We now pronounce you ...

There's been a fair amount of conversation in our family regarding what the grandkids will call grandma. I kind of liked G-Ma; Megan wanted Grammy; Bubby has chosen "Granna" ... which also comes out, at times, as "Gramma." That's perfectly fine with me; it's much preferred over the original "Graya."

Not so much has been said about what Bubby and future grandchildren are to call Jim. His only request was that he NOT be called "Pop," as that was the moniker of his not-so-nice stepdad.

So Jim and I have been toodling along, figuring we're just plain ol' vanilla "Grandma and Grandpa."

Bubby seems  to have a different idea for Jim.

When he first started forming words and identifying things around him, Bubby mixed up his syllables for lots of things. So we didn't pay all that much attention to what he'd been calling Jim.

But during our Skyping session Tuesday night (which provided all the photos for this post), Bubby made it very clear -- after being asked "Who's that?" several times in reference to his grandpa -- that his pronunciation wasn't a mistake, that Jim is now and forever will be ...

... "PawDad!"

Yep, Bubby called him PawDad many times, all with a huge smile on his face.

And with that, "PawDad" Jim will be.

PawDad and Granna. Are there any better grandparenting names than that?

I don't think so. At least not for us!

    

Today's question:

What makes you laugh out loud?

Photo replay

Bubby requested a special Skype session with Grandma and Grandpa this past week, specifically to show us the caterpillar he made at day camp.

June 10, 2010

Today's question:

What is the best part of your Sunday routine?

My answer: When Jim and I sit at opposite ends of the dining room table and peruse the newspaper while sipping our morning coffee, swapping sections as we complete them.

Skyping 'bout school

(Not from Skype, but the happy face that filled the screen just the same.)

Bubby is attending "school" this week, participating in the summer camp for two-year-olds at church while Megan works the VBS. He loves the class, the interaction with the "teacher" and other kids, and he had lots to share with us about his day during our Skype session Tuesday night.

First he held up to the web camera his newly planted flower: a Play-Doh container packed with dirt, and somewhere within, a seed he's hoping will bloom. Relying on Megan to translate, Bubby told Grandma and Grandpa all about the "dirt," the "flower" and "water." We kinda sorta understood those words ... as long as Megan repeated them for us.

Next up was a picture of which Bubby was oh-so proud: A popsicle-stick frame embellished with glued-on buttons perfectly complementing a plant picture cut from a magazine. High art for a toddler!

Seems that "plants" was the theme of the day, and Bubby learned lots about plants in his few hours of "school." And he was more focused than usual during the Skype session, as he wanted to be sure Grandma and Grandpa heard -- and saw -- all he had gleaned from the day.

It was pretty exciting on our end to get our first glimpse of what it will be like when Bubby calls us up after a day of real school, to animatedly share via Skype the news -- and art projects -- of the day.

Only thing is, Bubby and Grandpa will have to come up with some other male-bonding motion by that time, as doing "knucks" at the end of the conversation already rocks and knocks the computer monitor on Bubby's end. I can only imagine what it will do when it's a five-year-old -- or older -- punching fists on the screen with Grandpa!

Today's question:

When recalling doing art projects as a child, what's one thing that stands out in your mind?

My answer: The smell of the paste. I remember the tubs of paste with a stick applicator attached to the lid and trying to spread the goo where it needed to go. Of course it never applied smoothly, thanks to the rigid stick, so cutouts glued to paper always had a lump here and there. I loved squishing down those bumps of glue, releasing the sweet scent of a masterpiece in the making.

Skype time

Bubby left yesterday -- with Daddy alone, no Mommy! -- to visit his grandma and grandpa on the plains. That, of course, required a quick Skype session with this grandma and grandpa before he left.

Here's how it went:

Hey, Bub! Yay, It's Grandma and Grandpa! Time to show them how goofy I can be. And let them know I've got ALL my teeth now! Look how quickly I can shake my head ... back and forth over and over! That's right ... I'm a silly one! But I can smile sweet, too. And listen really well. And look: I have two feet now! I can meow back at Isabel when you hold her to the camera. Meows, of course, must be followed by fish sounds. Did I mention all my teeth? This is the bedtime song I sing with Mommy: Love, love, love, love. I like to sway back and forth when we sing it. It just makes me want to love, love Mommy! Time to go! Here's a kiss! Kissing the monitor is so silly!

Saying buh-bye is always a little sad.

Today's question (from my trivia calendar, but fitting):

In the world of high-tech messages, you no doubt know what spam is; but how about spim and spit?

The answer: I'll tell you after a few comments; just curious if anyone knows. I didn't.

Update on 2010-05-06 15:53 by Lisa Carpenter

ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: After seeing that most folks are as in the dark about spim and spit as I was, here's the answer. Spim is spam sent through instant messaging and spit is spam sent through Internet telephone (ie Skype). There ya have it -- you've all learned your one new thing for the day!

Skyping with Bubby

Eventually Skype will be an incredible tool for keeping up with Bubby's daily doings. I imagine him ringing me up to share the latest on school happenings, requesting a little homework help (yeah, not likely since Megan's a teacher ... and far smarter than I am) and giving me a play-by-play of his latest game/match/round of golf.

Sooner than that will be Skype time involving the sharing of picture books, with each of us having our own copy of the same book so we can flip through the pages together; recitations of ABCs, numbers and maybe a song here and there; and tall tales he'll tell in a mostly gibberish language I won't understand but will happily nod my head in rapt attention to, eating up every syllable.

Our current Skype sessions, though, consist primarily of Megan trying to wrangle Bubby into a semi-still position in front of the camera for at least 15 seconds at a time so Jim and I can get a good look at him ... and he can realize Grandma and Grandpa are right there on the computer monitor, oohing and aahing and shouting "Bubby, Bubby! Hey, Bubby! How are you! Look at Grandma! We love you! Where's your eye? Show us your eye! What about your belly button? Where's ... Bubby's ... BELLY BUTTON? Show us your belly button!"

It's pretty limited verbal interaction. Bubby offers a grunt or giggle here and there to pacify his psycho grandparents, but he's mostly interested in the office supplies on the desk or Roxy (his dog), who wiggles and wags around the chair, begging to be part of the excitement.

But the visual interaction during our Skype sessions, like the one last night, provides me and Jim with exactly what we need: glimpses of our handsome, goofy, rapidly growing, desert-dwelling Bubby:

And that right there is what makes Skype the very best invention since multi-grain Cheerios!