Welcome Kochava Sela

Kate had her baby naming last weekend. A baby naming is a Jewish ritual similar to a baptism-- a welcoming of the child into the Jewish religion. We gave her the name Kochava Sela. In the Jewish religion, you pick names that begin with the first initials of someone in your family who has passed-- and so we picked K for Dave's Grandpa, and S for my Great Grandma. We picked these particular names, however, because of their meaning. Kochava means STAR, and Sela means ROCK. Kate is our little Rock Star. (Charlotte is Haviva Bluma-- meaning Beautiful Flower.) Here's a quick story about the naming-- we had a moment of silent prayer and meditation. As I held her in my arms, I was praying for the health and happiness of everyone I knew. At that moment, I look down, and Kate Rebecca smiled her biggest smile yet...you know, like the first NON GAS super smile that all mommies wait for? It was the closest thing to a religious experience I've ever had. Then, of course, she proceeded to poop all over everything. Alas, maybe it was gas....but who the heck cares? A smile by any other name still seems as sweet...

Here is a pic from the baby naming featuring my smiling daughter (thanks Karen!)


And, just for fun, here is a pic of Charlotte at her baby naming, over four years ago. That's the Rabbi on my left and "DA" (my mom) on my right, holding Char.