Jocelyn a-MAY-zing

Our fourth child was officially the most difficult to name.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, picking out names for my kids was so much easier before I got married (and thus had to deal with someone else's opinion).  Particularly when that someone stipulates the first letter every single time!  Yes, at this point, Jon is the only reason why we have all J names.  I was all about deviating from the assumed course and giving our baby any name we chose.  Wouldn't it be cool to be the only one in your family to NOT have a name that starts with J?  Well, Jon didn't think so.  Okay, neither did anybody else I mentioned it to.  Apparently, I was alone.  So we started scanning through the J pages on baby name websites.

1 month old

1 month old

For a while we were planning to name our second daughter “Jaelle.”  I’ve always found the story of Jael in the Bible to be pretty cool, and I thought “Elle” would be the cutest nickname.  You know – Lia and Elle.  I could just see it on the girls’ bedroom door.  But the more we thought about it the less we felt “Jaelle” fit with the rest of the kids.  In the end, the name we kept coming back to was Jocelyn.  Although there was some debate with that as well.

 

1 month old ... and awake!

1 month old ... and asleep.

First we had to decide the spelling – Jon wanted one way and I wanted another.  Then there were the syllables – two (like Joss-lin) or three, which is how we do it (Joss-seh-lin).  Of course, people will pronounce however they want, as we’ve learned with our other daughter Julia, or as some have been known to say “Jool-yuh.”

 

5 weeks old.

10 weeks old.

And then there was the nickname.  I’m a nickname kind of person.  I know not everyone is, but personally, if we’re talking about something that’s supposed to last a lifetime, like, say, a name, then it’s nice to have options.  When I was a little kid my parents called me Janny.  I was only Janine at school and in serious situations.  Now I like “Joss” (think Joss Stone or Joss and Main).   And I’ve always thought my good friend Jori’s little sister, Joci, had a great name (pronounced Jaw-see).  And when it comes to cute, squishy little babies … we just can’t stop calling her Joci.  So thank you, sister-of-Jori for the inspiration!

 

Source: www.babynamewizard.com
We've already met two people name Jocelyn at our new church and both Jack and Jude have classmates named Jocelyn.  Apparently the name is more popular than I thought!

 Now the middle name was a bit more tricky.  As you may already know, we’ve committed ourselves to using family names in the middle.  There were a few we were looking at, and I just love going deep, down into the roots of the family tree for some beautiful, classic, ancestral names.  But at the end of the day, we wanted to choose someone that Joci would know and love just like the rest of us – her Marmie.

Source: www.babynamewizard.com

So we used my mom, Melinda May’s, middle name (who was named after her aunt Dorothy May).  I’ll admit, I wasn’t too sure at first.  But after a little research, I found out May is after Maia, the Roman goddess of fertility.  That settled it.  After having four babies in five years, the name seemed to fit!

Source: www.babynamewizard.com

There are a few different meanings of the name Jocelyn.  It’s an old German tribal name, and for a long time was strictly male, but has since become a more common female address.  One of my favorite meanings was “cheerful” or “happy.”  And when you couple that with a more generous translation of “May,” you get “cheerful increase.”  And I can’t think of a better way to describe our latest littlest.

 

10 weeks old

10 weeks old and still loves to "scrunch."

We’ve seen a lot of increase over the last 11 weeks – the number of carseats, the laundry, the diapers (oh, the diapers!), the amount of calories Mama needs to consume … We’ve also got an increase of smiles and giggles, chubby fingers and toes, hugs and kisses, and lots and lots of love.  She makes us smile and fills our home with so much joy.  And when you multiple that by 6, well, I think that’s definitely a “cheerful increase.”

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 Psalm 16:5-11

(Love Jack's commentary in this video.)