Events that Happened the Day Gavin was Born

Gavin was born on a Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Here are the events that happened when he was born. (Source: Wikipedia)

- Baiji, a river dolphin recently declared functional extinct, is witnessed in Anhui, China. (New York Times)

- Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to return back to Pakistan after seven years of exile. (AndhraNews.net)

- The Wyoming Republican Party votes to move its nominating convention to January 5, 2008, making it the first event in the nation for the Republicans in the United States presidential election, 2008. (MSNBC)

- The Red Cross reports that at least 17,000 are still missing from the former Yugoslavia, including 13,400 from the Bosnian wars, 2,300 from the Croatian conflict and 2,047 from the Kosovo conflict. (AFP via NYT)

- Moqtada al-Sadr suspends the activities of his Mehdi Army militia in Iraq for six months. (BBC)

- Senator Tim Johnson announces that he will return to the United States Senate on September 5 after recovering from brain surgery since last December. (Reuters)

- The United States Department of Defense's inspector general launches an investigation into the United States military's inability to account for weapons sent to Iraq after reports that Kurdish militants were using US weapons to attack Turkey. (Reuters)

- Thousands of people protest in Chile against the economic policies of the President Michelle Bachelet with 350 arrests made when they attempt to enter the grounds of the presidential palace. (AFP via ABC News Australia)

- A California produce company recalls bagged fresh spinach after it tests positive to salmonella. (CNN)

- The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) claim to have captured a Sudanese army base in the Kordofan province of Sudan. (Reuters via ABC)

- A NASA internal investigation finds no evidence of heavy drinking or drunkenness amongst astronauts prior to missions. (NYT)

- The United States Senate Republican Party leadership requests that Senator Larry Craig of Idaho stand aside from his Senate committees until the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics makes a ruling on his situation. Senator Craig agrees. (WSJ)

- John Holmes, the United Nation's emergency relief coordinator, warns that refugees of the Darfur conflict are arming themselves and may soon be able to defend themselves if the Sudanese government renews its attacks. (BBC)

- Three Palestinian children are killed in an explosion between Beit Lahiya and the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip caused by Israeli tank fire. The Israeli Defence Forces later claim they were aiming for rocket launchers in the area directed towards Israel, but eyewitnesses and medical sources said that there were no gunmen or rocket launchers at the scene. (BBC) (YNet)

- A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the murder of British schoolboy Rhys Jones. (Sky News)

- Ten people are trapped alive in a collapsed apartment building in Baku, Azerbaijan with at least eight people having died. (Reuters via News Limited)

- The Taliban release twelve South Korean hostages of the 19 they have been holding. (BBC)

- A curfew is imposed in the Indian city of Agra after angry mobs clash with police resulting in one death and 50 police are injured. (BBC)

- Prison officers in the United Kingdom call a surprise 24-hour strike. (Daily Telegraph)
The United States releases seven Iranians hours after detaining them in a Baghdad hotel. (AP via Fox News)

- Three people are killed - including a father and son - in a "targeted incident" involving firearms at a house in Bishop's Stortford. Two others are injured, but a 3 year-old girl is unharmed. Police are hunting "two Asian men" in connection with the attack. (BBC)

My Baby's Name

In 14 days, I would finally have my baby boy in my arms.

Even before I got pregnant, I already have names on my mind for a boy (or a girl). I never got the chance to do it with my daughter since my mom was the one who thought about Jenna's name. And so when I found out I was pregnant, the first thing I did was start looking for the perfect name from the few specials ones I've picked up already.

And so, after months of choosing, we (I, mostly) decided on the name GAVIN MATEO.

I wanted a name that could easily identify us as the child's parents - a "G" name for Glenn and an "M" name for me (Michelle).

I found it quite difficult to find a proper "G" name that wouldn't sound too geeky or unusual. And my husband hates the thought of naming the baby after him. Then one day, when I was on the bus on my way to pick-up Sophie, the first song that played on my mp3 player was Gavin Degraw's "Follow Through" and I said to myself, "that would be the perfect name for my baby boy". I've always been a fan of Gavin Degraw, when his songs started playing on TV shows.

So I checked the meaning online and in Wikipedia, Gavin is a common given name in Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. It is the late medieval form of the name Gawain, which in turn is believed to have originated from the Welsh name Gwalchgwn, meaning "white hawk".

It was easy finding an "M" name, but with a lot of choices, the challenge was looking for the right one that would fit perfectly with Gavin and one that wouldn't sound too common. I started checking on the Italian and Spanish name database online and came across Mateo which sound pretty much in tune with Gavin.

Mateo is the Spanish version of Matthew, which translated from Hebrew means "gift of the lord". Coincidentally, Mateo and Jenna does have a similarity in definition since the Arabic version of Jenna means "gift from God".

So there goes the history of how my little boy got his name. And it makes me proud that we (I, mostly) took the time to think and decide on what we think is the right name for our boy.