Some of you avid Camden Nguyen blog readers might remember an early post called "
What's in a Name?" in which I detailed our reasoning for his name. The question, "How did you come up with the name?" is a common question and I thought I would address it again for Ethan's name. You can review the
post for definitions of our criteria, but here's a brief summary. Note that our selection didn't need to pass all of our criteria, but most:
- "Don't make me spell it!"
- "Multiple Pronunciations"
- "You talkin' to me?"
- "Sound Check"
- "Good Initials"
"Don't make me spell it!" Try it. E-T-H-A-N. I suppose there's a chance that someone might spell it E-T-H-E-N, but I don't think that's a common spelling. Check.
"Multiple Pronunciations" Does Ethan match with the numerous mispronunciations of our last name? Ethan Noo-jen...Ethan Nah-guy-en...Ethan En-guy-en...Ethan Nah-gee-en...and ultimately Ethan Win. We think it flows nicely. Check.
"You talkin' to me?" The name Ethan was actually in the running for our first son, too. At the time, we felt it was a little too popular. In 2006, it was the #4 ranked boy name. In 2007, it actually moved up a notch to #3. We liked the name enough that we didn't really care how popular it is. And as popular as it is, neither of us know an Ethan personally. There isn't even an Ethan at our daycare.
"Sound Check" We didn't actually go to a park and test out the name Ethan this time, but it seemed to pass the "mulitple pronunciations" test so we were okay with that.
"Good Initials" So if you put together Ethan's first and middle initials and combine with his full last name you get "E.Z. Nguyen" (or E.Z. "Win"). To be honest, his middle name, Zachary actually came before we realized the convenient combination of initials. Kim liked Zachary for his middle name and I said, "EZ?" She immediately loved it. During her pregnancy Kim would also allude to how quickly we got pregnant with Ethan after Camden by saying "Easy in, Easy out." This was her subtle hint at Ethan's name.
Additionally, it's always been my wish to want a boy that I could call "E". I referred in Camden's post to my desire to name him Eric. In lieu of Eric, I'm very happy with Ethan. I got my little "E".
If you read the post from Camden's blog, you may have noticed this excerpt:
Kim and I both really like Ethan alot. Unfortunately, so do a lot of other people. It did not fit rule #3 above. For those with children named Ethan, we think it is a great name. We would have been happy to name our son Ethan, but we do have rules to follow.
Rules be damned!
The Nguyen Family Zoo...The Zookeepers and their prized lion cub and giraffe.
Grandma Sindt and our sleepy little lion cub. Or is that a roar?
The giraffe tamed himself and put himself in his crate.
Our giraffe "in the wild". 
"I'm the little brother.... protect me!"
A little stroll at dusk! 
Ethan wakes up and we play together. He's alert and loves to check out his environment.
After a nice meal..... a little nap time is often in order! 
Then it's time to pack up and go... if only to go get Big Brother Camden from school.....
It's been two weeks since Ethan arrived! How does the time go so fast?! Our little bundle of joy is settling in quite nicely!
Ethan is doing so well... he nurses like a champ, which would explain why he surpassed his birth weight at his one week visit, takes long naps and enjoys looking at his new world throughout the day. He makes the most beautiful newborn baby noises (need to get those on video somehow, although, I liken his chatter to that of a baby goat, which I don't think translates that well via blogging!).
Ethan is very expressive. Whether it's the crinkle of his little forehead, his gaping, hungry mouth or his satisfied expression, there's always something to watch in his face. He's also super smiley, which I know is involuntary at this age, but he gives big grins throughout the day, especially after nursing!
Some of you avid Camden Nguyen blog readers might remember an early post called "What's in a Name?" in which I detailed our reasoning for his name. The question, "How did you come up with the name?" is a common question and I thought I would address it again for Ethan's name. You can review the post for definitions of our criteria, but here's a brief summary. Note that our selection didn't need to pass all of our criteria, but most:
"You talkin' to me?" The name Ethan was actually in the running for our first son, too. At the time, we felt it was a little too popular. In 2006, it was the #4 ranked boy name. In 2007, it actually moved up a notch to #3. We liked the name enough that we didn't really care how popular it is. And as popular as it is, neither of us know an Ethan personally. There isn't even an Ethan at our daycare.
"Good Initials" So if you put together Ethan's first and middle initials and combine with his full last name you get "E.Z. Nguyen" (or E.Z. "Win"). To be honest, his middle name, Zachary actually came before we realized the convenient combination of initials. Kim liked Zachary for his middle name and I said, "EZ?" She immediately loved it. During her pregnancy Kim would also allude to how quickly we got pregnant with Ethan after Camden by saying "Easy in, Easy out." This was her subtle hint at Ethan's name.
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