Baby News

Aalya and I went for dinner and some shopping yesterday evening, both of us wrapped in pashminas because July is the new November. She is running loose and pregnant.

Yes, our very own beautiful Aayla is To Be Waddling With Large Belly Very Very Soon. In honour of this momentous occasion, TBWWLBVVS purchased gorgeous Crack partially because I was seated next to her whispering 'You want them. They're gorgeous. I want them. Buy them. If you don't, I will. And then you'll be sorry. And I will wear these sparkly flip-flops every time I see you, even when it snows. Especially when it snows. And I will start our evenings with 'Hello Aalya, do you like my shoes?'' because for the next few months she will need to pull attention away from The Belly and toward The Feet.

I don't know why she feels she must do this, because when I am pregnant, Inshallah, I plan on attaching with an elastic a large golden frame around my belly and glue a neon sign that reads: LOOK to antennas jutting out of my tiara. I will smile and wave at each passer-by and call out: HI! I AM PREGNANT. ARE YOU? and ask the barren ones if they need a hug.

At dinner, we sat and discussed odd topics such as cultural infringement and spiritual malaise. We also discussed names we would like to name our children because Aalya and Dietrich have decided to name Baby in Belly an Arabic name. She asked for my preferred names and I gave her my top five girl names:
.1. Aalya
.2. Layla
.3. Sumeya
.4. Aisha
.5. Luluah (Which, in the book The Time Traveller's Wife, was incorrectly written: Lulooluluah or something sounding like dizziness feels.)

The boy names are:
.1. Omar
.2. Faris
.3. Firas
.4. Ameen
.5. Yusuf

She knows that these are my top fives and if she chooses to take one, I too have the right to take that same one in the future. My imagined copyright does not expire.

As an aside: Check out the following page Aalya sent my way post conversation; I peed a little reading the 'responses' to the phenom of naming your child things like 'Apple' & 'Rodana'.

One example from this place...
Comment: I grew up with a "grown-up" name (Victoria) and a "kid" name (Tori), as did my sister. I have always liked having both available....so we plan on naming our firstborn son Creighton.

Response: At last! A breath of logic! When he's little, he can be called....Crate of Shit. Or One-Ton Creighton. Or Mr. Defies the I before E rule. And when he's older, you won't know what he's called, 'cause you won't be on speaking terms.