Welcome to the World Baby Bear DeLong (A Little Introduction)

I want to proudly present the newest member of the DeLong household: James Willard Blaise DeLong // Born November 27th, 2018 at 8:53AM // 7 Pounds 4 Ounces // 18.5 inches

Yes, both Ty and I realize it is a mouthful of names, but I promise we have thought through these names and wanted to name our son after some great men who have impacted our lives in some way, shape, or form.
 
James: So James is actually my Father-in-Law’s middle name. James is also a variant of Jakob, which is Ty’s middle name as well. Ty and I recently learned that the book of James (in the New Testament of the Bible) is actually the “book of Jacob” (believe me, my mind was BLOWN when we learned this. I started crying when I realized that both Ty and his Father, Duke, would be represented in our son in some way. I knew instantly that James had to be the first name). Also, here is a video about James (being Jakob/Jacob) click HERE. Other fun facts about the name James: one of my favorite childhood books was “James and the Giant Peach” by Author Roald Dahl. Going back to biblical times, James (or Jakob/Jacob) was the half-brother of Jesus. Also, on a silly note: James is the real name of a true American Hero: Jim Gaffigan (I’m not even kidding) *but please take note; we are NOT nicknaming him Jim or Jimmy-as much as I love Jim Gaffigan, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy John’s. No, I actually want to take my son’s name seriously. Also, James Potter was the Father of Harry Potter….need I say more? (you can smile now because I am trying to be funny with all the James references)!

 
 
Willard: So, very recently Ty’s grandfather passed away. His name was Willard Morton McCrone. I honestly wanted to use the name McCrone OVER the other two names, but one of our nephew’s middle name is actually McCrone so we did not want to steal that idea. Morton just did not fit in my mind, so we went with Willard. No, we will NOT nickname him “Little Lard” (haha, as funny as that sounds) But, when James is older and if he is funny (and a bit dorky like his mom-aka me) he may want to go by “Little Lard” just to be funny (or maybe that will be his rap name-who knows!) The whole point of Willard is to honor Ty’s grandfather and hopefully sweet James will grow up to know the legacy of his great-grandfather, Willard M. McCrone.  To read more about Ty’s grandfather, please use this link HERE. (Seriously though, I cannot stress enough about how great Ty’s grandfather was. He raised my sweet and amazing Mother-in-Law, who later shepherded and raised Ty who would be my husband. Willard’s influence will always be over Ty’s heart and mind because he was a good, godly and stable man and I am happy we can honor him in this small way).

 
Blaise: So this is the name that I actually dragged my feet about. I did not like this name because it is after a famous French theologian/philosopher/mathematician Blaise Pascal (and I honestly thought “Who cares! What makes him so awesome?”) When I finally stopped being stubborn about the name, and I finally slowed down and asked my husband why the name “Blaise” is important to him, it is because Blaise Pascal was a thinker and was one of the first Christian philosophers of his time. Both Ty and I agree that we desire and wish James to be a man who thinks through his words, his actions and his deeds because the world we currently live in is very feelings and emotions based. There is nothing wrong with feelings and emotions, but when your decisions are purely based off of knee-jerk reactions and you just do whatever “your heart desires”, one tends to not really be a deep thinker because you are constantly following your emotions which constantly fade in and out like a roller coaster. If I could wish something over my son is that he would develop a deep, intimate and thoughtful relationship with God and that God’s word would help shape him in all of his interactions with this world. I really wish for him to be a thinker and for him to be a source of knowledge and wisdom for those around him (not in an entitled or “know it all” way). This is where Ty comes in. I feel like I am the emotional one in the DeLong household (again, there is nothing wrong with emotions or feelings) but ever since I have married Ty, he has helped me think and reason analytically about issues I never have wanted to face. I tend to brush things aside with humor when things get a bit too tough for me, and I appreciate that Ty is constantly teaching me how to interact with problems in a thoughtful and analytical way. This is something I am excited for James to experience, and learn, from his father.
On a more personal note, once I warmed up to the ‘idea’ of the name of Blaise, I started calling James “Blaise Bear” and I called him “Blaise Bear” so often that at one of my ultrasound appointments, I called his name out to him and he turned around and looked directly at me! I am not even kidding! I started crying on the spot and I knew that no matter how weird the name “Blaise” sounds (because let’s be real, it’s not a popular name) I am going to call Blaise by his middle name at home, and in a formal setting most likely called him James. 
So there you go, that is the meaning behind “James Willard Blaise DeLong”. I know we are the weirdo parents who gave our son two middle names, but the world is just going to have to deal with it because Blaise Bear is here to stay!
I cannot even begin to express to you all how excited I am to finally get to share my sweet baby bear with the world. I am already so proud of him, and all he’s done so far is poop himself, cry a lot, urinate all over his changing pads, receive jaundice treatments, but I am still so proud of him! He’s the best in my mind!
My biggest wish for sweet Blaise Bear is to know God deeply by walking in His Word in fear and trust, to be a hard worker, to be kind and loving to everyone around him, oh yes, and to grow into a MAN!  I know that parenting will NOT be a walk in the park and some days will be VERY tough and there will be moments where I will literally throw my hands up in the air because I know parenting is frustrating, but overall I pray that God blesses both Ty and me with the wisdom we need on a daily basis to raise this sweet boy into a man. I am excited. I am nervous. I am terrified. I am so many emotions which cannot be expressed in one blog post.
I am overwhelmed that God has chosen me and Ty to parent this little child. I still cannot believe he has entrusted us with this huge task.
If you ever meet my son, I am trusting that you will honor him by showing him love and respect in your actions and words. I want him to get to know everyone and to know that there are so many people to love and to be friends with in this big world!
Thank you for reading! Thanks for being excited about his arrival! More adventures with Blaise Bear to come in future posts!
Love, Dolly Mama (& Ty Bear)