What's in a name?

We Slaviks are all about the nicknames. It's a wonder that our children aren't confused about their actual given names, considering we call them each about 300 different nicknames on any given day. Some make sense, some don't. For example...

Luke's most common nickname is "Buddy." I have no idea how this one came about, but it seems like a pretty common nickname to have for a son. He's more likely to respond to a request when it is prefaced with "Buddy" because if we call him "Luke," it is typically followed with "no" or "do you need timeout?" We also refer to Luke as "Luke-a-Duke" and on very special days, he answers to "Trouble." Anyone with a three-year old knows why.

Will's most common nickname is "Bubba," which is kind of ironic considering that he's the skinny one we've always been trying to put weight on. Perhaps it is wishful thinking on our part? Or positive reinforcement? When Will is in a talkative mood, he goes through many two-syllable sound combinations. We realized about a year ago that one of his favorite sounds to make is "ba-ba." At first we thought this might be him telling us that he wants a bottle... but we quickly discovered that this is how Will refers to himself! The kid might not be able to say "Will," but he definitely knows that he is Bubba! Will is also the proud owner of nicknames "Baba ganoush," "Smooch," and "Fish-face." Don't ask why... there's no reason behind any of these names.

So when Matt arrived in the operating room and we learned that he was a big baby, I mentioned to Nate that he is more of a "Bubba" than Will is! But we're not trying to confuse anyone and rearrange nicknames, so we've been on the hunt for a new nickname for Matt.

We may have found the perfect nickname for him!

For any South Park lovers out there, you may remember an episode several years ago where Cartman decides that he's going to take Weight Gain 4000 (with over 4000 grams of saturated fat per serving!). To refresh your memory, turn on the sound on your computer and click this link:
http://www.erikandanna.com/Humor/FlashStuff/SouthPark/beefcake.htm

Cartman ultimately ends up putting on a lot of weight and calls himself "Beefcake" like the television commercial. Here's what he ends up looking and sounding like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e29x9Qhi2ks

So... kind of facetiously... Matt's nickname is now "Beefcake!" This may or may not be better than "Cart," depending on your point of view or sense of humor!