Where Nicknames Come From

Otto:  Mom, I wrote my name again!

Me:  Thinking, Otto's pretty lucky.  Any way you spell his name, it's correct.

Except when you spell it inside out.  Then it just spells "TOOT."

My little Toot.  Adore him.

Harder to see, but he also wrote his "name" (Toot) on his cup.

Ugh - I cannot get enough of Otto, I find him so flippin' cute all the time.  In sunglasses all summer long.  With an apple and a can of tennis balls for an afternoon of fun, of course.

What's In A Name: IPA

Let's start at the very beginning, shall we.

Eight years ago this month Joe and I decided to get a puppy.  One day we talked about how we liked the idea of getting a puppy.  And a week later Joe and one of his buddies had found a breeder with a dog expecting a litter anytime (March 16th or 17th is IPA's birthday...but I'll save the story about the confusion over her exact birth day for another time). By early May we were driving to Northern Minnesota to select a 6-week old puppy out of the litter to bring home as our pet. 

Here she is!  All tiny and cute and nippy and scratchy.  She's always had just a little of a slightly pointy bump on the top of her head, ears either drooping down, perked up or tipped back a bit.

She was the runt of the litter.  Joe's buddy actually got the largest male dog from the litter and we got the tiniest female dog of the litter - not planned and unknown until after we had each selected the dog we wanted from the litter.  At adult size IPA is between 50-55 pounds and Rigby (Joe's buddy's dog, IPA's brother) is nearly 100 pounds.  It's fun to see them play together.

About her totally perfect-for-her name, IPA.  For those unsure of how to say that, we pronounce it "Ip-pah," but always spell it IPA.  IPA is a type of beer, India Pale Ale.  We never call her "India Pale Ale" or "I. P. A." or any variation other than IPA (Ip-pah) or Ip. 

As soon as I knew we were getting a dog, of course I excitedly started suggesting names for our future pooch.  We both have lots of hobbies, but since the puppy was going to be (mostly) "Joe's dog," I narrowed in on his hobbies of hunting (of course, since the puppy was going to become a trained hunting dog), woodworking, cooking and brewing beer for name inspiration.  

When I suggested IPA, I pronounced it by saying "I" "P" "A," but quickly said I think pronouncing it "Ip-pah" would be perfect.  IPA beer is generally light in color, but has a potent alcohol content...or feisty.  IPA would prove to be both of these things - she's a very light colored yellow lab and she's definitely a little feisty.  

*Funny side story.  My friend Christy, who is more of a bubbly than a beer type person, once ordered an "Ip-pah" while out to dinner with me.  So endearing, her enthusiasm for "drinking to IPA" and literally asking a waitress to bring her whatever Ip-pah they have on tap.  

**Another side story.  I love the name Clover for a puppy too (Clover is also a crafty brand-name, so fits with my hobbies).  Six week old puppies are ridiculously cute, and saying "Roll over Clover" is the icing on the cake when watching a puppy wriggle, trying to roll over.  

When IPA was little, this is how she would sleep.  In fact, sometimes she still sleeps half off her dog bed (but that might be because, up until a few days ago, her bed was too tiny for her...).

See?  You can see the little pointy bump on the top of her head here, too.

There was a time when IPA was the "baby" of the house.  Here she is wearing the baby bib and ankle rattles that were sent to us when we found out we were expecting a baby.  


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I was going to make this post about how we recently lost IPA and found her.  But this is going to be a "To Be Continued..." post.  I need a little sleep (who am I kidding; I need some Girl Scout cookies and junk TV), so I'm signing off for tonight. In the coming days look another IPA story.

What's In A Name: Otto Edwin

Otto Edwin Schuster

Years ago, even before we became parents, Joe and I joked how we liked "dogs names for boys, and boys names for girls." As we created lists of potential baby names this trend seemed ever present. Did you know Max is the #1 dog name (& cat name!) in the US. Otto? I had only heard of Otto as a dog's name in some children's books we have. And Wren? Often called a boy when people hear her name. There you have it. Our boys with dog's names, and girl with a boy's name. And what great names we think they are!

Otto Edwin, we love your name. Here's a bit more about what it makes me think of when I think of your name...

Otto.

As we were tossing around possible names for Otto before he was born, Joe began sharing more traditionally German names, given his ancestry. When he mentioned Otto as a name, I remember liking the sound of it, but had to ask if he was serious or not. He said he thought he was serious. It's a name he'd heard of before. I hadn't. Other than in two different children's book series that I've read. And in both of those books it's a dog that is named Otto as the main character. Hmm...

Well, after a couple days Otto had totally grown on me. I loved how simple of a name it is. I like how short it is. I like the sound of "Max & Otto" together. I liked that I hadn't heard it (although now I've heard it a couple times for younger kids instead of just older men). Joe wasn't entirely sold on it quite yet, but I told him I'd need his help thinking of some different names that were just as great as Otto. And quickly, because the Otto train had left the station. In the matter of a few days I had started getting a lot of "signs" that our baby was definitely an Otto.

I shared the name Otto with just a handful of people before Otto was born. Two of my friends that I mentioned the name to let me know that they both knew of Otto's. Both of "their" Otto's were much older gentlemen and both friends stated how they have only fond memories of him. Another friend I mentioned Otto to said he knew only one Otto and that he liked him too...his Otto was the Syracuse Orange Men. I guess the mascot's name is Otto. Who knew? Certainly not this midwestern girl.

And the name Otto was pretty much solidified for me when I had the most random sign of all. I was sitting in a creative/advertising presentation at work when a slide in the presentation showed a family's refrigerator with kid art on it. The name (or at least the letters) "otto" was on one of the pieces of paper that was displayed on the fridge with a magnet. When this slide was projected on the screen, suddenly Otto started kicking - really kicking - inside my belly. And I started smiling - really smiling. Somehow he knew that I was thinking of him at that moment and he was pretty much telling me that he was going to be our Otto.

Edwin.

Clearly I like short(er) names. Max, Otto, Wren. I like Ed. I like Edwin a lot. I love Otto Edwin together. Edwin is my Mom's Dad's name; my Grandpa Smith. I hear only good things about him. How he was so kind, loving, fun.

I wish I could say I had more vivid memories of him, but mostly what I remember are stories that I kind of make up by piecing together photographs of me, my sisters and my cousins with him when we were young. From those pictures I can tell that he loved us grand kids, and he sure did have fun. He'd drive us around in a little trailer behind his riding lawn mower. He'd push us on the big swing out back. He'd encourage us to climb the crab apple tree in their front lawn. Halloween trick-or-treating happened at their house. Jelly beans were hidden all over their house at Easter. Christmas we'd perform our own Nativity story using bath towels as our veils and shawls.

Grandpa (Edwin) Smith smoked cigarettes and wore trucker hats. He was a gentle soul and loved life. My mom once said that Joe reminds her of Grandpa Smith (I'm guessing his personality and not the cigarettes or hats). And since Otto reminds me of Joe, maybe some day Otto will also remind my Mom of Grandpa Smith. I kind of extrapolated that one out a few generations, but I can hope...

Oh, Otto. You march to the beat of a different drummer, or you make the beat of your own march, or whatever that saying is. And I mean this literally. At the age of two you really do march or dance or wiggle when you walk. You will often swing your arms and legs, swoop your torso low and do a little shimmy as you walk. I may not be able to describe exactly why the name Otto suits you, but it does. You are so Otto. Our Otto.

What's In A Name: Wren Evelyn

Wren Evelyn Schuster

Like the names Max & Otto, we chose Wren because "we liked it." And while that explanation is entirely true, it doesn't capture our thoughts in their entirety with regards to the meaning behind Wren's name. I mean, yes, Joe and I are pretty simple and straightforward, but a basic "We liked it" doesn't give full credit to the added depth behind our name choice.

Wren.

I'm a sucker for traditions, making & preserving memories, etc., so while I love the idea of selecting a "family" name for our kids, Joe and I haven't fallen in love with any of the so-called family names we have to choose from. The good news is that there's much more to a name than just the 4 (or 3 or 5 or 6...) letters that it takes to spell it.

On the surface there isn't a strong connection between my mom's name (Sandy) and Wren. But let me share a little more about my mom and you'll start to see some commonalities. My mom is a cross-stitcher. It's one of the things, or hobbies, anyway, that has most defined her for me since I was young. She was always working on a piece, usually multiple. My childhood home had pictures she had stitched hung in every room. If you asked me what she spent her time cross-stitching, it'd be very easy for me to answer. Birds. Birds of all kinds. Birds, as well as a beautiful Weeping Willow tree. Whenever I see birds they make me think of my mom.

Even though the four letters that spell our daughter's name aren't the same as the letters spelling my mom's name, their is an invisible tie that binds. Now, I guess we could have called her Wren Willow and really embraced sentimentality, but that would have been even more Ridgie than Summer Sunshine (which was my "proposed" first and middle name until my mom's mom spoke out and I became a "Summer Ann"). And while Joe and I have a bit of Ridge in us, that would have tipped us over the edge. And come on, take a look at that photo on the Ridgie home page. Our kids don't pull any of those shenanigans!

And, how fitting! This past Christmas my mom brought me a picture she recently found that she had cross-stitched years ago, well before I was pregnant with Wren.

Evelyn.

The name Evelyn came onto my radar about 10 years ago. It's my best friend Christy's middle name. When I learned this was her middle name I told her I loved it. Years later, once Joe and I had started our family, I again told Christy that I loved her middle name and that if I have a girl, I really think I'd like her middle name to be Evelyn as well. Christy lamented this. And since we'd been drinking, she admitted she dislikes her middle name. Wouldn't I be much happier using Christina as my daughter's middle name instead, she asked.

Nope, no I wouldn't I told her. Christy thinks her middle name is ugly. I think that even the ugliest piece of Christy still shines bright with beauty. Christina Evelyn is this amazing girl who dances with abandon. Drinks with abandon. Embraces life with abandon. She sparkles in all that she does and helps all of her friends and family shine as well. Someday Wren and Christy will dance, drink, embrace life and sparkle together til the sun rises.