Nicknames

So Nathan's nickname has evolved over time! It started off as "Nate-Dog" and then turned into "Nate-Frog". Then just "Froggy". Then "Frog-a-log" and sometimes it's "Nate-Frog-the-soggy-dog" and sometimes it's just "Soggy-dog" and sometimes it's just "Soggy". Mostly it's some variation of "Froggy". Although Emily does call him "Nate-man" which actually evolved into "Naman" (yes, like in the scriptures) just because she could quite say Nathan or Nate-Man. Anyway! Here is a fun collage of Nathan and his nicknames and some of his favorite things! Every morning Nathan stands on the front porch watching Tyler walk to the bus and every afternoon he gets to walk Maddie to the corner and gets a close up of his favorite big yellow friend! He says, "Woah... Bus!" So cute! He also loves playing with his balls and can often be found while we're trying to read scriptures throwing and bouncing balls while repeating endlessly, "Da Balls! Balls, Woah... Balls". And of course he LOVES to go outside and ride his bike. He BEGS to go outside constantly!! He also loves watching Dora and is doing the CUTEST thing ever these days whenever you ask him a question he says, "Mmm Hmmmm" in rising tones (like uh-hu only twenty times cuter!)

Then there is Emily! Her nicknames are many! "Emmy Pie" is one of the most commonly used and there's: "Emily-wemmily-sweetest-magemmily" (yes those are all made-up words!) Then there is a kind of weird one that I use a lot and it started off as "Emm-the-Rem" and then somehow evolved into "Rem-the-Rem" and now just "Remy" (like the rat on Ratatouille). I've decided that her one true nickname should be "Giggles" because she is ALWAYS doing just that! But for some reason it hasn't stuck yet! However one that has stuck by accident is "Punky Brewster" (do you remember that TV show from the 80's of the little girl with freckles, pig tails and mismatched socks?). I think this one came from the fact that I call all the kids "Punkin" and since Emily is always so spunky, her "Punkin" slipped out as "Punky" quite often, so I tacked on the "Brewster" and it fits surprisingly well! Emily loves all things Pink and purple and Princess!! She loves to sing... ALL THE TIME!!! And is one of the happiest kids on the planet! I'm sure of it! She loves Barbie and the Diamond Castle and playing dress up and play food! Oh yes, and it must be said, she does not have a hint of volume control! We're working on it... desperately! But until then EVERYTHING is loud! She's so expressive and excited that I don't think she can keep it in! She tries, but everything just BURSTS right out of her darling little lips!

Madeline has some fun nicknames too! The first one that came about was "Maddie-Moo" about a year ago we were driving home from church and Maddie saw a pasture of cows and said, "Hey dad, cows say my last name - Moo! Cause I'm Maddie Moo!" And then Maddie Moo evolved into "Maddie-Mooskie" then just "Mooskie" then "Moose". And then it took a whole new turn and became "Maddie-Mooskie-the-Spruskie-Gooskie". Then that shortened to "Spruce-Goose". Then Peter came up with my all time favorite nickname EVER! "Shnugly-Puff-Ice-Cream-Cone" how cute is that? So Maddie's little collage has some of her favorite things on it too. She taught herself how to play the piano by ear and is REALLY good at it and she loves doing it! She just started a children's choir and is singing all the time now too. She also LOVES to draw. Recently I've had to prey the paper and pens out of her hands to get her to do things around the house or go somewhere! She's really good at drawing too! She draws mermaids and temples and princesses wearing crowns delicately folding their hands in their laps! So cute! She also has learned how to blowdry her own hair recently and LOVES to hep get herself ready in the morning. She can be found often in front of the mirror combing her hair over and over and over again, while smiling and talking to herself in front of the mirror! A hint of things to come I'm sure! She loves Kindergarten and wearing her pink backpack. Her favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast and she loves loves loves to play Barbies! So that's our little Maddie Moo!

So Tyler's nicknames don't have pictures to go with them! But here is a fun run down of them! When he was a baby we used to call him "Tyler Buddy" and he was also, "The Sweetest Sonny" and Peter was feeling especially sentimental he'd call him "Tyler-Buddy-the-Sweetest-Sonny-the-Sonny-Buddy-the-Sweetest-Buddy-the-Sonny-Sonny-the-Sweety-Sweety" (actually that was a pretty common one to tell the truth). I also called him "Ty-Ty" and "Ty-Guy" and "Ty-Ty-bu-Guy-Guy". And as he grew we started calling him "Tyler McGinnis" and then just "McGinnis" and "McGinnis-Gracious" and "McGinnis-book-of-world-records" and often it's just a simple "Bud". He wants us to call him "T-Bone" but that's not sticking as well as some of the others! So as for Tyler's favorite things, he LOVES Fiesta! It's an online game that was introduced to him by his cousins in California and he is addicted. He and Peter play together often! He also loves the TV show "Avatar the Last Airbender" which is actually a pretty cool cartoon! I enjoy watching it! He's recently gotten into "Bakugan" sort of like Pokemon in that you can trade them and they battle each other. He loves all things Star Wars and any sort of outdoor sport including riding his bike! He has MAD SKILLS at breakdancing! This kid is amazing... seriously! And he's a VERY good and creative artist! The other day I walked into his room and he was sitting at his desk making 3-D guys out of paper and he'd cut slots in them so they could stand up and hold things in their hands or teeth! He's not even 7 yet! He's so creative! Tyler is such a sweet boy and has the most tender heart on the planet! He's such a good brother and loves to snuggle and spend time with Peter!

While we're on the nickname kick I have to tell this little story: Awhile back Peter started referring to our kids as "Kiddle-ee-winks" saying things like, "Time for bed Kiddle-ee-winks!" or "C'mon Kiddle-ee-winks let's get in the car!" He said it often. Eventually it evolved into "Kiddle-ee-stinks" but the kids never let it stick. Whenever he called them that they'd ALWAYS replied, "It's not Kiddle-ee-stinks! It's Kiddle-ee-WINKS!" Now this is a common interchange between Peter and the kids, and he only calls them Kiddle-ee-stinks now so that he can hear their reply! So cute! We have the sweetest kids on the planet and I LOVE being their mom!