A Peach by any other name...

I briefly mentioned in my first post that my blog name,A Peachy Kind of Love, was inspired by my most-used nickname for my daughter, Peach. What I didn't really explain was why/how I landed on that nickname.

I can't say I ever recall this, but when I was a baby my dad apparently called me Peach. I know this because of a few greeting cards I still have from my first year of life addressed to Peach, in his handwriting. I don't think it was completely intentional but I definitely got her nickname from that discovery.

My Dad& I late 1986

For the one or two people who don't know me personally (hello!!), I will tell you that my father passed away of Gastric Cancer in October of 2011 and therefore never got to meet my girl or even know that I was to be  pregnant soon after his passing. It's been a rough road of ups and downs but I do miss him everyday and lament the fact that he will never get to hold my sweet,sweet girl.

My Dad & I Summer 2011

 
I was actually due with her the same week of the first anniversary of his death. Throughout my pregnancy, I felt a strong connection with him, as if he was "watching over" and protecting me through her gestation. I'm not religious by any means - faithful, sure- but in many ways I feel more tied to my dad since his passing than I did while he was alive. I love, and have loved him all of my life - we just had a different relationship than I would have liked. Nevertheless, this is how Peach became Peach.

I had also thought I was going to keep our girls name a mystery to play up the whole peach thing but, in all honesty, I'm running out of pronouns. My girl is still my sweetest Peach, but from now on I will also call her by name- Alison. Again, not that any of you didn't know that already- just thought it was time to state the obvious :).

Alison got her real name in a much more organic way than she did her nickname. You see, my husband and I met five years ago because of an Alison - a song by Elvis Costello, now we are forever a family with our own little Alison.

When I was 21, I got my one and only tattoo - the line from the chorus of the song Alison, My Aim Is True, on my wrists. My husband and I were out with friends ( our friends were friends but we hadn't yet met) when someone asked me what my tattoo said. I was really impressed when he jumped in with the answer before I got the chance to respond. We spent the rest of the night discussing our shared love for Elvis Costello, Woody Allen, and sharing a few a lot of drinks. (Hey, it was St. Patrick's day weekend!!) it was the beginning to our little love story.

The night we met, 3-15-2008
(He's on the right I'm in the glasses on the left)

 

When it came time to pick a name for our daughter we had a list of names we liked and ended up choosing Alison not because of the connection but because we really like it. (Shane will tell you that, I  would say the connection helped influenced our choice).At any event, our Alison is totally an Alison and any other name we considered just wouldn't have sufficed.

February 5, 2012

Superbowl Sunday! Giants vs. the Patriots. Thought I'd have a beer for the first time in awhile (well, except for the two a few nights before.. but seriously, I had cut the beer out in preparation for TTC) but wasn't sure if I was pregnant or not. It was the first month Shane and I decided to try to get pregnant and, although my husband was confident I was, I was confident I wasn't. To be sure, I went ahead and took a test anyway so I could enjoy my beer sans guilt. I could not believe my eyes - pregnant! The first time we tried (seriously.. first time - sorry mom you had to read that). Shane was in the office, working on the computer, and I couldn't wait to show him. According to him, I pretty much thrust the test at him and screamed with glee, in fact he'd tell you he wasn't sure what was going on at first. I think my yelps were inaudible. When he finally got what I was saying we hugged and kissed each other. We were going to be parents! I had just come back home from a visit to my moms and had told her Shane and I were going to start trying. I had NO idea I was actually pregnant (or else I wouldn't have had a drink with her) - once we tested a few more times to be sure, I called my mom up and told her the good news. At first she thought I knew all along but I assured her I didn't. Later that week we had lunch with Shane's mother and spilled the beans with her.

I cannot believe its been a year - and what a year it has been! I will always hold that day close to my heart.