Neologism and Materdiem

The weekend went by in a blur, as Xander popped from here to there across the state in a whirlwind of new faces and new places. Saturday morning was Xander's first trip to visit Mommy's sister in Howell, after a tortuous drive through several small hamlets on the skirts of Livingston County. He was able to see his cousins, and play a bit, before Chi "2" went off to her graduation ceremony in Detroit. Next, it was off to see Daddy's coworkers for a little BBQ in Brighton. Xander met a lot of people, and was very well behaved for the afternoon. It was a rather short visit, as we had dinner plans in Grand Rapids, for Xander's first trip to visit his Saba and Savta. We had a yummy dinner, and Xander played in a little playpen for over 20 minutes while Mommy and Daddy were able to eat peacefully! Saba destroyed Daddy in yet another lopsided chessic battle, while Xander was entertained by his adoring entourage. Our final stop for Saturday was Nana's where Mommy and Daddy were able to get a bit of rest before another busy day of visitors and activities.

Mother's Day was a very pleasant experience for all of us, as Mommy celebrated her very first of many to come. Nana and G.G. Nana and Papa were present, along with Xander's Great Aunt and Uncle, and Daddy's siblings and cousins. We had a somewhat interesting discussion over lunch about what sorts of additional nicknames were possible for Xander. One of the most difficult things to do is find a name that is appropriate across languages and cultures. There can be some very uncomfortable moments when traveling between European and Asian and Indian cultures, and Alexander provides a certain flexibility in nicknames that can accommodate such drastic linguistic trials. I made an offand comment on a possibility for a Japanese name to be Xan, in which case, Xander would be known as "Zan-San." G.G. Papa thought it sounded a bit like "Downtown," and from there, we started going on a bit of a stretch (three stretches, to be precise). The first brought us to Petula Clark -> Clarky -> Clarky Dog -> Dawg...but Mommy said, "You know, he was born in the year of the Pig, so "Piggy" might work a bit better." I, however, am not a huge fan of calling someone "Pig," so I said, "Well, there was that movie, 'Babe in the City,' while 'City' is sort of like 'Downtown,' so how about just 'Babe?'" Well, although that went over somewhat better than "Dawg" or "Pig," I thought about what other directions we could take "Downtown," and I came up with "D.T." Being the science nerd that I am, I think I actually said aloud, "Yes, Xander could be dX/DT, my first derivative!" I felt pretty good about my discovery, but I may have out-thought myself a bit. After a long, awkward silence in the room, the conversation quickly shifted gears, and we didn't talk about nicknames anymore.



In any case, there are plenty of options for everyone to choose from...


We got some good smiles out of the little guy over the weekend, and more demonstrations of Xander's incredible prowess.