sugar plum bum bum

When Rilla was a newborn, one of my little cutesie nicknames for her was Sugar Plum. She was born in December, and she was sweet, and the name reminded me of The Nutcracker, which I've always loved, and so I thought it was kind of a nice little name. It didn't really stick, though, probably because I had a dozen other cutesie little nicknames for her too.

Sometime along the way, I started calling Abraham my little Sugar Plum, which eventually became Sugar Plum Bum, and somehow turned into his favorite nickname that I call him. "My name is Sugar Plum Bum Bum!" he tells me with delight. And of course I laugh. It's not the kind of nickname that you intend to create, but sometimes things just happen that way.

So yesterday we managed to make it to church in time for a bit of the singing time, and as Ezekiel was asleep for once, we all meandered in (minus Keith, who was off to teach Sunday School) to a nice pew somewhere in the middle-ish of the sanctuary. After about half a song, singing time was over, and one of the church leaders began to lead us in prayer. Ezekiel having woken up, the older children now turned around, saw him awake, and began to greet him.

"HI, SUGAR PLUM!" said one, smiling.

"Hi, Sugar Plum Bum!" said the other, grinning.

"Hi Sugar Plum, Bum Bum Bum!" exclaimed the first one again.

"Hi Sugar Plum Bum Bum," added the other one.

And on it went. Usually I don't bother to correct embarrassing behavior if there is no sin issue involved, because by the time I've let out a "SSSSHHHH," they are through it already. Not this time. This time it just kept going, Rilla and Abraham taking turns happily greeting their little brother with the most embarrassing nickname that I've yet come up with for one of them, for a good part of the prayer time (in which we were praying for somebody who'd been hurt, of course). Oh, it was lovely. And then when I did start doing the embarrassed mom thing ("Ssshhh! Okay, let's be quiet and listen now, you guys! You guys, can you be quiet please?"), they were already too much into the little back-and-forth game they'd come up with to lose momentum very quickly.

Oh well. It happens. First time I've actually sat in a church service for a month or so... usually I'm just going straight to the nursing room now and hanging out there all service... and we make a spectacle of ourselves. But such is life with small children.