Our baby boy arrived last Friday — January 26, 2018 — at 12:28 p.m.  He is a handsome little man, and our family has been blessed in so many ways — including with a smooth labor, trip to the hospital, and delivery.  (More details on all that someday… maybe?!  I still haven’t gotten around to writing up Marsielle’s birth story, and she’s about to turn 3.)

He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and measured in at 21 inches.  His name is Harold Muggins — Harold after my dad, just as our oldest son, Michael Asher, is named after Beau’s dad; and Muggins for the creek, named for a storied frontiersman, that runs through the heart of the PV Ranch.  (And also just because the name Muggins Blake promises success and infamy in life, doesn’t it?  I mean — can’t you just imagine Muggins Blake being a famous author?  A world champion bronc rider?  Maybe an oil tycoon?)

I have loved naming our kids, as has Beau.  Now that there are four, I giggle at the varied origins of their four handles:

First there’s Asher — an undeniably Hebrew name.

Then there’s Emilyn — a name as English as our last name, Blake.

Next comes Marsielle, pronounced mar-see-ELL, with its south-of-the-border flavor.  Did you know that she’s named for a type of (rope) loop thrown (at cattle) by traditional vaqueros and buckaroos?

And, finally, Muggins:  just good ol’ Americana.

We think it suits him perfectly.

(Photo by Aunt Sue!)

© Tami Blake