Nicknames

I believe nicknames are the true marker of being loved. There is something loving and familiar about allowing someone else to call you a name other than your given name. My given name (Tracy) hardly has any nicknames. I often say if you call me "Trace" I will kick you. But, there are a few select people who do get to call me Trace, and my best friend calls me Tray, and that is comforting to me. We are close enough that I can trust her to call me a different name and it comes with affection and love and acceptance. (As does my husband's nickname for me: Stink. Seriously. If that doesn't scream trust and love to allow someone else to call you Stink, I don't know what does!).

There is also something cute about parents calling their kids something special. Be it pumpkin, turkey, babe, whatever - you can tell a mom who loves her kids when she has a cute nickname for them.

If you remember from reading about how B&H became known as B&H , I wanted my kids to have names that lent them nicknames. But, I failed in that quest as the nicknames for Benjamin are pretty standard, and there aren't really standard nicknames for Hannah. Still, since nearly the very beginning, the kids have had nicknames.  I remember calling Ben "Buddy" in the hospital. Thankfully that one didn't stick.

Yet, through our love for B&H, we found fitting nicknames for them anyway!

My stepdad (known as Papa to B&H) first started calling Ben "Benjo" around the time he was 2 months old. It stuck and most of the time we refer to Ben as "Benjo." It's silly, but so is he!

Watching the "hey-topper" fly over our house

Soon thereafter, Hannah became "Hannie." While it's mostly just family that call Ben Benjo, it has become standard for people to call Hannah Hannie. I even heard our friends Zoe & Kaylee call her Hannie last time we had a playdate. It's cute, and I'm not sure where it came from, but it sure fits, dontcha think?

Cool morning, new sweatshirt

In the past 20 months, we've come up with other nicknames for the kids. Some are funny and some are sweet. But surprisingly, they identify themselves and each other with these names.

B&H's Nicknames
Hannah:
Hannie
Hannie-B
Hannah-B
Lady Bird
Sissy
Fancy Face

Ben:
Benjo
Handsome Face
Squirtball (though that's old and we don't really call him that anymore)
Doodle Bug
Doodle
Booger (a new one, based on his new favorite word)