Whenever we tell anyone Essie's name we always receive lots of wonderfully positive comments. People tell us how pretty and unusual a name it is. And we totally agree, it is such a gorgeous name! But unlike her brothers, there is a story behind Essie's name. We didn't choose it just because we loved it, which is why we chose Noah and Jude. There is something a little extra special behind our baby girl's name...
I didn't have the best childhood. In fact, it was a pretty miserable existence. The happy memories that I have are almost all from time spent with my grandparents. I was very lucky as not only did I have grandparents on both my mum and dad's sides of the family, but I also had step-grandparents and I had great-grandparents!
I spent a lot of my school holidays with my great-grandparents, Stan and Jess, short for Stanley and Jessie. I adored my Nan and Grandad. I loved them more than anyone in the entire world. They made me feel safe and loved. My Nan taught me to knit, play Scrabble and make Yorkshire puddings, and had a wicked sense of humour. My Grandad taught me how to tell the time and to spell, well ahead of anyone else in my class. My love of gardening came from them, with Nan teaching me how to care for plants while Grandad taught me how to grow vegetables. Nan told me stories of how they met, during the war; it was the sort of story that films are made of.
Grandad passed away when I was 12. My beautiful Nan though, I was fortunate enough to have her in my life until last year. I was devastated when she passed away. I can't tell you how much my heart ached and probably always will. I'm constantly reminded of her. I'll smell a particular scent and think of her, or I'll go to text her a question about a plant in the garden before remembering that I can't.
A few months after Nan passed away, I found out that I was pregnant. And a few months after that I found out that we were expecting a little girl. I said to Ian that I wanted her to be named after my Nan in some way, but I didn't want to name her Jess or Jessie or even Jessica. I was pondering using her name as a middle name, when I heard the name Essie one day and fell in love. I searched online for the origins of the name: a French baby name meaning star. It is so similar to my Nan's name in sound, yet so different, and with an utterly delightful meaning. I couldn't have found a more perfect name.
I love typographical prints for the children and the boys already have a few different ones featuring their names. Essie doesn't have her own room yet but I have been collecting pictures and ornaments for when she does. This print from The Jam Tart is Essie's first piece of personalised artwork and has whimsical animal letters spelling out her name. Her print has an elephant, a snake, a swan, an iguana and an eagle. I love that even though there are duplicate letters in her name, each animal letter is unique. I just need to find the perfect frame for it now! You can get your own personalised print in a variety of colours at Apples & Pips for £28.00 - use my reader discount code to get 10% off: QFSS10.
