Busting out the nick names

In the past I have been against nick names. I don't really know why, but I have even been so bold as to plainly hint to our extended family that we don't use nick names. We never did when I was a kid. Whatever our name was, that's what we called each other. I remember the naming process we went through with Silas Charles Bury, it was really hard to find a name we both agreed on. And, the name had such significance and meaning to me I didn't want anyone calling him anything different than what we had chosen...we chose it for a reason, to call him that! I guess another part of it is that my siblings and I don't have names that are easily shortened...Shadric (OK, bad one to start with, we call him Shad), Hessel, Sommer, Everett, Brenae, Vincent (OK, bad one to end with, we call him Vince a lot)*. But that doesn't stop some people (I have to just say that Jordan's family is the ultimate at nick names...I should make a list)**, they create nick names that are hardly (if at all) related to the name of the person. I just didn't get it. Until now.

For whatever reason, it is all making sense. Sometimes just a first name isn't enough to express the affection and emotion that a person stirs up inside of you. Maybe because Silas was a boy, we didn't do it as much with him, but our whole little family is on the nick name bus with Jewel!

Silas started it with calling her "Jewel-y". We all tried that for a while, but he is pretty possesive of it since it was his idea. He also calls her "Shooggy Baby" which is actually from Jordan's Dad who affectionately calls family members "Sugar" and has shortened it to (phonetically spelled) "Shooggy". I smile every time I hear him say that since I know it traveled from Pops, to Jordan, to Silas. Silas will also just announce at random times that she is a little princess, he says "that's what I call her, Princess".

Jordan has an array of options to draw from, "Ju Ju Bee" I think is the most frequently used. He also calls her "Shoogy" (the more I write this the more I feel like it isn't quite right...it's like saying sugar, but dropping the 'ar' and adding a 'y'). Jordan also has some names that will have to be short lived. They are too discriptive of her size and weight, not OK for a little girl (Rolly Polly, Chunky Monkey, Chubby Baby...just to name a few).

Surprisingly the affectionate names I use have nothing to do with her first name. Although to me, Jewel is an affectionate and perfectly fitting name for her, I also call her "Baby Doll" and "Lovey", and the one I get from my mom "Girly".

She has been really sick the last week. After two days of A LOT of crying (which is not like our little girl) I took her to urgent care and found out she had herpetic gingivostomatitis...which basically means she has little sores, like cold sores, all over her tongue and into her throat. This is brutal for an almost 8 month old baby who puts everything in her mouth. No nursing, no pacifier, no solid food...I was basically squirting milk from a bottle into her mouth and walking her all over the house until she would finally drift off for a short time. There isn't anything that can be done for her besides tylenol or motrin, and it lasts for several days. So, we feel very sad for her. The nick names have been used more than her regular name this week, there has been a lot of affection and emotion toward her...and I have to humbly retract my previous position...they are sometimes essential and always enjoyable.*OK, I have to be honest, we also call Brenae "B" a lot. And I do remember my mom sometimes calling me by my first two initials. If truth be told, I think Hessel was the only one who escaped totally nick name free, but I can't even be 100% positive about that.

**Jordan- Joby
Chris- Cribby
Mandy- Ders (or Dersy)
Abriel- Abbie- Abs
Brandon- B-digger
Ryan- Ry-Guy