Name and Nursery!!

Big news here. Ren now has a middle name! It's a tradition within the SGI to ask the current and long standing president, Daisaku Ikeda, to provide a name for your child. This we did about a month back, along with a letter. Today is an auspicious day, because we recieved a beautiful reply. It includes a letter from President Ikeda's secretary, along with a beautiful drawing of Ren's new middle name in Kanji, written and stamped by Ikeda himself (I'll post a picture later).

Ren's new middle name: Akiko. It means "cheerful" and "brightness/sunny". Think of akiko like akarui, which directly translates as bright. The first kanji is aki, made up of the symbols for "sun" and "moon", and the second ko for "girl". Hiroko says it's appropriate because it describes me, so it should apply to her.

It's an auspicious time for it to come, because it's the day before my family rolls in to celebrate the season. This is our first gift!

Also, we are done setting up the nursery. In all, we have the great crib and rocking chair from my parents, the changing table, the mobile from Hiroko's mom, and all the gifts and necessities provided from friends and family. I tried to take some pictures, but it's a relatively small room packed with stuff, so it's a bit difficult, but I think you'll be able to envision it. Check out the picture set here.