Saturday, April 21, 2018

Nick Names

Aren't nick names a funny thing? I woke up this morning thinking about this most random thing. Maybe it was the lack of sleep I've been getting lately. Maybe it's the fact that my 15-month-old son has suddenly started calling our three-year-old, Olivia, "La-La," because he can't pronounce her name. Haha. It's so stinking cute, by the way. But yeah, it has me thinking about nick names. Why do some stick? Why do some fade away into nothing-ness?

For some reason, I have always had an affection for calling my kids by a nickname. When my oldest son was born (he will be eight in June), my sister started calling him Logi-Bear, and the name stuck. To this day, he goes by this nick name, or the shortened version, "Logi." I even wrote a short story series (there are only currently two stories in existence), based on the name.

Bailey, my 5-year-old, has been called "Bailey Boo" since forever. When she was a baby, we called her Bailey Cakes - and though I call her that one on occasion, "Boo Boo" is the one that has really stuck. I call her "Pun'kin Pie" too, and I think that one is her favorite.

Miss O, my 3-year-old (poor child), has had so many nick names. "Miss O," was one given to her by her aunt a few year ago, and that one has certainly stuck. I also call her "Stink Bug," because she is such a little stinker. Haha. And then there is the afore-mentioned "La-La," which just recently came about. We were at our church building recently helping to clean the building, when I started calling out her name at one point in the night. The baby, who was following close behind me, tried mimicking her name, only to pronounce it as "La-La." We all thought it was so adorable, especially when he continued repeating it with such enthusiasm, and has since done so to entertain us. He is so proud of his accomplishment too. Haha. Let's see if that one sticks. It would be cute to hear him calling her La-La even when he is old enough to pronounce her name more accurately.

The baby also has a few nicknames. His name is Ashton, but we call him Ash or Ashy. I call him "Mister" a lot, for some reason, but his name was actually derived from my older son's desire to call him Ash, after the Pokemon character. I didn't want to just name him Ash, so we compromised, and named him Ashton so my son could call him Ash.

Now, my oldest daughter has given herself a nickname. When she started high school three years ago, she started going by the name, Emmie. Her name is actually Madison, so people often get confused as to how she derived the nick name for herself (it isn't the typical nick name used for her given name, but she isn't the typical teenager either. Let's just say she is a special individual. Special and creative - one who likes to make her own rules. Hehe). But yeah, she has since told people at her new school and in our new ward that her name is Emmie, so you can imagine the confusion when I refer to this mysterious "Madison" character, and these people have no clue as to who I am even talking about.

So yeah . . . I know some people refuse to be called by a nick name - even a shortened version of their own name. Or they refuse to call their children by a nickname, and that's fine - to each his own. Maybe I just like nick names because using a term of endearment with someone implies a closeness to them, a strong bond. Or who knows. Maybe I am just a weirdo.

Do you have a nickname? Do you call your kids by a nick name? How did those nick names come to be? Enquiry minds must know. :)