Conor
Shannon

Anonymous wrote:Andrei

Ah, sweet Andrei. The child you never thought you would have, for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost, after globe trotting and assisting with research projects with National Science Foundation, there just was no time to establish a relationship, much less even think about a child. Time marched on and before you knew it, you unpacked your bags and found yourself stateside with a wall-sized world map as your only decoration in an otherwise dingy office. Primary colored push pins proudly dotted each city and country visited. Instant conversation piece and way better than a candy jar for getting to know your colleagues.

That map now hangs in your home office - a sweet reminder of how you two met -comparing and contrasting travel experiences! How did you not meet before when your paths had crossed so often in the past decade? Then, it all happened so fast! You two! Did you even date for two months before getting engaged? You were married within six months of meeting and discussing what each push pin represented.


Andrei's adopted from Russia! Together, you joyfully returned (where haven't you been in the world, Andrei's Mom?) to Russia where you finally got to meet two-year old Andrei. Now, it's a slower paced but contented life in Arlington. Mom, you are in demand and freelancing in development work. You really should start an LLC or consider hiring some employees. Andrei has your husband's first name as his middle and it's an unexpected, yet apt name for your son because he looks like DH's family: Robert. Andrei Robert

Lucy and Jack

William (Will)
Cassandra (Sadie)

Allison
Leah
Gabriel/Gabe

Andrei

Anonymous wrote:John
Joseph (Joe)
Katherine
David

you are not a wannabe. you dont need to pick a cheesy 18th-19th century british-sounding names for your children to feel superior for some reason to other parents (albeit I an not clear how those sorts of names are so "cool"). You would rather walk the walk than talk the talk. you might even be fun, and you probably dont drive a prius or smart car or other teeny weeny car.

Gina

Anonymous wrote:Henry

Ahh, Henry. He got into horseback riding at age 12, which promptly led to polo and a scholarship at Cornell as early as his junior year of high school. You and your husband are quite surprised yourselves -- husband works at Skadden in insurance law and you're all about the local non-profits that the support the Columbia Heights neighborhood you both lived in after graduating from Georgetown Law back in the day -- as neither of you are big horse people, yet Henry always loved animals and wanted to be a vet for a while. Then, he discovered the world of polo after wandering away as Mommy got a little tipsy at the local Virginia winery and he saw the sport being played nearby.

Henry's not a big book guy, but he does love puzzles, Legos, construction sets and numbers. At Cornell, he studies History and Math, but the lure of investment banking gets to him as it does to many a college student and he decides to work for GS, the most prestigious investment bank of all the bulge brackets, after injuring himself senior year (fell off a horse). He turns out to fine in the end (nothing a cast couldn't fix) and graduates from Cornell magna cum laude, with a fiancée from Chicago who wants to work in PR. They get married after he finishes his IB Analyst gig and go back to DC, where Henry decides to work in a field that's meaningful to him. He does this by working at a VC firm focused on education, while his now-wife becomes a public charter school teacher. They live in Bethesda and are expecting their second child.

Henry
Samuel/Sam
Owen

Henry

Anonymous wrote:Kai

It was almost love at first sight when you met your DH when you were doing field work for marine biology as undergrads. Even though you both ended up in law school, you never lost your love of the ocean. Kai was conceived during a diving vacation you took to Cozumel, where DH convinced you to stay in a shabby little hotel so you could concentrate on dives. You like that the name Kai is meaningful to those "in the know" and you have him in intense toddler swimming classes so he'll come to share your love of the water sooner than later. He's taken to it like a little fish, so you're already thinking about Australia for Christmas if you and DH can both get the time off. Kai got your big brown eyes and DH's white-blonde hair, and his bedroom has a handpainted mural of an orca whale.

You're starting to think about adding to the family and wondering if you can keep up the sea theme for your next little one -- for example, is the name Coral too obvious?

Kai

Anonymous wrote:Benjamin (Ben)

You and your husband (mostly you) won a hard-fought battle over naming your son something other than the family name that's expected of you. You call him Ben but prefer others to call him Benjamin. Your mother-in-law refuses to call him anything since she's still mad you didn't use the family name, instead referring to him as "the little one." You worry he'll get embarrassed about this at Grandparent Day at his big-3 DC private school, so you haven't been forthcoming about the date.

Ben enjoys most sports but is a little too short to be competitive, so you're trying to steer him toward more academic pursuits. He shows some promise at piano but you are hesitant to take the plunge and purchase a keyboard or spinet.

Benjamin (Ben)