grandparent name game

In our house growing up, our grandparents were better known as Nan & Papa and Grandma & Grandpa.  Nan & Papa were my Mom's parents who lived three hours away and who we saw very often.  My memories of them are all warm and some hilarious.  Nan was known for sometimes doing things a little out of the ordinary... such as wrapping her entire body in toilet paper.  I never once saw her wash her hair... no... she had it done every week.  Papa put in a pool in their backyard but I never once saw him use it... it was for everyone else.  I remember big family dinners where I was served wine in a crystal liqueur glass when I was likely just old enough to climb up in my chair unassisted.  I remember playing with spoons in the bathtub and I remember how they always ended the night with a beer.

Grandma & Grandpa were my Dad's parents who lived on the other side of the country.  I can likely count the number of times I saw them on my two hands.  They seemed older and likely were since my Dad is the youngest of seven children.  I can't remember much about them unfortunately.  The only memory that sticks is of them visiting our house and how it was confusing and a bit sad since my Grandmother suffered from alzheimer's disease.  The other memories I have of them are related to the stories my Dad told me over the years about life growing up on the farm, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Andrew and I are lucky.  All of the soon-to-be grandparents live within a ten minute drive of our house.  We have three sets to contend with, which boils down to more love for the twins.

My Mom wants her and my Dad to follow in her parent's footsteps and be called Nan & Papa.  I think this suits them perfectly.  Now we have two other sets to name... Andrew's Mom and her Husband and Andrew's Dad and his Wife.

I have to say that I am a little stuck for ideas here besides the obvious Grandma & Grandpa.

What do / did you call your grandparents?  What would you have your children call your parents?

Nan & Papa... and me!

Comments

  1. Hey Ashley...my parents are called Nanny & Poppy and the other set are Grandma & Grandpa. Think we'll follow suit when we have a little one and stick with the same. However, there is always Oma and Opa too.

    I had my first round of blood work this morning...needles begin tonight...eek!

    How are you feeling?

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  2. Awww, your Nan and Papa sound wonderful!!!!!
    My Mom's parent were called Nana and Poppy so pretty similar to yours.
    My mom wants to be called Mimi and my step dad (Ed) would like to be called Ed or Eddie (he says, let the kid decide)!
    I hope this helps!!!!

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  3. Janet - yay for starting needles tonight! Honestly, they aren't nearly as bad as I had thought. I would ice the area for about 5-10 minutes first. My husband prepped the needle, did a needle dance and then gave me the shot (I'm a wimp).

    I'm feeling pretty good. Have another ultrasound today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my cervix has stayed put! Sleep is getting harder again but that's okay as long as the babies stay in there I will take it!

    Kkasun - true about letting the kids decide, mind you we will likely refer to them in front on the girls as their "names" before the girls can talk. Good ideas though!

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  4. My grandparents were Nana and Papa and my husband's grandparents were
    Granny and Grandpa. There is always Gran and Gramps.

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  5. I had a standard grandma and grandpa, but also a Grammie and Popper- my mom's parents that were around all the time. They were more of an affectionate pair, and I love the names and plan on carrying them on. It's a little awkward though, bc Grammie's still around (yay!)

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  6. I have a friend who is know as Granddude to his grandkids...kind of cute!

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  7. That is an adorable photo of you and Nan and Papa. I called my mom's parents Oma and Opa and my dad's parents Grandpa and Grandma. My parents go by Papa and Momita. I have such fond memories of my Oma (my daughter's middle name is Alice, after her) that I'll probably want to be called Oma. :)

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  8. I can't remember my grandfathers unfortunately, but the gramma's were just gramma! Both of them :) One of them was gramma K (Koebel side), the other is Gramma Dodi (everyone calls her Dodi, short for Dorothy - don't ask why!).

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  9. I had 2 "Grandmas" and 2 "Grandpas". It always worked out ok for us and there was no confusion. For our little one we are leaving it up to the grandparents. So far we know my husbands father is going to be Jaja, which is Polish for grandpa. Everyone else is still trying to decide! Good luck and have fun with it!

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  10. Thanks for all of the suggestions ladies!

    JM - I love Grammie and Popper, how fun!

    Rachel Lynn - true, we should ask them (but we might throw out some suggestions too!)

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  11. I love that picture. I dont remember them as well as you do, Ash. I wish I did.

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