It's so strange to know what I'm naming my first child. I remember thinking about that so much as a kid, looking at baby name books and trying out names on my dolls. My American Girl doll like me was named Hannah Nicole Heider.
People have asked why we picked Harriet Louise. Ryan and I decided to throw out names for a few months and see what stuck. We'd be walking into the kitchen and say, "Alice?" And if the other didn't respond poorly or was positive, it stayed in the running. We'd say it again a few days later and see how we felt then too. Harriet pleased us. It made us smile. It's like naming our dog Walter. Smiles all around every time we say his name.
I also personally loved the book Harriet the Spy, and the first movie Ryan and I watched together had a woman named Harriet as the female lead, So I Married an Ax-Murderer. Disclaimer, that's a comedy, and, we didn't name our baby after a real murderer. I've got some looks when I mention the movie. Your disapproving expressions say more about your lack of classic movie knowledge than my misstep as a mom. I fondly remember holding Ryan Daly's hand in 2007, drinking spiked hot cocoa, and watching silly movies together. It was the night he realized we were dating. I knew for a while, but he didn't. That's another story for another post.
Louise is a family name, my dad's grandmother. And we enjoyed the idea of calling our baby girl Harry Lou. I'd loved how Nancy Drew's best friend, a female, was named George. Our little Harriet can be a tomboy or a girly girl or a judge or a hippie, or all or none of the above. Her call.
Harriet, sweetheart, we just want to smile about you. Life is for fun and giving your child a cheerful name that will always remind us to be light-hearted towards you, no matter the situations we find ourselves in together. Thanks for being ours, sweet Harry Lou.
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