OK...It's Time To SAY MY NAME!!!

Parker Ann will be one year old on the 28th of this month.  From the time I knew that I would be a grandmother, I pondered over the "perfect" name.  First and foremost, the name HAD to have a "young" feel to it...I was having none of that "Granny" business.  Second, it couldn't be a name that anybody else had; I wanted my own, "original" name.  And next, it needed to be something that was fairly easy for a baby to say.  OH, I would agree to allowing the child to say Ma Ma and Da Da first (that's the "right" thing to say, right?...), but her saying my name HAD to come next!

So, what name did I choose and how did I choose it?  Well, one of my favorite book series is "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants".  One of the girls went to Greece to visit her grandmother and she called her Ya Ya.  I know that isn't the proper "Greek" spelling, but I put my little "southern twist" on the name, since the woman (and her family...) who wrote the book, "Ya Ya Sisterhood" is from my little town.  "Ya Ya" was the PERFECT name for me and I was quite satisfied.  NOW, if I could only get Parker Ann to say it!

As I mentioned, she is almost one year old now and babbling up a storm.  Of course, she says Ma Ma and Da Da.  When I walk into a room, it is evident that she KNOWS who I am by the way her face lights up with that BIG smile of hers and she makes her way to me.  And for almost a year now, every time I pick her up, I say, "Ya Ya" over and over again...in hopes that one day she will just blurt the name out.  To date, she has STILL not done that.  And THAT is what prompted a conversation that I had with Robby just a few days ago. 

I said, "It's time that Parker Ann said my name!  I've given her a year now and we KNOW she can talk because she says Ma Ma and Da Da...so I'm ready!"  He sort of looked at me and his first reaction is always to attempt to reason with me.  So, his reply was, "Yes, she does say Ma Ma and Da Da, but not in particular association with who they are."  WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!  I said, "Yes she DOES know WHO they are!  Maybe when she crawls over to me the next time, I will just say, 'Say Ya Ya and THEN I will pick you up."  I could see he was thinking about what to say next, when he relented and did what he usually does next; give in to my "madness"!  "OK, you're right (I LOVE those words...), she knows who they are, but you can't just not pick her up until she says your name...you need to think of another way to train her."  I LIKED this idea!  "Go on", I said, "Tell me more."  He said, "You know how much Parker loves those Puffs you give her to eat?  Well, maybe you could 'train' her to say your name by giving her a Puff and each time you do so, say Ya Ya".  Hmmm...I thought about that for about a nano second;  I liked the idea and thought it just might work.  "There's only one thing about using this method", he warned me.  "What's that", I asked?  "Every time her parent's give her a Puff, she might start saying Ya Ya!"  We both let out a HUGE laugh.  I had to admit that would be pretty funny; sort of like Pavlov's salivating dogs!

So, I continue to wait...impatiently, I must admit.  I KNOW that Parker Ann knows who I am.  I'm the crazy lady who makes faces at her so she will laugh out loud.  I am the crazy lady who plays "pee pie" with her.  I'm the crazy lady who lets her play with my expensive jewlry and won't let her "cry it out" when she's supposed to take a nap...I'm her YA YA!!!