Mommy & Babu

A couple of months after Claire was born, we decided that since she has 3 sets of grandparents, it would be way too confusing to just call everyone Grandma and Grandpa. Plus, I think it's fun when kids have special names for their grandparents. So... Justin's dad & stepmom are Grandma and Grandpa and his mom & stepdad are Nana and Papa. My parents decided that they would be called Grammy and Grampy. Well, lucky for Nana and Papa, those names are the easiest to say and she has been saying them for months now. She knows exactly who they are and can point to them and say their names. The 'g' names are a little more difficult, though.

Recently, Claire decided on her own version of 'Grammy.' Whenever I ask her to say Grammy, she always says 'Mommy.' When she sees my mom, she calls her mommy, too! The ending is the same so I guess that's as close as she can get to saying it! (I'm fine with it - since she's actually MY mommy but I don't think I'd like it if she called anyone else besides me or my mom Mommy!!:)) Anyway... Claire has never been able to say Grampy. When I ask her to say it, she won't even try... I guess it's just too hard because she will at least attempt most words I ask her to - I mean, the girl says things like 'yogurt' and 'bracelet', so you'd think she would at least try Grampy! Well, the problem has been solved because she now has her own name for him, too! When Jason and Roxanne were home, Claire spent lots of time with them and Anni. Anni calls my parents 'Bibi' and 'Babu', the Swahili version of grandma and grandpa. I have never called my parents these names at all, but the other day, when I was telling Claire that she would be spending a weekend with Grammy and Grampy, I got out a picture of them so she would know who I was talking about. She pointed to my mom right away and said, "Mommy!" I pointed to my dad and said, "Claire, who is this?" Without hesitation, she answered, "Babu!" I have no idea how she remembered that, since JaRox have been gone for over a month now and Claire hasn't heard him called that in a long time. I guess she just remembered! I know I'm the child's mother, but that seems pretty stinkin smart to me! :) So, she has decided that instead of Grammy and Grampy, they will be called Mommy and Babu!

We were with Grammy and Babu today and she just kept saying 'Babu' all. day. long. Nonstop. Her new fave word, apparently. She has a little mind of her own!!