A Year with the Little Peach

First, a year of the two of us, circling the globe. Then a year of the three of us, riding the orbit around the sun.

September 17th.

We’ve made it back to this place in space, and we couldn’t be more grateful for Lucie Anne Rydmark, the Little Peach.

The Little Peach’s Name:

Details…if you’d like to know them.

[lucie] a female given name derived from the Latin noun “Lux,” meaning “light”

She’s named Lucie in part for her great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Etienne Lucier, the French Canadian fur trapper whose story is woven through Oregon history:

Etienne Lucier (1793–1853) was a fur trader in what is now the Pacific Northwest. At the time it was called the Oregon Country and claimed by the United States and called the Columbia District as claimed by Great Britain. He was one of two French Canadians to vote for the creation of a government for that region at the Champoeg Meetings. Moving to the Pacific Northwest originally to help establish Fort Astoria, he would later become the first farmer in what would become the state of Oregon.

–Wikipedia (because, though I have desire, I don’t have time to pull my old-school Oregon history books off the shelf and quote something more substantial. Though you can catch a few more details in this past post.)

[anne] Hebrew, meaning “favor,” “grace,” or “God has favored me”

She’s named Anne for after my mom and grandma’s middle name (and probably just a little bit after Anne of Green Gables).

[rydmark] Swedish, from “ryd” meaning cleared and “mark” meaning field: “a cleared field for crops”

She’s named Rydmark, well, because that’s how the naming thing usually works. (That’s “rid” not “ride” for those of you wondering about pronunciation.) Interesting note, we learned our surname’s meaning in South Africa from Norwegian/Australian linguists (hello, Piers, Ellen, and Camilla!).

[peach] a sweet and juicy stone fruit, ripened on a tree after a long season of growth

She was due at the tail end of peach season, peaches are my favorite fruit, and I can resist the cheesy/heartwarming line from It’s a Wonderful Life: “Well, of course I like her, she’s a peach!”

And what a sweet peach Lucie’s turned out to be.

Our little light.

Here’s to many, many more sunsets followed by sunrises and new adventures…

xx Bethany, Ted, and Lucie

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Many thanks to Erin Tole for her beautiful photos and patience with a past-bedtime-baby, and thanks to Grossen Peaches in Helvetia, Oregon for letting us use the orchard and snack on peaches for a second year in a row.

More: Posts about The Little Peach

{In Case You Missed It: Lucie’s 1st Birthday Party}