Q: How old are the boys now? A:
Q: How far apart are they in age? A: They about 28 months apart. I’m not sure why, but this is a perpetually popular question.
Q: Why did you pick the name Oliver?A: We thought it was a great name, and it fit our name requirements Oliver works well with titles such as “Sir Oliver” and “The Honorable Oliver.” It also sounds good when you yell it really loudly.
Q: “Patrick” is an Irish name, who in the family is Irish? A: “Patrick” is not actually an Irish name. Patrick is derived from the Latin name Patricius (patrician, i.e. “nobleman”). The name Patrick is commonly associated with Ireland because of St. Patrick and because it is a popular name there.
To the best of our knowledge no one on either side of our family is Irish.* We are also not Roman, but much of where our families once lived (Germany, Greece, France, Spain, England, etc.) was over-run by Romans at some point or another. Kindli is a bit of a geek and has been listening to the History of Rome podcast (most excellent btw), and Gavin vetoed the other Roman-inspired names.
Q: How is Patrick different from Oliver? A: Their names are spelled differently.
Q: Are you getting any sleep? Does Patrick sleep? Where? When? Are you sleeping when the baby is sleeping? A: What is it with everyone and sleep questions? Is our baby keeping you up all night? No? Then why does any of this concern you?
Q: How does Oliver like Patrick? A: Oliver is generally fond of “Pak-its”
Q: OMG you’re using a pacifier & occasionally giving him a bottle?! A: Not anymore, he likes his fingers and sippy cup.
Q: Are you going to try for a girl? A: Everyone knows someone who knows someone who kept having boys (usually 3 or 4) in an attempt to have a girl. We like our two boys just fine. Someday we hope Oliver & Patrick will bring home nice girls so we can have daughter-in-laws (although, we’re OK if they bring nice boys home too, and if they’d prefer to remain bachelors that’s understandable as well).
Q: Why haven’t you taken/shared as many photos of Patrick as you did of Oliver? Why are there no photos of Kindli with the boys? A: We’re busy having a life.
Q: What (if anything) are you doing differently this time? A: More laundry.
Q: When are you going back to work? A: What do you mean “back to work?” I have not had a day off in the last 2 1/2 years.
Q: How do you not go crazy? A: That’s a very rude question.
Q: Have a question about the birth in general or some physical aspect of Patrick? A: We’re not answering those.
Q: Are you going to have a baby shower? A: We had a meet-the-baby party back in 2011, sorry you missed it.
Q: We’d like to buy Oliver a big-brother gift and/ or get something for the New Baby! A: We still have a “baby” registry at Amazon, it has both things for the new baby and toy suggestions for Oliver. We are mostly prepared with baby clothes, equipment, etc. If you choose send a gift card, we prefer Target/Amazon/LLBean as there are no close-by Babies’R'Us. A meal or helpful visit are always appreciated.
Q: Who asks these sorts of questions? A: Having a baby means people ask questions. Random people at the grocery store, well meaning acquaintances, friends, play date mommies, family members, the list goes on.
Please note: Many of these have been taken directly from Patrick’s 1-month update & FAQ
*Please note the correction from 8/23/2001 regarding Irish relatives. Patrick’s great-great-great-great grandmother Catherine came from Ireland.