Ava Pearl has been destined to come into this world long before I ever anticipated her to.  Her name is proof of that to me.  When James and I were dating, about 8 months along, he proposed to me.  I had no idea it was coming when he took me on a date downtown San Antonio.  Even when we walked up to the Little Church of La Villita where my parents tied the knot, did I even suspect.  But right there on the steps of that church, he popped the question.  Even more to my unknowing, many of our loved ones knew what was happening.  James had asked my parents, my Nanna, his parents, my best friend & his best friend at the time all for their blessing to marry me!  I couldn't believe it.

Rewind to a few days before... James and I were having the 'if we ever babies what would we name them' talk.  He told me he loved the name Ava.  Partly b/c of Angels and Airwaves, but he also just really loved the name and how the letters flowed together.  At the time I thought it was sweet, but definitely not on my list of names I had been hoarding since I was in my teens.  (anyone else do that???)

Fast forward to the morning after he proposed to me.  My parents took me out for celebratory breakfast tacos.  My mom was so giddy and full of joy that her baby girl was getting married.  Over breakfast with pure delight she told me that she just couldn't help but to lay awake all night thinking of baby names for us!  Ha ha, jumping the gun a little???  She was so excited.  She said she was reading a book and came across a really long name (I wish I could remember what it was now), but she said it started with AVA and she thought it sounded to pretty.  I couldn't believe that her and James both came up with the same hypothetical baby name within a few days of each other without knowing it.  So from that moment on, Ava has been our name picked out if we ever had a girl.  We lost my mom to cancer just 4 short months after getting married, so this one day baby girl name felt even more special when we finally got to use it almost 9 years later. 

Her middle name was changed a few times.  At first James wanted it to be Claire b/c he has had a long time boy crush on Claire Danes.  But I talked him out of that. ;)  I have always loved the name Pearl, and it has always reminded me of my mom.  She loved that name too.  When she was a little girl she came across a Poor Pitiful Pearl doll at the store and she told her mom that she wanted to take that doll home b/c she thought no one else would want her.  She loved the unloved from the beginning.  She also loved Janis Joplin who's nickname is Pearl.  And my birthstone is Pearl (and it was almost Ava's too).  Once I started saying the names Ava Pearl together I just knew it was right.  James fell in love with it too.  We love it so much that we call her Ava Pearl most of the time instead of just Ava. 

I just love that her little name feels so special.  This was a story I wanted to write down for her to have one day.