** This post is sponsored by Basic Invite.
When it came time to pick first and middle names for our baby girl, we obviously wanted to pick options that had a special meaning for us. Among many other things, Graham and I share a love of the music of Johnnyswim. We danced to their “Take the World” at our wedding and we see them play live every chance we get. We last went to their concert in the fall, just about the time we were discussing baby names. I have always loved one of their songs called “Adelina,” which is about Abner’s mother. It’s sung beautifully.
Some of the lyrics:
Darling can’t you see that you’re my sea and sun?
Oh, the battle rages but the war is won.
Adelina, Adelina, Adelina, oh, there’s hope for us.
Adelina, oh there’s hope.
…
Tú eres mi cielo, mar y sol
Tu fortaleza cambia al derredor
Adelina, madre mía
Adelina, mi cielo, mar y sol
To me, Adelina seemed like the perfect choice for a name, and Graham thought so, too.
It was the middle name that was more of a challenge. We knew we wanted the name of a flower or some sort of flora. We originally selected Ivy, which has special meaning for us because of Graham’s work and our memories. But we also really love Hawaii, where we got married and plan to move someday. That’s when Leilani came to mind. We discussed it on our babymoon with someone we met there, and I feel like I came closer to falling in love with the name. Leilani means heavenly child or flower, so it’s perfect.
Because we kept the name a secret until she was born, we wanted to share our choice in a birth announcement as well as social media for our families, who live thousands of miles away. That’s why I turned to Basic Invite again like I did for Victoria’s custom adoption announcement last year. The cards came out so well that I knew I would not be disappointed in how they came out.
I chose a flower design, of course, from Basic Invite’s countless birth announcement options, which can be customized. It fits perfectly with Adelina’s name and I loved the font.
One of the things I like about Basic Invite is that you can pick the color scheme, text, etc. You have almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different options so you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it down to the littlest detail.

More reasons to go with Basic Invite:
- Custom samples: You can order a printed sample of the actual invitation or announcement to see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before placing a final order.
- More than 40 envelope colors: Also, envelopes are peel and seal so they can be quickly and securely closed.
- Address capturing service: Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows you to share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other form of social media to request your friends and family’s addresses, which will be stored in your account and can then be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders.
- Foil: Foil cards are available in gold, silver and rose gold. Choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs.
I can see myself turning to Basic Invite for future milestones as well, like birthdays, weddings, holidays, senior grad announcements, graduation thank you cards, and grad party invites. Right now you can get 15 percent off graduation announcements with the code 15FF51.

