Names

I should probably introduce my family. I was thinking last night of names to use for my kiddos that would work without getting their real names out there on the internet. My friend (the one who told me to try blogging) uses literary character names for her family. I think that's a great idea. But it's her idea, not mine. So I wanted to think of something different. Then last night as I was going to bed, the thought occurred to me to use all my kids' family nicknames. None of them have anything to do with their given names, just random names that I came up with at some point in each of their lives. So I think I'll go with that. So without further ado... here are the chitluns from the Benny Gang. (oh yeah, and Benny just happens to be my nickname from when I was little... so I guess the nickname theme started even before I planned it!)

Let's start with my biggest, I guess he'd be DS(6). His nickname around here is Punky Loo. Random, I know. But when I was pregnant with him we did not find out what we were having, so we came up with the cute nickname for my mystery baby-in-the-belly. It was Pumpkin. So when we'd write family or post things on our family website, we'd refer to "the baby" as Pumpkin. After he was born we mostly called him by the boy name we had so carefully picked out for him, but as he grew I just couldn't help calling him Punky. And for one reason or another, Loo just got stuck on the end. I don't know, I guess it just has a nice ring to it. So he is Punks, Punky, Punky Loo, Loo Loo, anything of that nature. But for ease of use here on the blog, I think we'll just go with Punky. Punky is a mature, sensitive young man with a strong sense of justice and an amazing love for God already. He loves his family and his friends with a passion. I think if I had to think of one word to describe Punky, it would be Passion. He's just passionate about anything he does in life. And I think that's beautiful.

Next on the docket we have DS(4). His nickname seems equally random from the outside, but it makes perfect sense once you know him. My second boy is my little Finny William. William happens to be his actual middle name, but Finny is just because. "Because why?" you ask? Well, partly because I have always loved the name Finn and wanted to use that name for one of my sons. But I happen to be married to a man who has never in all four of my pregnancies even momentarily entertained the thought of actually naming a child Finn. So I gave up on pushing for the name, but by about 14 months of age, it was clear that my little man was quite the free spirit, with his thick mop of then strawberry blond hair always flopped wildly around, his charming nature, his go-with-the-flow attitude, his fearless nature and his unquenchable thirst for life... he loved being outside, loved being dirty, loved to just try anything. He just gave me that Huckleberry Finn kind of feeling... I just knew he was that kind of boy. I don't remember all of the true Huck Finn's adventures, though I do recall they were not all terribly pure and lovely. But still, at just over a year old, that boy of mine just seemed to fit the nickname Finn. And being the goofy nicknamer that I am, it quickly morphed into Finny William. But again, for the sake of simplicity, we'll simply refer to him from this point on as Finny.

And now we move on to DS(2). And really, this nickname just seems weird. He's Goose. And all I can give for explanation there is that as a very young infant, when we were still counting his age in weeks rather than months, he was just the cutest little cooer! And if you'd make a sound at him, he'd most likely echo it back to you. And the cutest was when he'd say "Ah-goooo." Do you know that sound? Am I the only one whose babies say that breathy, endearing little "ah-goo" coo? Well most of mine have, but this boy did all the time, and it was so darn CUTE coming from him! So right off I started just calling him Goo which soon changed to the plural, Goo's, which is just a short jump to Goose. In fact he was often called Goosey or Goosey Pie. But Goose it is. I know. I'm weird. But if you knew him, you'd see, he really is, in a weird sort of way, a bit of a goose. He's just a funny little man with quite the sense of humor already for a two year old. He adores his big brothers, and unlike any of my other babies, he has always been a Daddy's Boy. Which is, of course, why he has my husband completely wrapped around his fat little finger. And as a side note, how cute are two year olds?!? He's in that parroting stage of repeating anything you say back in that toddler not-quite-right-but-oh-so-cute way. One of our favorites right now is his version of Quesadilla... for some reason known only to Goose, he calls it "Quesa-DADDY." And yes, his daddy thinks it's the cutest thing on earth.

And now we move on to my darling Baby Number Four. This would be my DD(3 1/2 months). As with all my other pregnancies, we did not find out what we were having with Baby Girl here (she's nursing as I type this) and I was thoroughly convinced she was a boy. I had the PERFECT boy name all picked out. Of course, my husband never did actually agree to the name. But still, it was perfect, and in the end, I'm sure he would have given it to me after giving birth. But that's beside the point, because much to my surprise, I gave birth to our first daughter. And when it came down to names with her, the short list of three we had going into labor quickly got narrowed down to the one that fit her best, though it was not the top on either my list or my husband's before we met her. Funny how that kind of thing goes, huh? Well, anyway, I guess that's all beside the point, since I'm not going to tell you her real name. Mean, aren't I? But she does have a darling little nickname, one that I started using the day she was born. She's just plain old Girly Pie. The Girly part is self explanatory, I think. After my three beautiful boys, it was just fun and novel to call someone Girly. And the Pie part, well, as you saw earlier, I had Goosey Pie. And in her first day of life, Girly Pie just rolled off my tongue so easily it was just her. So Girly Pie it is. She's cute and darling and we all love her to bits. It is a joy to watch as her personality unfolds.

So there they are, my four wonderful children. I can't think of a fun nickname for my husband at the moment. Believe it or not, I usually just call him Hon or Honey. I guess I'm not so imaginative with pet names for my Man. But he doesn't seem to mind. If I think of something better to call him, I'll let you know.