I pushed for Katherine, because the long name made me think of Catherine from Henry V while "Kate" was the shrew in Taming of the Shrew. I was not trying to influence your disposition by naming you after the shrew. I merely hoped you would be fiery and strong. And I was right.

Cecilia


Contrary to popular belief, you are not named after a Simon and Garfunkel song. While we did have that song in our heads constantly for your first months, it's not really a song you name your child after. We named you after your great-grandmother. And the only other Cecilia we knew, Cecilia Vollert, is a great kid. Your middle name, James, is from your Uncle Jim, who was named after your great-grandfather. We asked Clara to name you and she picked "Cosmo."

Some other things...

We named the Clarices, those lambs you can't put down, after a character from this movie (we'll pay for the therapy bills):

Big Papi, that big bear in Cecilia's room, was named after this guy:


Your dog Scout was named after the girl in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Scout's name on her pedigree is actually Jean Louise Finch.