They called me Fanny

When I was a baby, my parents called me Froggy or Tiffany Toadfrog in reference to the way I slept with my legs curled up and butt in the air (a sleep position which appears to be passed along to my little ones). My brother called me Gubbit, after trying to say ribbit when talking about me. Later, I was called Fanny in junior high, then Kermit because I supposedly looked like the Green One when I smiled. Guess the frog thing came full circle.

Sean was Booger as a baby, Sean Bean as a kid (way before the actor was well-known), Ponix later on, and E. Brown in college, after children's book character Encyclopedia Brown. No explanation needed for that one if you know Sean.

I have many nicknames for Graeme and Liam. Liam is Li Li, an endearment I have promised myself and my husband that I will stop using after his 2nd birthday, mostly because it sounds like a panda on loan to a U.S. zoo, and partly because it is pretty babyish. He was E.T. because of his round head and tiny neck when he was younger, but things are evening out now. The latest is Monkey because he loves to climb on everything, including me. He also looked like a mutant chimp when he was born due to copious amounts of dark hair on his head and complete baldness everywhere else. Sometimes I call him Singapore Liam, number one super-baby, sung to the tune of the Hong Kong Fooey song. Graeme is G-man, Gramalama, Grammykins, and Gray-may, which is how some computers pronounce his name. I also call him Orangutan from his jealousy-fueled recent climbing bouts and, of course, the orange-red hair.

Even Singapore has several nicknames. It's the Lion City, or the Fine City, after all the fines which may be imposed if you spit in public, litter, jaywalk, etc. The best nickname is S'pore, which warms the heart of this microbiology major. Even the local paper uses that one.