Saturday, May 10, 2014

What's in a Name


Many people have asked me why we picked Luca Benz as a name for our Little Bean, and I saw non of your darn business. No I'm just kidding:)
Here's the story, get ready it's really not that interesting:)
We wanted a name that could be pronounced both in the States and in Italy, and something that had some sort of meaning that we liked. Seems pretty simple no? Well it would be if you were married to someone who had the same taste in names that you did. Marco and I were NEVER on the same page when it was name related. I liked a name, he hated it, and vice versa. We made lists, we tried family names... nothing, and when finally there was a name that we liked, there was no way that Marcos mother could pronounce it, or the other way around. 
The name Luca came to us in the end, the more we said it the more we liked it and the more it stuck. It means Bringer Of Light , which I thought was pretty sweet too. Luca is also a name you cannot butcher. Luke would be the English form, and Lucas/Lukas would be German. Marco and I both agreed (so of course we had to stick with it!) that Luca was the best fit. 
The name Benz came to us much later. Luca is 25% Swiss so I wanted a middle name honoring his Swiss heritage but we could not find any name that we liked. I randomly saw the name in a list of Germanic names and I took my chance and passed it by Marco. To my huge surprise Marco liked it so much he wanted it to be the first name. I of course did not. So in the end it became his middle name, which means Courageous Like A Bear. I mean it doesn't get better than that. 
During my whole pregnancy we (well mostly me) were calling the bun in the oven aka Luca Benz, Little Bean. When I discovered that the name Marco and I both agreed on had the initials of LB I knew it had to be. So Little Bean became Luca Benz aka LB. The perfect fit.
So there you have it, that's pretty much the great history of LB's name. Pretty darn fantastic huh?
HA!
In Cavallino, a beach town where we have friends who live there. Lucky us!

his dear car

Captain Luca Benz of Benzina, our new addition to the family

View of a Saturday afternoon from our balcony. Marco in his garden, Nonno with LB in his yard (which is still a work in progress) and a neighbor planting his flower boxes

"I dare you to mess with me when I am playing with my socks"

Rain walks

A day on the boat. 


Concentration to the max