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The first time I ever thought about what my grandchildren would call me was when Jess became pregnant with Tanner. There are so many really cute grandma nicknames out there like Bubbie, Bunny, Honey, Kiki, Lovie, Nana, Gammy, Gma, Mammie, Mama and the list goes on and on. I would love to have a cute little nick name but frankly I feel like a nick name is something someone gives you, so when Tanner and Annika were born I decided to start with the root word common to the female parent of your parent and go with “Grandma” until the kids were old enough to decide for themselves.
Every time I see my two little love buckets, I try to get them to say “Grandma.” I have spent countless hours whispering in their little ears “Say Grandma” and have yet to get more than a giggle in response. Imagine my dismay when I took Tanner to pick David up from the airport and the little bird squealed in delight upon seeing David come down the escalator and immediately threw out his arms and called out “Grampa” clear as a bell.
In all honesty though, there have been a couple of near misses in the “Grandma” department. One morning when I had driven to Tullahoma to pick Tanner up for his Grandma Day he popped his pacifier out of his mouth and clearly said “Gamma” is his sweet little sing song voice. I was on top of the world and spent the whole day trying to get him to say it again. But alas, this was a one and done kind of moment.
One afternoon this summer when we were in Phoenix, Annika began pounding her tray for more strawberries and very clearly saying “Na Na” in a somewhat deep and possessed voice. Houston, we may have a winner. But alas this very intent “Na Na” phase only lasted a few short days before it was replaced with more incoherent Annika babble.
I hit the Grandma lottery this summer, having both Tanner and Annika in Phoenix for a few days. Finally it was my day to get them all to myself. David was taking his two girls to the movies and out to dinner. I was in Grandma heaven. Late that evening when we were all three snuggled up on the couch getting ready for night-night, I tossed down the gauntlet. “Whoever talks first gets to name me!”
Now the race is on. Every day, Tanner and Annika are slowly moving from baby babble to people babble. I’m very excited to see who I’m going to be when they grow up.
