baby – meet the butters

The Origin of “Bodhi Rush”

Published on July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 by JButtersLeave a comment

First of all… naming your child is hard work! This time around, we had no girl names we liked and our only boy option was Bodhi. Unfortunately, for the first half of the pregnancy I was not on team Bodhi, no matter how hard Andrew pushed. Once we found out we were having a baby boy I started to hop on board, and now I can’t imagine our son being named anything else.

But where did Bodhi come from? Soon after we were set on Lola’s name, Andrew fell in love with the name Bodhi from Patrick Swayze’s character in the movie Point Break. Andrew loved the character and the meaning of the name. “Bodhi” comes from “Bodhisattva”, a Buddhist term meaning awakening or enlightenment.

Now that we had a first name, the hunt for a middle name was on. We knew we wanted something meaningful yet unique (to go along with Lola’s middle name of Moon). The first one we considered was Riot. We both liked the sound of it, but there wasn’t a unique meaning assigned to it. Maybe we could attribute it to the crazy kicks he was putting his mom through? Next was Rush. Again, we liked the sound of it, but this time there were a few more associations. It is the nickname of Andrew’s favorite UFC fighter, George St. Pierre, and Andrew has seen the band Rush with his best friend Brian a few different times. We were pretty much set on Rush at that point.

Once Bodhi Rush was born, we found some additional ties to his name (or almost name):

-Just a few days after his birth, Black Lives Matter protests began in response to George Floyd’s murder. At this same time riots broke out in across the country, meaning our Bodhi Rush was almost Bodhi Riot the week national riots were happening.

-George “Rush” St. Pierre is being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020 (GSP Video).

-And my personal favorite: a few weeks after Bodhi was born, my dad found the below sheet showing that Bodhi’s great-great-great-great grandfather was named Benjamin Rush.

The Origin of “Lola Moon”

Published on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by JButters2 Comments

How did our sweet girl get her name? And what does it mean? We’ll tell you!

First off, it is important to know that we did not agree on a single boy name. Not a one. And Lola was the only girl name we both liked. So when we officially found out Baby Butters was a girl, she was pretty much already named. It became absolutely official when Andrew created a cute baby announcement with Lola on it and posted it to Facebook to show me. Secret was out, and now the world knew our baby name — oops!

But where did the name Lola come from? I have always loved family names or names with meaning. When I was little my Grandma Arrington used to always comment on how Shani had my Great Grandma Lola’s nose, and the name always stuck with me. When I brought up the name to Andrew, he immediately liked the idea due to a cute little girl he used to coach at AfterCool Fitness being named the same. No other names were really sticking, so once I heard from my mom and aunts how wonderful of a person their Grandma Lola was, it was a done deal.

Fun fact: My Aunt Net (Jeanette) is also named after Lola, as her full name was “Lola Jeanetta”.

Now finding a middle name was a bit trickier. Again, I was pretty set on finding either a family name or something that had significant meaning. We went through dozens of options, but nothing really took. A short while into our hunt Andrew suggested Moonstone because it is one of June’s birthstones (at this time we expected Lola to be a June baby). I wasn’t a fan of the stone part, but we kept Moon on our list. Around the same time, my sister came up with Elliot in honor of the place Andrew and I met (Mesquite High School on Elliot road). We didn’t love the flow of it paired with Lola, but the meaning was great.

As we got closer to Lola’s arrival, I started looking into significant events from our relationship in order to try and find some additional name options. What we consider our first date (and where we had our first kiss) was the 2007 movie Halloween. I looked up the names of everyone who worked on the movie, and found that the director’s wife (who was also a small part in the movie) was named Sheri Moon Zombie.

After finding the above connection, I proceeded to look up other meanings attached to “moon”, feeling like this was a sign. In doing so, I found the metonic cycle. It is defined by Dictionary.com as, “a period of 19 years (235 lunar months), after which the new and full moons return to the same days of the year. It was the basis of the ancient Greek calendar and is still used for calculating movable feasts such as Easter.” I attached quickly to the 19 due to September 19, 2007 being the date Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend. And as I’m writing this, I realize Lola had her Butters family baby shower at an Easter celebration. I love connections!

At this point we were about 90% sure Lola’s middle name would be Moon. However, we were planning to go into her birth open to other ideas. Instead, the universe played even more into the Moon plan by pushing our induction date because of the full moon. According to the nurses, full moons cause the labor and delivery unit to overflow!

Once Lola was finally here, we figured there were too many moon connections to let the name go. She is officially our Lola Moon.

Letters to Lola

Published on August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 by JButtersLeave a comment

Shortly before Lola was due to arrive, Andrew and I each wrote a letter to our baby girl.

From Mama:

To my sweet Lola Bear,

This journey has already been so special. You are such a blessing to your father and I, and we know you’ll be one to the world as well.

While I think most mamas would be so excited to meet their babies, and I am, I also don’t want you to leave me just yet. I treasure being able to safeguard you from the outside world, and to know we have a special bond no one can take away. I am very happy with you still here inside of me.

What I wish for you is a life filled with love, adventure and impact. That you find your people, your pleasures and your passion. I know you’ll make such a deep impression on this world, because you already have on your parents. I hope that you always know you matter.

I love you to the moon and back, little one. Always and forever.

Mama Bear

From Daddy:

Dear sweet Lola,

I am anxiously awaiting your arrival. I have never felt more ready for something than I am to be your father. You are an absolute blessing to me for which I will always be thankful. I know you will overflow my heart with love and joy. I cannot wait to watch you, teach you, learn from you, care for you, guide you, help you, lift you up when you fall and be your confidante and friend when life hits hard. You are so loved already.

Love, Dad