"K" oss: June 2009

I still don't have a clear understanding of why my parents named me "Kaye". I have a lot of unanswered questions. There are a lot of holes in their story, which has always made me think I was adopted. My mother has no pictures of herself pregnant with me....if I didn't look exactly like her, adoption would not be a surprise. Anyways, this is, according to my mother, how I was named. Let me start this story by saying, when you are pregnant, you have a bit of time to figure out what you are going to name the baby. Apparently, my parents didn't think much about it. During her pregnancy, she had told a neighbor that she wanted to name me Ann, but she seemed to forget this when I was born. Who does that? The neighbor asked her why she didn't name me Ann, and my mom said, "Oh, I forgot". Anyways, my grandmother's manicurist was named Kay, and my mom liked it. So, there you go. I am still not clear as to why she insisted on putting an "e" at the end of my name. I am pretty sure it was to just torture me, knowing that most people spell it without the e. Kaye is not exactly a long name.....I know she didn't want anything with more than 4 letters, because it would be hard to learn to write my name. I don't think she had much confidence in my intelligence, even then. I don't have a middle name. It turns out Kaye must have pushed my parents over the edge, so they didn't go any further. I think that is hilarious! When I was about 16, my mom realized she wanted to give me a middle name.....Margaret, my grandmother's name. I told her she was a few years too late, but she thought she'd give me a middle name and put it on my journals, even my high school diploma. I think I might get some of my craziness from her. See how this naming doesn't really make sense? Anyways, that is how I got my name. I've actually had a lot of fun with it. When I worked in a restaurant, the Spanish speaking busboy asked my name....I told him K, and he kept asking me the same question, but louder. In Spanish, K or que means what.....I am pretty sure he thought I had a hearing problem...he didn't realize I was just telling him my name. When I was in junior high, I ran into an old elementary school teacher of mine. She couldn't remember my name, so she asked me to give her the first initial....I told her. She continued with Katherine? Kate? It went on for a while, she didn't figure it out. One night my dad and I were watching a show, and Elle McPherson was on it. My dad actually said out loud, "Who would name their kid a letter?" He was totally serious.....I looked at him and said, "Dad, you have got to be kidding me!" We still laugh about that one. My name is fine, and it will totally fit me in about 50 years!

Scott Russel Cuillard. I am not sure why he was named that. I do know his Grandfather's name is Russel (with one L) I will have to ask Donna the story behind his name.

James Scott Cuillard. I LOVE the name James. I have loved that name since I was 12 years old. I knew when I was a young girl that I would name my son James. Little did I know that my biggest obstacle naming my son James would be my dear husband. He really fought me against it. The story I am about to tell you doesn't make me look like the nicest person in the world, but it was worth it! So, we found out we were having a boy. Scott and I were thrilled! I knew instantly what his name was....James Scott Cuillard. Scott on the other hand wasn't convinced. He has a brother named James, but he goes by Jimmy. But, this was the name I LOVED....the name I had been waiting for. Scott liked other names.....when I say liked other names, I mean about 10 other names that were ok. He claims I am not so good at compromising, and I admit when it came to this I wasn't. I asked him to give me one name he absolutely loved? He couldn't. During the pregnancy, this is what we fought about. Many times the conversation brought me to tears....why was he being such a butthead about it? Anyways, this is how it went down......I gave birth to my perfect little baby 10:36 pm December 23rd 1996. This little baby did not have a name yet. The next day while Scott was picking up and setting up my Christmas gift for me, I was in the hospital with my little baby. The nurse came in and asked me to fill out the birth certificate form. I told her my husband was gone and we hadn't agreed on a name yet. Being a new mom, and very young, she told me I really needed it signed now.....I believed her, so after going through pregnancy, getting stretch marks, and giving birth, I took the privilege of filling out his name.....James Scott Cuillard! I know what you are thinking, how terrible, right? Nope.....I didn't feel bad then, and I don't feel bad now! When Scott came back to the hospital, he was not very happy when I showed him the form. For the first few months Scott always called James "son". I'm not sure if Scott has recovered, but at least he calls him James now!

Curtis Steven Cuillard. After the drama with our firstborn's name, Scott thought he had full naming rights for our second child. He was very insistant on this. I acted like he was in charge and asked what the name would be....when he said Curtis Steven, I was pleased. I didn't let Scott know how pleased I was, because then he might change it....that's how Scott can be. I love Curtis's name. I will be honest though, I really, really wanted his name to be spelled with a K, but Scott was a butthead again, and put his foot down. Steven is my father's name and Scott's oldest brother's name, and we both agreed on it. So there you go, Curtis Steven Cuillard it is!

George Marcus Cuillard. His name is fantastic, and I can't imagine him with any other name. Before we were even expecting George, Scott gave me a very sweet Christmas present. It was a poem. In the poem it stated that our next child can be given a name of my choosing, without any grief or complaining from Scott. Hey, I took it and ran with it! I love, love, love the movie "It's A Wonderful Life". There is a scene where George Bailey kissed Mary for the first time. Right before their dramatic kiss she says, "George, George, George" My favorite! So, that is how I got the name George. Let me tell you how rude people are.....I especially remember Scott's brothers being the worst. Giving me their opinions on how they didn't like that name......made me love it more.....I'm awnry like that. Nobody's negative opinion was going to sway me....I loved it then and love it even more now! George was born November 1st, so I was pretty pregnant during summer. My sister and I were at the beach, and there was a really good looking guy - probably in his early 20s. He was in the water, and we heard his sister call him George. My sister actually asked him how he liked his name. He told her he absolutely loved it, and was never upset that was his name. For some reason, I knew my George was going to be a good looking guy, and who doesn't love a good looking George? So, the middle name. I really took it as far as I could and went with Marcus....my brother's name and my father's middle name. I love both of them, love the name, and there you have it. George Marcus!

Charles Emmett Cuillard. I don't have an amazing story.....I just love the name Charlie. I knew a man who was a tall, dark haired Charlie. He was impressive, and his name just fit him. George was such a toehead, I was sure I would have a blonde Charlie. Well, we all know how that turned out, and I have my handsome, tall, dark haired, brown eyed Charlie. Emmett kind of came out of nowhere. We knew we were naming him Charlie, but not sure about a middle name. While in the hospital, I was up all night and early morning. The newscaster that was on in the early hours was named Emmett. That's where it came from, but I think Charles Emmett Cuillard is a strong name, and I am sure we made the right decision.

Karl Conrad Cuillard. I was so depressed after my first ultrasound with KC. With all of the other children I already had a girl name and a boy name when we found out the sex. For some reason, I did not have a boy name for KC. I wasn't disappointed I was having a 5th boy, I was devastated because I didn't have a name for him. I felt like I was already letting him down! I prayed and prayed to find a name for this little boy. I felt inspired to look through family books and maybe find a family name. Donna had given us some books from Scott's family, so I started with those. I was even more discouraged after I went through those and got nothing. I found a book based on the life of my Great Great Grandfather Schaub. He was a prominent architect in the Logan and Salt Lake City area. He was a Bishop for over 16 years. He designed the doors for the Salt Lake City Temple, and worked closely with President Wilford Woodruff. As I read about my grandfather's life, I really felt the Spirit strongly and knew I wanted to name this little baby after him. In his Patriarchal Blessing it reads "And thy name shall be handed down by thy posterity in honorable rememberance, and in company with thy companion those shalt receive thine inheritance among those who have fought the good fight, kept the faith and won the prize." After reading that I knew for sure.....my only obstacle....Scott. He had told me long ago that he hated the name Karl. I prayed for Scott's heart to be softened and that he wouldn't make this a battle. When Scott came home, I had him read about this man, and told him I felt very strongly about naming our baby after him. Scott's reply blew me away "I like it, I think we should name him that too" We agree he would go by KC....as my grandfather did. I also love that those are my initials. Anyways, this is how all of the Cuillard's received their names.