What's in a name?

My latest assignment in my data class was to use a data visualization tool to create a story using any data I wanted. I decided to look at baby names and, in particular, my baby's name. I went to the Social Security website's baby name section to look up the data.

First, I looked up the most popular boy names in the U.S. for 2014. Then, I pulled data from each state and found how many babies were named Harrison in 2014 for each state. Then I realized that that didn't tell the whole story, since obviously a state with 1 million people is likely to have significantly more Harrisons than a state with 1,000. So I went to the Census website and looked up 2014 population estimates by state, to provide context. Finally, I looked up the popularity of the name Harrison in the U.S. from 1900 to 2014.

Once I'd gathered all the data and made it readable (ugh, spreadsheets), I plugged it into the visualization tool, and out popped my story (well, after quite a bit of tweaking and arranging, I did have to do some work):

I think this last part, about how Harrison spiked in popularity after the first Star Wars movie came out, is the most interesting thing. Especially since that's pretty much why we named our baby Harrison (Han for short). ;)

I like that this class is forcing me to step outside my comfort zone, yet I can do it with things that actually interest me, so it's not so hard.

My baby doesn't cuddle.

When I was pregnant with Harrison and preparing for his arrival, I imagined the hours we'd spend snuggled up together in the glider, the late-morning cuddles in Mom & Dad's bed. My sweet boy loving on me for years to come, but especially when he was just a wee bairn.

Nope.

This kid doesn't cuddle, doesn't snuggle, doesn't stop moving period. He's like a Tasmanian devil from the minute his eyes open to the second he passes out. Oh yeah, and he is constantly moving in his sleep as well. Every time we check the baby monitor, he's in a different position.

David and I always resented our cats a bit because they were never snuggly. "It's okay," we'd say, "once the baby is here, we'll have all the snuggles we could ever want!"

Now I'm starting to wonder if it's us. Maybe we repel snuggles. Maybe we stink. Or maybe we just have what's known as a "spirited child" and we should get over ourselves.

Seriously, it's almost impossible to get a picture of the kid without at least one blurry limb.

Example: Our attempt at a decent Easter pic.

And what it took to get there:

But having a non-snuggler isn't all bad. He's adventurous and fearless; he loves to swing and explore new things. He shows his love in other ways — he gives us big, sloppy, open-mouth kisses constantly — and he's learning how to be gentle with us and the cats. 

 

So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'll keep my anti-cuddle for now. It makes those few and far between times when he does snuggle up that much more special.