Brady Maybe (For Sarah)

When I was pregnant with Danyo, we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. I knew, but "technically" I didn't know. But we had picked out the name Jonathan if he was a boy. Almost immediately after he was born, both J and I commented, "Wow, he's just not a Jonathan". We were kind of bummed, because we really like that name.

We named him about 573 names and 46 other variations of those names before we left the hospital. He came home unnamed (those birth certificate people take their jobs VERY seriously and that woman all but got out her shotgun and hunted me down at home when we had the nerve to leave without naming OUR baby). We finally agreed on Danyo. Yeah, it's a little weird, but we like it. :)

For the next 5 months of his life I wanted to change his name no less than 4 times a day. And I always had a different name picked. I don't know what my problem is, but I just couldn't settle.

Needless to say, my kids picked up on it. Avee called Danyo "Tucko" the first week of his life.

When Danyo was about 4 months old I heard the name Brady and that was the flavor of the day for a couple of days. Every time I went to J in all earnestness to change Danyo's name, he'd roll his eyes and end the conversation. He never took me seriously.

Well Bo did. And he also really liked the name Brady. And so it stuck. He pretty much calls him Brady all the time. Sometimes he gets caught up in all the Danyo-calling we do, and forgets. It doesn't really come up much though, it's not like Bo walks around talking to or about Danyo all the time. So I forget about his tendency to call him Brady.

However. Last month for Show-n-Tell, Bo took a picture of Danyo with him to share. When I picked him up I started asking him about school. I asked, "Did you show them your picture of Danyo?" He said quietly, "Yeah, but I didn't say Danyo, I told them his name is Brady."

I laughed quite heartily.

The next week I had his parent/teacher conference and his teacher, a very sweet woman who remembers EVERYONE'S names says, "Well hello there little Brady, aren't you sweet...."
I blushed fiercely. I haven't blushed in ages. But suddenly I felt very stupid having to tell my son's teacher that this little boy who is so bright, didn't quite get his little brother's name right.

She thought it was pretty funny, bless her heart.

Then, on Sunday as I was leaving church a girl grabbed my arm and said, "Now what is your baby's name? I'm just sure it isn't Brady, but that's what Bo kept telling me." Since we were both heading out, there wasn't time to explain why Bo is being weird and random so I said, "Hmm, Brady? Really? That's interesting---it's Danyo."

What I'm thinking now is to join Bo in calling him Brady and see if we can't effectively change his name, without really changing his name. He'll be one of those people, "Danyo ________, but I go by Brady" because that makes so much sense! We've all met someone like that, right?

And now, for my only mildly related segway:
Pictures of Brady Danyo!

GETTING AGGRESSIVE

This one cracks me up because it's a king-size bed.
Danyo has discovered the joys of the bathroom. Particularly toilet flushing. Interestingly enough, he's my only child who bothers to do it. Every once in a while the bathroom door is left open and he bolts for it. When I come to get him he starts squealing and scrambles to get away. Now, Avee has spent her ENTIRE life laughing at me and evading me. But this one, he loves nothing more than when I enter a room or when I come to pick him up. So this is new. I tried to capture it, but he seemed to know what was up so he didn't do exactly what he usually does, but I thought this was pretty dang funny.