Nater

Although I always find the naming of our babies one of the most fun preparations for their birth, I make sure David and I follow two rules. My first rule is that we show up to the hospital with both a boy and a girl's name. (With the exception of Nathan in which an amniocentesis confirmed without a doubt that his mapped out genes said BOY.)
Parents expect a baby for nine months. There are only two possibilities of what it could be. There is no reason why they cannot not sit down sometime in those 270+ days and choose 2 possible names. It always floors me when babies are Baby Boy or Baby Girl for a day or so after birth. Were those parents secretly hoping for a puppy? I don't get it. But, anyway . . . .
While choosing, I am always careful to pick a name that (hopefully) won't be immediately shortened into a nickname. It's not that I find shortened names bothersome for other people; I just have a thing with having my children called by their entire given names.
Before giving Nathan his name, we considered Nathaniel, but knew there was no hope of using that long name all of the time. So, Nathan it was--on the condition that we would NOT call him Nate. We don't. We call him NATER.
When Landen was 2 1/2 and Nathan about 7 months, we took Landen to his first movie in a theatre--"Cars." It was there we met Mater the Tow Truck. Somehow we decided that our bald, blue-eyed baby boy should be Nater. And so it stuck. He has been answering to Nater ever since. In fact, his cousin Carter only calls him Nater. We use it probably about 50% of the time at home--the other 50% of the time he is "NATHAN DAVID, LEAVE YOUR SISTER/BROTHER ALONE!" It really is no wonder he prefers Nater.
I didn't realize how much this nickname has stuck him until we recently started practicing for Preschool Screening. I know, I know, Preschool Screening does not require practice, but I'm a teacher--I can't help it. Besides, I only made it to the very first question. I started out easy and asked him his name. He said, "Me Tater." So, I tried again. Next he was "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" then "Jingle Bells". Finally he was adamant--"Me Nater Melius" and that is that!
Despite my best intentions before his birth, I fell into the nickname trap with my second born. I should have seen it coming. What do expect from the daughter of "Butter"?