This was the official birth announcement we sent to friends…
Atticus Charleston Frost, a.k.a “A.C.”, a.k.a. “Aces,” a.k.a. “Charlie,” a.k.a. “Atticus Rose Zebra” (Ava’s entry) was born on July 11th, 2007. He weighed a whopping 9 lb. 6 oz., measured a tall 21 inches, and was delivered naturally by his brave and fierce mother. Both mother and baby are resting healthily at home, and his sister Ava has been a proud and helpful big sister.
(His mother asked me to add that his head circumference was 14 ½ inches, a fact which his father would have left out, given the wincing that is sure to follow.)
Atticus is a bit of a procrastinator—he was two weeks overdue—but given a deadline, he performed with a flourish. His father weaved through rush hour traffic to deliver his mother to the hospital at 5 P.M., and Atticus completed his assignment with grace, arriving with a splash into the world at 7:35 P.M. As an exclamation to his début, upon being placed in his father’s arms, he took a good and proper poo.
Atticus shares a birthday with his maternal grandfather, Alfred Carl Jr., the late astrophysicist–he was given the initials A.C. in his honor. He also shares a birthday with his step-grandfather Bill Yee.
Atticus’s first name is a reference to Atticus Finch, the character in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, who did what he felt was right, even when what was right was an unpopular thing to do. The name’s origin is Greek, meaning “from Athens,” and Atticus’s father likes the fact that Titus Pomponius Atticus was the world’s first publisher.
Charleston adds a hint of jazz and fun to the name Atticus. It is also a nod to Charlie Bing, the patriarch who brought Andrea’s maternal family to the United States from China. Andrea’s mother, Blanche, and her two aunts, Nancy and Jane, have all been steady presences in our family’s life.
Atticus has his mother’s hair, ears, and slight overbite (good for character).