What's in a name?

We've learned over the last two days that Asher loves to hold onto our fingers while he's sleeping... and we love it too!

For a few days last week I had been mulling over some thoughts for a blog post about how we'd announce our baby boy's name.  I had even typed out a few lines... and then Wednesday happened.  Our boy came 2+ months early and ours lives turned upside down with one phone call.  We had to have our name ready right away, so Asher Ramsay Wittig became known all over facebook and this blog.  Even though we had to scramble to get his name out, we still wanted to explain why we chose it.   

Not-so-happy Asher... the CPAP & tubes make his face swell which is uncomfortable

Asher is a name that we've liked for a while, but the Biblical meaning has taken on more significance for us over the last few months.  Asher was a son of Jacob who was born to a surrogate when Jacob's wife, Leah, couldn't bear him a child.  Leah named her adopted son Asher, because it is close to the Hebrew word for happiness.  When he was born, she said, "Happy am I!  For women have called me happy."  

We are so thankful that God has provided us with a child, because there have been times when it didn't seem like it would ever happen in the last few years.  If it is possible to love your child more just because of your life experiences, then I believe that I do.  Had we had a child a few years ago, we definitely would have loved him/her, but every moment with him has brought us so much more joy because of having to wait.

Also, Asher rhymes with Basher and Slasher... Masher... which I think is cool.  Hopefully he'll get some sweet nicknames out of it. 

Ramsay is Colleen's maiden name.  We are so excited for Asher to be a part of all of our families - Wittig, Ambrose, and Ramsay.  We didn't  like the alliteration of "Asher Ambrose," so that family name will have to wait to go to one of our future children, Lord willing.  We're so excited that Asher will have so many Ramsay cousins and second cousins close to his age, as well as Aunties and Uncles on both sides who are thrilled to welcome him into the family.  Our families have been incredibly giving and supportive through this whole process, and we can't express how much it means to us.

Also, Ramsay apparently means "from Ram's Island" or "wild garlic," so that's fun.  

Just two Wittig men holding hands

Asher was born a Wittig.  Like all Wittigs, little Asher will be cursed with having his name mispronounced and misspelled for the rest of his life.  Whitting?  Wittrig?  Whitig?  Widdic?  Sometimes I'm not sure I know how to pronounce it.  Asher better get used to spelling it out every time, just like the rest of us. 

In 4 years of having "Cason Wittig' announced over the loudspeaker when I played high school basketball, it was never pronounced correctly at a road game.  Not once.  I think the only person to ever actually pronounce Wittig correctly was my crazy German soccer coach who would scream "Vittig!" at 12-year-old me from the sidelines in between muttered German curse words.

Incidentally, Wittig comes from the German word for "wood" or possibly the word for "clever"... although I was told as a kid that it meant "little wooden head."  I couldn't find any evidence of the "little wooden head" meaning on the internet, but I'm going to pass that quirky interpretation on to Asher and the rest of my future children.

We're so happy that our son, Happiness Wild Garlic Little Wooden Head, has entered the world.  We love him so much already and are so thankful that he is in our life.  I can't wait for him to get some of those tubes off him... to hold him... and to have him come home with us someday soon!

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Cason

PS - We've been posting pictures and videos at facebook.com/casonwittig and facebook.com/colleenaiden, so friend us if you want to see more.  Thanks for reading the blog!

He's got Colleen's pinky with both little hands!