He could have been an Elwood

My firstborn turned 5-years-old just five days after he became a big brother. He was very excited all along the way. And I remember him giving his input as we contemplated names. We knew we were having a boy. At the time there was a cartoon on television with little bears, I believe, named "Peanut" and "Butter." My son decided the new baby should be named "Butter." I quickly shot that down, although I let him know how much I appreciated his suggestion.

Not too long after that, we caught one of my very favorite movies of all time on television, The Blues Brothers. I carefully screened it, changing the channel in between the musical scenes. He loved the ending performances and for days afterwards would walk around the house singing Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher. I'd hear "Hi-Di-Hi-Di-Hi-Di-Ho," coming from the other room constantly. From that day on, he had a new name for his soon-to-be-born baby brother: Elwood.

For months, the baby in my tummy was referred to as Elwood, even though we knew there was no way we'd give him that name. It was just our little inside joke, but by the time he was born, it really had grown on me and I admit, I did almost consider using it as a middle name.

I recently told that story to our second son, who is now 12. He seemed genuinely disappointed that he didn't get named after one of the Blues Brothers. :)

(P.S. Enjoy this little video of Cab Calloway...for some reason I could only find one with the intro. not in English, but the song is.)