Righting Ryan (or trying to).

I've heard from enough people now to know that I need to apologize for my recent behavior.
I didn't call anyone when Easton was born.

My wife is clearly upset with me and has let me know that her friendships have been damaged due to my negligence. I was assigned the task of letting friends and family know that we had a new addition and instead of performing up to expectations, I called both our parents and left it at that.
Having worked so hard to earn my new reputation as a traitor to the feminine cause by treating their feelings about babies and phones like it was something I did as an occupation, I wouldn't want to ruin that reputation now by Actually doing the right thing, so instead I put it back on your shoulders.
Anyone is welcome to call my wife and let her know you were so excited to hear the good news. You can even tell her that I called you! (she won't believe you anyway)
But please don't take it out on Shelley or Easton.
If you do feel offended in anyway, I apologize, but I also promise that any future assignments with me and the phone will most likely end in the ladies researching class action law suits.


Then there are some things that I've heard from people that I don't want to apologize for! And I probably won't :)
let's talk Name Claiming!...
It used to be that Names actually meant something to people. They were a way to remember heritage and inspire character within a family line or nationality. It used to be an honor to have someone named after you or a loved one past. But our generation has seen the bestowing of a title turn into a sport of nomenclature, where the object is to score the cutest, most fashionable, or unique name to separate our children from 'other people's children',(you know who I'm talking about) and give our kids an advantage in this world because we named them, and it's not just any name, it's got class, style, sophistication. We're talking names like __________ !(fill in the blank) (I hear a young gorilla saying "okay, he's your baby.")
The Problem isn't really in the naming though, it's in what we go through to make sure that our children grow up with an original name. We resort to name claiming! A process of statutes and addendum's we incorporate into our conversations with others about our children's names, and how no one else should use a particular name if we haven't yet, because of the crushing of dreams that would accompany finding out some other _________ exists in another family that we know.
Threatening friends and relatives with the silent treatment if they dare use a name that we've claimed as our own!
Well..... let me set the record straight.
There's been some discussion lately about how I've 'stolen' names from my dearest of friends, or at least their wives. How we at one point or another had a delightful discussion about names that they've cherished since they were little girls and dreamed about naming their little bundles of ..... joy.
Let me start by saying that if I've ever been involved in a baby names discussion with anyone, I was merely nodding my head and saying uh-huh to be polite, and that I was definitely tuning you out. I'm not trying to hurt feelings, or be rude, it's just that I truly don't care.
In fact, I stopped caring about and discussing names shortly before the birth of our second child because of a 'baby names' conversation with my cousin. I wanted a boy named Dyson (could call him Dice), but after my cousin heard it she had to laugh and say "Dyson Cook? like...dice and cook"....Totally turned Shelley off for life. (love you Shauna! :) )
So now, I'll set out to clarify how we've come up with our children's names, and lay down the rules by which I will govern your using them going forward.

Caiden Ryan Cook
Caiden - we read it in a baby names book ("35,000+ Baby Names" by Bruce Lansky)- Kadin (Arabic; Friend or Companion. The spelling was inspired by a friend in high school explaining how he wished his name were spelled so people said it correctly. We only used the one name though. Didn't even think about claiming the other 34,999+.
Ryan - Named after a great man that I've known my whole life....good looking, charming, funny, humble....... anyway...

Camden Reegan Cook
Camden - Read it in the same book. Camden (Scottish); Winding Valley. (? whatever)
Reegan - Same Book. Reagan (Irish); Little King. (Makes up for the first I guess)

Londyn Jade Cook
Londyn - Heard the name while working as a referee for Peoria Youth Soccer in AZ. Loved the name, and decided I wanted to name my girl London. Shelley inspired the spelling.
Jade - When I was 12 we had neighbors name their little girl Jade, and I loved it. Decided that I was going to name my girl Jade. (looks like I put all my eggs in one basket huh.) - Actually, I have one more name Ashleigh.

Easton Zachary Cook
Easton - Read it in book (guess which one) and put it in a list of names that seemed to flow with what we discovered was a pattern in naming our children. In the end, we picked Easton over Preston and Creighton for no real reason. (we still like the others and they both work with our pattern)
Zachary - Although I'd like to say we named him after a great friend in AZ, I'd be lying...Sorry Zach. Shelley named him after her old boyfriend. (J/K - she's hitting me...) It's just a name that she threw out, and I immediately said "cool, then I can call him EZ" and it stuck.

For those of you that like any of these names, please use them, it's okay. My Dad and his brother have sons with the same name, and it didn't turn either of them into idiots. (well, at least we're sure the names didn't contribute)(My mom and my aunt Andi will understand)
For those of you who hate me or my names, you can file your complaints in the comments section, and we'll see how fast I get to them ( it's kinda like the phone for me... I should really do better with this communication stuff huh.)

P.S. To the husbands -- If you ever need me to turn your wives off to a particular name, let me know the name and I'll work on ruining it for her.