Now that we know our boy is on his way, I've done a little light shopping. Nothing major...yet... but I did run across a few little Fourth of July outfits, three that looked pretty good. I figured that at one month old, he might need more than one, just in case.
I began looking for material to make bedding for his crib at our house. One change dictates another, most times, and when I find a crib, I will move some furniture to make room for the crib. Since I'll be putting the crib in our bedroom, I'll move my computer to the library and hopefully buy a laptop. I am going to use left over material from our bedskirt to make one for his crib but I haven't found a material to go with it yet.
Today I found two of the bottles that he will be using and bought a blue one and a green one. They are very sweet.
I also took my embroidery machine to have it looked over. I haven't been successful in creating a monogram yet and began to wonder if there was something wrong with my machine. Well, as I secretly suspected, it was not the machine. It really wasn't me either, exactly. I found that I had been misdirected in purchasing the stabilizer and was never directed to buy a top covering that melts away. The good news it that there is nothing wrong with the machine and I now have the correct stabilizers. I also signed up to take an embroidery lesson on appliqué so that I can applique little cars, dogs and such on the baby's little onsies.
All in all, it was a good Granmama day.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Half of the Choices
Half of the choices of names for the baby have been eliminated (theoretically). We learned on Thursday, January 17th that we will be having a grandson. Seeing the proof in ultrasound pictures, we all laughed, hugged and began planning all the wonderful times we will have with "our" boy.
We celebrated with his parents and paternal grandmother, Meme. Meme just announced her name preference on that night as well. So, three out of five people needing new names have made their choices. A considerable amount of time was spent at dinner trying on and discarding potential options for the baby's name, much to the chagrin of his mother and father. I am sure they would prefer not to hear our ideas, but I guess it is a part of the process. We took a picture of this event which I was hoping to post here, but I don't know how to get the picture from the camera to my computer. Perhaps someone will teach me. I hope to join the computer literate before the baby is old enough to be embarrassed.
When I was pregnant with our daughter, we lived in California. We were far from family or friends who might insinuate their views. During the pregnancy we called the baby Roscoe (a family name) which we thought of as a funny nickname. In reality, we only had two names in mind and the baby would be one or the other. It would be John for his father and grandfather if it was a boy and Natalina for her great grandmother. Natalina was born on October 1, 1979, and is the mother of our grandson to be born in June.
She left the hospital with NMN (no middle name) which I don't recommend because when we finally choose Suzanne for her godmother, I had to have her birth certificate amended.
She wasn't the first grandchild on either side of the family so the grandparent naming dilemma had already been addressed. She had granny and granddaddy and Anma and Pa-pa. The hyphen in Pa-pa became critical because her father became Papa.
Her father's name was chosen from a very old cartoon we had seen called Owl Jolson. A parody of the Al Jolson story that included singing owls. This is typically how we make these kinds of decisions, from some random sighting or event that we find funny in our warped way.
It is in this same way that we have developed a secret language known only to the three of us until recently when our daughter began teaching it to her husband. We will have to include the baby in our circle of trust as soon as it is able to understand the idiosyncrasies of the language.
We celebrated with his parents and paternal grandmother, Meme. Meme just announced her name preference on that night as well. So, three out of five people needing new names have made their choices. A considerable amount of time was spent at dinner trying on and discarding potential options for the baby's name, much to the chagrin of his mother and father. I am sure they would prefer not to hear our ideas, but I guess it is a part of the process. We took a picture of this event which I was hoping to post here, but I don't know how to get the picture from the camera to my computer. Perhaps someone will teach me. I hope to join the computer literate before the baby is old enough to be embarrassed.
When I was pregnant with our daughter, we lived in California. We were far from family or friends who might insinuate their views. During the pregnancy we called the baby Roscoe (a family name) which we thought of as a funny nickname. In reality, we only had two names in mind and the baby would be one or the other. It would be John for his father and grandfather if it was a boy and Natalina for her great grandmother. Natalina was born on October 1, 1979, and is the mother of our grandson to be born in June.
She left the hospital with NMN (no middle name) which I don't recommend because when we finally choose Suzanne for her godmother, I had to have her birth certificate amended.
She wasn't the first grandchild on either side of the family so the grandparent naming dilemma had already been addressed. She had granny and granddaddy and Anma and Pa-pa. The hyphen in Pa-pa became critical because her father became Papa.
Her father's name was chosen from a very old cartoon we had seen called Owl Jolson. A parody of the Al Jolson story that included singing owls. This is typically how we make these kinds of decisions, from some random sighting or event that we find funny in our warped way.
It is in this same way that we have developed a secret language known only to the three of us until recently when our daughter began teaching it to her husband. We will have to include the baby in our circle of trust as soon as it is able to understand the idiosyncrasies of the language.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Many are the choices
You know, you think you are original and then you find out different. Oh, well, I still like the name Granmama.
NanaNames
So many choices so little time.
Now as to the other subject....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6939112.stm
Don't Name Your Kid Friday in Italy
Everyone has an opinion.
Things to consider when naming your child@Everything2.com
My last link for the night is more research into the ever present question...
GrannyXpress: Baby Names... What Input Do Grandparents Have?
I guess the last line says it all, just to love whatever the name. But I hope it is a good one because we will all be saying it a lot and the reason names are such big deals is that they set us apart and make us uniquely ourselves. Sometimes a particularly good and memorable name gives you a leg up in an otherwise crowded field.
NanaNames
So many choices so little time.
Now as to the other subject....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6939112.stm
Don't Name Your Kid Friday in Italy
Everyone has an opinion.
Things to consider when naming your child@Everything2.com
My last link for the night is more research into the ever present question...
GrannyXpress: Baby Names... What Input Do Grandparents Have?
I guess the last line says it all, just to love whatever the name. But I hope it is a good one because we will all be saying it a lot and the reason names are such big deals is that they set us apart and make us uniquely ourselves. Sometimes a particularly good and memorable name gives you a leg up in an otherwise crowded field.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Choosing a Name
There are two levels to this subject.
Choosing OUR names and trying not to comment on the choices for the baby's name.
Neither is as easy as it may seem.
As to our names, the simple or obvious has never been our course in any endeavor. So, in choosing what our grandchild will call us, we've tried on several monikers like so many old hats. The latest incarnation lends itself to the Blog name. There are some who would argue that names for grandparents don't have to be decided in tandem. I disagree. We will, for the remainder of our natural lives, be referred to as unit, such as, "let's go to Granmama and Big Papa's house." The order also becomes an issue. Is it Granmama and Big Papa or Big Papa and Granmama? You know it matters. There is a certain life rhythm to the correct cadence.
It seems that many Baby Boomer Grandparents (BBG), resist the typical, granny and grandad,
grandma and grandpa, grandmother and grandfather (the formal). I think it is pretty obvious why. We look in the mirror and see, thanks to the miracles of modern science, a face with few wrinkles, hair with no gray, and bodies more sculpted(either natural or not). We do not see OUR grandparents. Most opt for something lighter than Nana and Pops. Mimi, Sweetie, Honey, Bebe, Poppy, Buddy, Dude, Poppo are a few that are becoming heard on playgrounds, malls, and pick-up lines at preschool.
I'll have to admit that we considered grandparent light. However, at this juncture, the inspiration for our choices comes from the combination of a long gone rapper and a current name (the Notorious BIG + Papa = Big Papa) and, in the case of Granmama, well, I just made it up. I like being called Mama, so I think I will love being called Granmama. Nobody ever pronounces the "d" in grand anyway.
Now, for a more serious matter. Everyone know, or they should, that parents (future grandparents that is) have no real input when it comes to the name of the new baby. Most girls start naming their unborn children when they are in the fifth grade. The things that change on their ever evolving list is the father's name and very often the trend of the times. Often the only thing influencing the list is the father's name. The future child, Tiffani Graceann Smith becomes Tiffany Grace Jones after the fifth grader grows up and marries Mr. Jones.
This is not to say that parents aren't included in the naming process. Many are honored by the child being given their name or a derivative. Many are consulted about family names. Many are even asked for their thoughts on potential choices for names. This is the slippery slope. I am looking to other sources for help.
Choosing OUR names and trying not to comment on the choices for the baby's name.
Neither is as easy as it may seem.
As to our names, the simple or obvious has never been our course in any endeavor. So, in choosing what our grandchild will call us, we've tried on several monikers like so many old hats. The latest incarnation lends itself to the Blog name. There are some who would argue that names for grandparents don't have to be decided in tandem. I disagree. We will, for the remainder of our natural lives, be referred to as unit, such as, "let's go to Granmama and Big Papa's house." The order also becomes an issue. Is it Granmama and Big Papa or Big Papa and Granmama? You know it matters. There is a certain life rhythm to the correct cadence.
It seems that many Baby Boomer Grandparents (BBG), resist the typical, granny and grandad,
grandma and grandpa, grandmother and grandfather (the formal). I think it is pretty obvious why. We look in the mirror and see, thanks to the miracles of modern science, a face with few wrinkles, hair with no gray, and bodies more sculpted(either natural or not). We do not see OUR grandparents. Most opt for something lighter than Nana and Pops. Mimi, Sweetie, Honey, Bebe, Poppy, Buddy, Dude, Poppo are a few that are becoming heard on playgrounds, malls, and pick-up lines at preschool.
I'll have to admit that we considered grandparent light. However, at this juncture, the inspiration for our choices comes from the combination of a long gone rapper and a current name (the Notorious BIG + Papa = Big Papa) and, in the case of Granmama, well, I just made it up. I like being called Mama, so I think I will love being called Granmama. Nobody ever pronounces the "d" in grand anyway.
Now, for a more serious matter. Everyone know, or they should, that parents (future grandparents that is) have no real input when it comes to the name of the new baby. Most girls start naming their unborn children when they are in the fifth grade. The things that change on their ever evolving list is the father's name and very often the trend of the times. Often the only thing influencing the list is the father's name. The future child, Tiffani Graceann Smith becomes Tiffany Grace Jones after the fifth grader grows up and marries Mr. Jones.
This is not to say that parents aren't included in the naming process. Many are honored by the child being given their name or a derivative. Many are consulted about family names. Many are even asked for their thoughts on potential choices for names. This is the slippery slope. I am looking to other sources for help.
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