Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Six Months
Well, not only is it Fathers' Day and Uncle Gabriel's First Holy Communion (congratulations, Uncle Gabriel!), but it is also SIX MONTHS since Rosabel was born (unless sleep deprivation (from teaching, btw, not parenting) has warped my sense of time, in which case you should just smile and nod). Well done, Rosabel!
Rosabel at Six Months Old
It is a long time since Violet and Ivy were of such an age. Twas the 5th March 2009 if memory serves me correctly (which it really probably isn't doing). Violet was about eight and a half pounds, Ivy was about ten and a half pounds, but Rosabel is at least 15 and a half pounds, bless them all. I have trawled the blog to find some images of the twins at a comparable age to their 'little' sister...
When Violet and Ivy were Six Months Old  |
| Violet sat on the nappy bag, playing our old piano at the little house in Galgate. |
 |
| Ivy and Violet, looking positively menacing in those hoodies. |
 |
| Violet and Ivy doing their reusable-nappy dance routine. |
 |
| Peekaboo, Violet! |
Saturday, 18 June 2011
A familiar face
Violet Grace, looking not unlike childhood photographs of cousin Tracey and auntie Ursula. Does anyone agree?
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Friday, 17 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Monday, 13 June 2011
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Pop.
"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy..."
Violet is very light, but that balloon has got to explode sooner or later...
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Kunik Haiku
Daddy's girl, for sure.
They share a pair of noses
...and several chins.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Friday, 10 June 2011
Names
The twins are doing brilliantly with their talking. They have recently learnt their "big names" and now recite them on a regular basis. They still pronounce Violet, "Yiyat", but otherwise are getting pretty nifty.
Violet Grace Lucille
Ivy Elisabeth Clare
Rosabel Mary Ethel
We're often asked about where these lovely names came from. Usually, by the time I've stopped talking, people wish they'd never asked, because, well, I love this kind of shizzle. Put simply, they constitute an infusion of homages to important mothers: biological mothers and grandmothers, 'mother' nature, and the blessed Theotokos, Mary the mother of God. For a more detailed analysis, keep reading...
FIRST NAMES - MOTHER NATURE
Violet is a name that Ailsa has liked for a long time. It is the name of a character from one of Ailsa's favourite childhood books called - wait for it -, "Ivy Cottage", by E. J. Taylor. Violet is a beautiful word to say and listen to. I like the way its three syllables flow into each other, giving the impression of triplets over two quavers.
Ivy is the name of my late paternal Grandmother, who died before I was born but for whom I have always had great affection. Like Violet, Ivy was a very popular Victorian and Edwardian floral name, and is another beautiful word to say. The twins' names fit perfectly together in so many ways. The obvious VI-IV mirror reminds me of their genetic identity but also their many undeniable differences. The reference to the Roman numerals for 6 and 4 is not intended but I'd be very interested if anyone can read anything into them?!
Rosabel is, well, several things. First of all, it grew from my thoughts: a simple contraction of Rose and Belle, which a quick Googling will show to be not without precedent. The name Rose, like Violet and Ivy, has floral connotations, but unlike violets and ivy, roses are often grown and presented as a single flower. Rose reminds us of the name Rosemary, which has an honoured place in both our families. The rose is also an historic symbol of England, particularly the beautiful counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, where our families come from. Rosabel was born in the same year that a great Yorkshireman, Uncle Melvyn, passed away, and whilst we couldn't call her 'Melvyn', she will always remind me of the joys and sadness of the final months of his life. The 'bel part of Rosabel is simply an Anglicisation of belle, 'beautiful' in French, an extravagance on my part and a way of differentiating her from all the other Rosey people in our lives. The rose, or Mystical Rose, has long been a symbol of Mary the Mother of God, another motherly presence in the names of our children:
SECOND NAMES - MOTHER OF GOD
Violet's second name is Grace. This takes us right back to the story of the Annunciation in Luke's Gospel, when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary the incarnation of God: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee", which forms the first line of the Hail Mary prayer.
After Mary humbly agreed to carry the Christ child, she hurried to be with her cousin, Elisabeth, who was also pregnant with a precious child, who would be John the Baptist. He leapt for joy in Elisabeth's womb when Mary approached carrying his Lord. Elisabeth said to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.", the second line of the Hail Mary. Elisabeth is Ivy's second name.
Both Grace and Elisabeth, then, remind us of the wonder and beauty of pregnancy and new life, and in particular the story of Our Lady's journey from fear to joy as she embraced God's will to bring Christ to His people.
Rosabel's second name, then, is Mary itself. Mary, in its various forms (from the Hebrew, Miryam) is a very popular name amongst Catholics, and is often taken as a second name by nuns and monks of many religious orders as a way of honouring Our Lady and asking for her intercession. We would probably have given Mary as a second name for our first born daughter, but since we had two (!) first born daughters, we saved the name for Rosabel. Mary is a very precious name in Ailsa's family as the name of Ailsa's maternal and paternal grandmothers. Mary Kennedy sadly passed away not long before Rosabel was born, and it is a great privilege for Rosabel to take her great-granny's name. That brings us nicely to the girls' third names, which are all names of matriarchs, past and present:
THIRD NAMES - GRANDMOTHERS
Our mothers and grandmothers are unquestionably the most important people on the planet. They have given us the incredible, generous gift of life, have nurtured us and loved us and guided us with their wisdom. Violet's third name is Lucille, after Ailsa's mum; Ivy's third name is Clare, after my mum; Rosabel's third name is Ethel, after my maternal grandmother, and our other grandmothers have been accounted for already: Ivy is named after my paternal grandmother, and Mary is the name of both of Ailsa's.
---
So there we have it.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Big Sis, Little Sis.
Violet was greatly amused when she awoke from her afternoon nap to find a little Rosabel in her cot.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Sisters
Ivy, who adores Rosabel, is quite firmly impelling her to "say 'cheese', baby; say 'cheese'!"
It's very cute. It is.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Good morning :-)
Nothing like a good chew of the old bathrobe while waiting to be dressed.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011
One Thousand Days!
According to Grandpa, who always knows these kinds of things, the twins are 1,000 days old today, each! Ha!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)