Turning 3! The "Allston Way"

There has been lots of refection on Alston's actual "birth" day. Hard to believe it was 3 years ago. I recently found a box of articles that I saved from Alston's early days and first year. I found lists of names, some Patrick and I were considering and one was a list of names my grandmother had given to me over the phone as her favorites. I'm glad I saved this, as I had forgotten some. Here is a sampling of the ones my grandmother suggested:

BOYS
Nathan - by far her 1st choice
Craig
Shane
Kyle
Cody
William Ian
William Edward (her father's name)
Rett (I really liked this one, but Patrick not so much)


GIRLS
Cheryl (specifically liked Cheryl Ann)
Brianna
Dayna
Kendra
Caitlyn
Kyra (pronounced k-eye-ra)
Dolores (her confirmation name)


Its funny to think about Alston having one of the these names instead. And who knows if we hadn't driven by Allston Way in Berkeley that day.... if we'd have decided on the name Alston.


Allston Way....
How did the street get the name that we gave to our baby?

Turns out the street was named after Washington Allston,  an American painter and poet. He was known for his landscape paintings and "his experiments with dramatic subject matter and his bold use of light and atmospheric color". Seems he kept friends with many well known writers, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who said, following Allston's death, "His memory is the quince in the drawer and perfumes the atmosphere".
Click on Washington Allston above for more history on the artist/writer.

So, I guess indirectly we named our son after an American painter....

Happy 3rd Birthday Alston!