What's In A Name

While the main reason I do this blog is for you, the reader, this blog also serves as the modern day equivalent of a "Baby Book". Y'know, those books that record a baby's first words, when they took their first steps, etc. We record Haley's adventures here for our friends and family to read about, but we also do it to allow us to go back and read the older posts to remind ourselves of the special milestones in the life of our little girl and her upcoming sibling.

Today is one of those milestones.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Haley loves to point out the letters that she is most familiar with. "Daddy! I see an 'A'! Like in 'apple'!" Of all the letters, the one she enjoys pointing out the most is "H for Haley". Yesterday, she and I went out for ice cream after dinner. She pointed out an H in the name of a store we drove by and told me it was the first letter in "Haley". I asked her what the next letter was, and she correctly answered "A". I kept going, expecting her to get stuck. She never did. She spelled the whole thing by herself, without any hints or help from me.

The funny thing about toddlers is, sometimes even they don't realize what they know. Haley was genuinely shocked that she knew how to spell her own name. Her excitement was palpable even from where I was in the front seat of the car. "Dad! We have to go home right now so I can spell my name for Mommy!" Who am I to refuse that request?

In addition being able to spell her first name, she also knows how to say her full name - first, middle, and last. But she hasn't used it in a while. Allow me to explain. Haley loves to read, and we are regularly going to the library for books. A few visits back, she picked out a book called "Shiela Rae The Brave" about a little mouse girl who wasn't afraid of anything. She enjoyed this book so much, that we started using it to give her courage. For example, if she hurt herself and needed a band-aid, we would tell her to not cry and to "be brave like Shiela Rae in your book." As a result, she now refers to herself as "Haley Jade The Brave". This is actually what she will answer if you ask her what her name is. I don't plan to correct her anytime soon.