2 posts tagged “anya”

On Saturday our baby Bubble Toes turned one! We had a nice party at the park for her with family and friends. She enjoyed playing in the dirt,

opening presents, looking at the picture book of her first year that we made for her, and eating cupcake.

She received lots of great gifts (in lieu of presents we asked guests to consider a contribution to Heifer International):
2 Hives of Honeybees
2 Flocks of Geese
2 Flocks of Ducks
3 Flocks of Chicks
1 Trio of Rabbits
2 Shares of Tree seedlings
1 New Beginning Basket containing a lamb
1 Share of a Llama

She also got a dump truck, a push toy, a school bus, a pull toy duck, a book and some bath toys.

All in all it was a great birthday, but it's hard to believe that our baby is already one!

Updated to add: I almost forgot, taking after her buddy Jake, Bubble Toes also decided to start walking on her birthday. She particularly likes to walk while flinging her new duck pull toy about in the air.

So Chris and I are just a little bit, not clinically or anything (don't worry I'm a psychologist and I'm keeping an eye on it), obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This leads some people to the mistaken conclusion that we named our daughter after a character from the show, namely Anya.

I know, I know, I can hear you now, "But, I thought the kid's name was Anya?". It is. But my point is, we didn't name her after the character in Buffy... although I do envision yelling, "Anyanka Elizabeth, get over here right this minute!" when she's older and gets in trouble. Anya is actually an Americanized spelling of the Gaelic name Aine. We knew we wanted an Irish name and we like the sound and meaning of Anya:

Ancient Irish name from the noun aine that means "splendor, radiance, brilliance." Aine is connected with fruitfulness and prosperity. The queen of the Munster fairies was called Aine as was one of the wives of Fionn Mac Cool (read the legend). Aine appears in folktales as "the best-hearted woman who ever lived – lucky in love and in money."

Coincidentally, after we had decided on Anya we met a native Irish woman on our trip to New Zealand who was named Aine. She had even grown up speaking Gaelic at home.

So I hope that puts this issue to rest. Yes, we love Buffy. No, we didn't name our daughter after an ancient reformed vengeance demon.