Aleah Downing

Josh and I pretty easily agreed on the name "Aleah" for our new baby girl. This name was on the list that we made back in 2007 before Hannah was born; we have always loved it. And I have been calling this baby "Aleah" since before we even knew she was a girl. Josh would just roll his eyes at me. 

I love this meaning of "Aleah" that I found: "Aleah is an Americanized respelling of the Arabic name Aliyya/Aliyah which is derived from “ali” meaning “sublime, exalted”. In the Hebrew language, to make an “aliyah” means to go up toward God, or more specifically, “to rise, ascend”. From this etymological perspective, aliyah refers to the journey of the Jewish people to the Promised Land."

When I was in high school, there was a singer named Aaliyah that I liked, but that spelling always seemed a little crazy to me. Then after we got married and were doing the children's ministry, we had a little girl in our class named "Aleah," and that spelling made so much more sense to me! That little girl is now in high school. She is a real sweetheart, and Josh and I have always loved her.

We also love the name "Leah" and would be fine with that as a nickname or if that's what she goes by as she gets older. We're still really torn on her middle name. Part of me wants to use my middle name, Ruth. I was a little sad that we didn't use it for Hannah. Then I was even more sad when we used Josh's middle name for Jacob. But, I also like the way that Grace flows with Aleah, and I think that Hannah Faith and Aleah Grace go beautifully together. I have a feeling we'll be debating it until we fill out her birth certificate!

Aleah currently has a wall in Hannah's room and a closet of her own. She will sleep in our room for the first several months. It is weird not doing a nursery this time, but I always shared a room growing up, so I know as well as anyone that there's nothing wrong with that!