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Turns out R2 (or Baby Rex as Jack calls him) has chosen the perfect year to be born. Not only is this the Year of the Pig, but it's the year of The Golden Pig. This, according to The Seoul Times, comes about every 600 years. Apparently, Korean officials are expecting a 10 percent raise in children born this year. Studies show people of Asian descent waited to have their baby this year. We just got lucky.

"A person born this year is likely to be a good parent. He may be easy to anger, but he is intelligent, honest, courageous, completes projects, gallant, and sincere. People born in these years are honest and straightforward. They can be relied on to see things through. They tend to be popular and make lasting friendships and are good neighbors.

The year 2007 is the "Year of the Pig," according to the Chinese zodiac. But it's not an ordinary pig year, which comes every 12 years it is believed to be the "Year of the Golden Pig," which comes every 600 years, according to fortunetellers.

They say babies born in the golden pig year will have comfortable and wealthy lives.
In line with the myth, signs point to a baby boom this year. Obstetrics and gynecology clinics are counseling more about pregnancy and related industries are eagerly promoting baby products.

Those believing the golden pig year say the special year comes every 600 years when calculating its frequency using a combination of the Chinese zodiac and yin and yang theory."

Well, I don't know about a baby boom everywhere but we've got one going on in our family and with our friends. Since the beginning of the Chinese New Year, three of my friends have had babies. My brother and his wife had a baby. Another friend will have her baby this summer. And Husband's brother and his wife will deliver at the end of July. Baby Rex will have good company in his greatness.

Some historians (according to this article) dispute the folklore and say there's no evidence of this phenomenon. But, hello, its folklore. And it's good folklore. Why not hope that this baby and his cousins and friends will live with great fortune and happiness in life?

So now I am rethinking his dump-truck bedding. Maybe I should get some piggies for his room. Or maybe I will leaving a rambling voicemail on my sister's cell phone listing all the things I would like her to buy me. That's what Jack does. He sees something on TV and immediately says, "I want to buy that! I want to call Stina to have her buy that!" She seems to never answer her phone but that doesn't stop him. He'll list everything he's hoping to get in a long-winded barely audible voicemail.

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The great name debate continues. I promised myself I wasn't going to talk names with anyone and of course ... I am. I took an informal poll with my girls from work and they liked my choice. Husband took an informal poll at his work, and they lean toward his choice. Funny how that works out, eh?

I printed out the top 1,000 names according to the Social Security Administration. It lists each name individually based on spelling. So, for example, there's Fredrick, Frederick, Fred, Freddie, Fredy. These are the legal names that parents give their children. Some are ... interesting. My choice was No. 318. It's a family surname and I was surprised to see it at all. Jack is like No. 14, Jackson in the 40s. Surprisingly, Joseph was like 10.

For as long as I can remember, I have obsessed over people's names. Jack was always my No. 1. This name was always top three. Different middle names but the same first names. I can remember writing lists of names in my diary as a fourth grader. List after list, boys, girls. I think all girls go through a list stage. Favorite TV show, star, boy. It's kind of stupid really. But now I am tempted to dig out my old diary to prove to my two boys that this name has been a top choice for me for decades.

Jack is named after his paternal side. It only makes sense to have this son named after my side.

It's so hard to choose and it's equally hard not to be influenced by people's reactions and suggestions. We had it with Jack and I didn't want to get the same "input" this time around and yet I continuously set myself up for it. Family and friends ask, and then aren't shy to share their reactions. Sometimes, its a nod; sometimes its a facial expression.

Maybe from now on I am just going to say a name that includes a bunch of vowels and an apostrophe. Wouldn't that be nice? An apostrophe would match well with our Irish/Slovak/Austrian background. Paatr'ck?

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Our boy.
(Click on the image to see it larger.)