How does she do it?

We were talking about “long names” (full names) the other day, and I asked Petra about a few different people, and whether she knew their “long names.” She knew Silas’ right off–I’m one of those the middle name means you’re in trouble moms… — and she had a decent guess at a few other people. Then I asked her what her long name was.

Without the slightest hesitation, she said, “Uncle Peter.”

I was left speechless. I haven’t told Petra the story of how she got her name, because I figured not-quite-two was too little to understand it. There’s etymology and history in there. We do call her “Petey” sometimes, but that’s not what she said. Clear as a bell, she said, “Uncle Peter,” which is how we refer to her godfather.

Bethany, her godmother, remarked once that she felt a stronger connection to Petra than to Silas, and that she had seen how Silas had an early connection with Laura, his godmother. This despite them both seeing both children an equal amount. “There’s definitely something there,” she said. “I try not to favor Petra or anything like that, but there’s something. It’s like they know.” Silas sort of does know, now, that Laura and Myers are his godparents, but he doesn’t have any real understanding of what that might mean. We don’t know, ourselves. We only know that we felt a strong guidance to put this baby with these friends and stand back and see what happened. Particularly with Silas, both JC and I felt that message with incredible clarity. But to hear Petra connect herself with Peter…All I can guess is that she was inspired.