Naming Ceremony

November 6th 2016

Joined by awesome family and friends from far and wide, we wanted to celebrate Isabella and the joy she brings to all of us

With both Clare and I not really having much religion in our lives, we decided not to opt for a Christening, God Parents or church surroundings.  Instead we opted for a local function room, my Uncle David as the compere and supportive parents Beewell, Rosh, Cousin Paula, Great Aunty T'Lind and Chelsey

A naming ceremony's purpose is to officially give a baby their name and to make the name known to all her friends and family.  A Naming Ceremony has an extended purpose of presenting the baby to her community and to celebrate the arrival of a new person into that community.  We all share in the joy of Isabella's arrival - just as we all share the responsibility of shaping her as a person.  Isabella needs everyone's good and caring influence as we offer her our love, our knowledge and our wisdom.  The more people whom she relates, the more balanced and rich her growth will be.

Explanation of a Name

Isabella was born at 4am on Wednesday 17th February 2016 at Bolton Royal Hospital.  Dad supported Mum through the birth and was first to put on her nappy and dress her in clothes that were far too big!

A name is very important, it distinguishes us from others and gives us a sense of belonging in our family and community.  Dad and Mum are good at making decisions, well Clare is and Danny does as he is told most of the time, but choosing a little girls name was most difficult. Penny, Chloe, Jasmine, Sabrina; they could not find the right name.  Eventually, Isabella was mentioned and loved right away, it took a lot less time to choose her middle names.

Isabella is a name with many spellings and meanings.  It is a Hebrew name that is believed to be derived from the name Elizabeth.  It means vow or oath of God.  The Bella comes from Latin and translates to beautiful

Her Middle name, Christina, was chosen by both parents for a more personal reason.  This was the name of Clare's Gran.  She would really have loved Isabella, being a caring and dedicated Gran as well as a valuable source of advice.  Finally, whilst in Egypt, Clare and Danny were on the Nile Cruise ship titled "The Grand Rose", but we needn't go into why that name was chosen!

Isabella - your name has been chosen with love and with the strength of heritage.  We therefore name you Isabella Christina Rose.  We wish you a long life and happiness in a loving and peaceful world.  May you bring joy to your parents, your family and your friends

Thank you to all who came and supported us, helped with catering and all the gifts for our little princess.

1st Christmas

Christmas Time

I have never really been a big Christmas fan, it has become so commercial and focused on money rather than the true meaning for me.  Christmas can be any day, it is just about spending time with family.

When I met Clare, Christmas became more enjoyable, Clare and her family really enjoy all that Christmas has to offer.  Her Dad is up around 3am and has a rule of "one up, all up" which was a shock to me on the first year.  We celebrated Christmas early with Clare's Mum and Partner as they are usually in Wales on the big day, normally at Clare's Dad's for Christmas Eve (with an early morning get up) and then alternated between Christmas Dinner at Clare's Dad's (after a sleep) or my Ma n Pa's.

The year we lost Spud, we didn't really feel up to much celebration so opted to go to our local curry house for Christmas Day curry.  This became our new thing, making the Christmas meal so much easier.

This year though, 2016, I got a whole new Christmas experience....let me tell you more....

Only One More Sleep 'til Christmas

A tradition I have always kept is watching The Muppet's Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve.  I have always loved the story of the Christmas Carol and think the Michael Caine and Jim Henson perfectly capture the meaning whilst also adding a little Muppet humour.  When Kermit breaks into the "One more sleep 'til Christmas" routine, my Christmas also begins.  I had the pleasure this year of sharing this moment with Isabella.  She loves colours on screen but is not really interested in TV, just like her Dad.  She has sat through Jaws and Star Wars with me, and I was looking forward to sharing this moment with her too.  Unfortunately, she did not make it all the way through as she started to doze in my arms by the 2nd ghost, but I know she enjoyed what she saw, and I look forward to continuing this tradition for future years (See Pondo 40 before 40, "Have a Family Tradition")

Our little family then had a little Christmas Mezze with nibble and bits topped up with a little port, before changing into our new Christmas PJ's (well, mine were a little Star Wars themed, but still new for Christmas).  It was time for our Little Elf to go to sleep and wait for the big day.  We set up the mince pie and rum for Father Christmas and a special carrot for Rudolph, hoping that Isabella had been a good girl.



Christmas

This is were the true meaning of Christmas shone through.  Both Clare and I awoke giddy for Isabella.  With her not really understanding what would be happening, it was down to us to enjoy. We sat her on our bed, looked at her beauty and gave her a big family kiss.  Upon entering our living
room, we checked the plate that we had laid out the night before, the rum was gone, the mince pie munched and the carrot had been crunched.  The Christmas Tree was adorned with boxes in glittering wrapping paper.

Isabella's eyes were all in wonder, she giggled and laughed as each present was opened, our eyes were full of love at every moment.  This is what I had dreamed it would be like.

We had a little break for breakfast and then went to check if Father Christmas had left his special present for Isabella.  She HAD been a good girl this year and a large box was there for her to open. We opened the present together to reveal a dancing Beat-Bo, colours, lights and dancing was on the cards, three of Isabella's favourite things.


Keeping up our new found tradition, we went to our local Indian Restaurant for our Christmas Curry, to which Isabella had poppadoms with mango chutney, sheek kebabs, palak curry and a bowl of ice cream, that's my girl!

It was then back home to play with our new toys, bath time and then off to sleep for a little Christmas Princess.

I can honestly say that this was the most special Christmas Day I have experienced.  I know that this will only get more and more exciting (and expensive) as time progresses, but we just need to remember the real spirit and meaning of the day and celebrate in our own special way.