Sweet Sibling Fun (a post about nicknames)...

When a new brother or sister arrives in a family there is much excitement!  Especially when you have one or two that are old enough to enjoy babies.  The twins have been a huge blessing to our family, and I have to admit that they get a little spoiled by their siblings.  In fact, I have to set certain guidelines so that they do not become completely dependent on being held all day.  :o)  

Anyway, as the sibling dynamic has worked itself out over the past few months, the subject of nicknames had come up quite a bit.  They are more like pet names that only siblings make up and use.  I love to hear what they end up calling each other!  Some nicknames come from a shortening, some come from the inability of a toddler to pronounce it correctly, and still others come from a personality trait.

Rachel was always our little Rachie Bug.  Its just what flowed naturally from our lips.  Her first birthday was even a ladybug theme.  I called her "Bug" around the house, but eventually as she has become a big sister to many little siblings, she is simply "Rachie".

Miriam's nickname came from name shortening.  Miriam just became "Mim".  There have been many variations from her siblings such as "Mimmy" and "Mimmers".  Its so sweet to see how her little siblings look up to her as their "Mimmy".

Hannah's came from rhyme.  The very unoriginal "Hannah Banana".  :o)  Eventually, it was tamed down to just "Banana", and now everyone just simply says "Nanna".  Its especially sweet to hear Joel praying for his big sisters at night, saying "Thank you for Rachie, Mimmy, and Nanna."

Joel's nickname came from a mispronunciation.  Daddy often called him "Little Dude".  Well, Hannah, being only 2 1/2 at the time wanted to repeat Daddy, but it came out more like "Doodle Doot".  So since then he has been "Doodle"  or "Doodlebug".    He loves this!!

Since the birth of the twins, there have been many opportunities to try to come up with nicknames.  Levi's is still being worked out.  Miriam wanted to call him "Worm" because he is such a wiggle worm.  Mommy vetoed that one, because although it is endearing to my nature loving child, I'm not all that fond of worms.  Lately, they were calling him "Vi-vi" which somehow turned into "Bye-bye".  Daddy's not too sure about that one, but I think its cute.

Leah's, on the other hand, was pretty easy.  Joel pronounces her name with a "w" instead of an "l".  So it sounds like "Wee-ah".  Next thing you know, we are all calling her "Wee", which fits because she's such a wee tiny little thing.

In all, the sibling nickname thing is just another way to encourage their special bonds with each other.  They are used out of love and familiarity.  It is our prayer and goal to keep those special relationships in tact as they grow up, because brothers and sisters really can be best friends.  It may not be the norm, but we believe that its God's best.