Friday, February 13, 2009

what's in a name?

i know i gave much of the details for the labor and delivery in my last post, but neglected to post her name.

 

okay, so i lie!

 

i didn't neglect to post her name, she actually had no name until a few days ago. you see we have a bad habit of bringing our babies home without a name. kawena was "baby" for the first three weeks of her life! we put a lot of thought into naming our children and sometimes it takes time! i think nani was the only one that actually had a name within the first couple days of her birth!

 

the other factor is that, by tradition, my dad gives the middle name to all of our children. because of this, he needs time to "see" her and really ponder what name is fitting for our baby.

 

the combination of these two things, not to mention that she is our FOURTH daughter (i mean, c'mon, we can only come up with so many girl names!), has lead us to a delay on the name!

 

but, alas, we have decided on a very fitting name for our fourth precious girl.

 

introducing...

mahealani1

    Mahealani Pohaikealoha

 

when we were naming kawena, we were torn between two names: kawena and mahealani. after much thought and prayer, we knew that kawena was the right name for her.

 

so, this time around we had mahealani as one of the contenders. we looked through the hawaiian dictionary and made up a list of names along with their meanings and hung them on the refrigerator. when she was born early we knew we REALLY had to decide on a name.

 

for a few days each one of us was calling her by a different name, poor girl was probably very confused! but, we finally decided that she was mahealani!

 

the meaning?

 

well, mahealani means "the night of the full moon". she is partly named after me because mahina means "moon or moon goddess".

 

for her middle name, my dad had given us several suggestions, mostly having to do with flowers. they were all very nice names. however, after he sent us the list, via email, he had a second thought. he sent a second email with the name pohaikealoha. he said that after sending the first email with names, the name pohaikealoha just came to his mind. you can call it whatever you want, but i call it inspiration.

 

when mitch and i read the meaning we knew that it was perfect for our new little addition.

 

the meaning?

 

pohaikealoha means "love encircles".

 

i can testify of the love that follows her everywhere! this little one is surrounded by love from every direction! her mom and dad, her three older sisters, her tutu's and grandparent's, and many auntie's and uncle's! it was just so fitting! and she is so easy to love!

kawena mahea

 

malia mahea sepia

 

lala mahea

 

 mom mahea sepia

(note: some photos courtesy of mj photography)

we welcome, with much love, our sweet mahealani pohaikealoha!

 

24 comments:

Ilene said...

Beautiful girl with a beautiful name! I love names with meaning behind them. I try to do the same with my kiddos. Hawaiian names are so musical, I love them.

ashley said...

i love it, it's perfect! that is rad that your dad gives the middle names too!
just perfect!

Sara said...

I love her name - all your girls have beautiful names and now I want to know what they all mean! And I love that your dad chooses their middle name - what a cool tradition. Your newest addition (like your other daughters) is absolutely darling. How cool too that she is named after you.

Congratulations and welcome to little Mahealani! How are you feeling these days? She's two weeks old now right?

Grace said...

Mahina,

I love her name! The photos are beautiful as well. What a sweetie. Congratulations once again

Amanda said...

She's so beautiful and so is her name! Congrats! Tell your dad good job too!

Michal said...

beautiful. i guess it was worth the wait!:) enjoy that little sweetheart.

Siouxsie said...

Wow, those pictures are fantastic! They really capture the feeling of the moment. Stunning.
That is an awesome name. These musical names are definitely worth a bit of a wait.
Hope all is going well with recovery & life in general.

Amanda D said...

She is absolutely beautiful. I love all the photos! Thanks for sharing them.

jessica said...

Just gorgeous! I love it! I think that is a neat tradition that your dad participates in the naming of your girls.

Our children also have names that have specific meaning they just don't sound as exotic...

Beautiful baby and beautiful mommy!

Mandy said...

Beautiful name. I was wondering how you pronounce it? I love that you have put so much thought into their names. she is a sweetie!

Melissa-Mc said...

Hey, that's a middle name that I think I can pronounce and remember :) She's gorgeous.

Nana said...

Congratulations on a beautiful baby - and family! Her name is as beautiful as she is.
Rhonda

Elizabeth Dimit said...

Welcome home, Mahealani Pohaikealoha Mason! She's so beautiful, and her name is so pretty!

Bridget said...

Yeah! I was hoping you would use that name. I remember it from when you just had Kawena. The pictures are great. She sure is adorable!

Rich Vial said...

We are grateful for the spirit that attends your growing family. Using Hawaiian names is a really fun way to share the aloha with all of us! Hope all is well for you guys down there. Love, Rich

Lisa P said...

What a beautiful little girl. I'm so in awe of you delivering without anything to dull the pain! even though you had no choice you are still a rock star in my book! I'm seeing the Lord's hand in your life. Thank you for sharing your stories.

shauna said...

I LOVE it. That is a great tradition to have family help with names. Her name is as beautiful as she is. So are the pics!

Scott-n-Allison said...

It's the perfect name for her...

Congratulations again!

Lauren in GA said...

She is seriously so, so, so beautiful. All of the pictures are breathtaking. What a beautiful, meaningful name for your beautiful girl.

Tonya said...

I love how much thought you put into your kids names and I love her name. I think I know how to pronounce it ( first name
only!). She is precious.

Katie Smith said...

I love the names and she is absolutely precious!!!

ede said...

I heard about your beautiful baby, and I see that grandma was not exaggerating. she is darling.
congratulations !

Quinton838 said...

I know why the Lord has blessed you with 4 girls, because you make such beautiful angels. I can't believe how cute your girls are congratulations. I hope Barb is taking care of you guys.

calibosmom said...

Absolutely beautiful...all of you! I may need that name translated though...you should hear me trying to pronouce it.