Brennan and Jenna

Monica from Monkey Musings tagged me in the Name Tag game, where I am supposed to explain how we chose each of our children's names. We did not have any family names that seemed fitting, so we headed to the book store and bought a couple of baby name books. Eric liked unique names and I liked traditional names....so, in naming Jenna, Tanner and Parker, we compromised with names that aren't totally common, but aren't totally uncommon either. Jenna has my middle name (Noel), Tanner has Eric's middle name (Christian), Parker has Eric's dad, brother and nephews first name as his middle name (James) and Brennan has Eric's first name as his middle name. But, no big stories or significant background for each of the kids first names. Except Brennan. Jenna actually named Brennan. I'm not sure how she came up with the name (although one of her best friends from preschools last name is Brennan - but Jenna says she didn't know that when she picked it). But for quite some time before he was born, she said she thought his name should be Brennan. When he was born, we decided she was right. And, you could say, the rest is history - as the two have had an incredibly close bond ever since.
All of our kids adore and have great relationships with Brennan - but I think Jenna may be his biggest cheerleader. She is incredibly observant and notices and brings to our attention each new skill Brennan learns. You'd have thought it was Christmas morning the way Jenna was jumping up and down and cheering the first time Brennan got into a sitting position by himself. When friends of mine are inquiring about Brennan and how he's doing - Jenna jumps in and starts telling them all of the things he can do. She's just so proud. She holds him, hugs him and plays with him countless times throughout the day and always tells him that she loves him and that he's the best baby in the world. And I know that she means it.