#aidantheanimal

When we were pregnant and trying to decide on a name, we always paused to think about nicknames.  Ones we liked or didn’t.  We even ruled out names because of potential nicknames that we just didn’t love.  (Because a parent can never be too prepared or fearful when having their first child.)  Case in point, I loved the idea of Aidan James Sinks.  James is my father’s name and we both agreed the middle name had to have a family origin.  But the idea of AJ just didn’t fit for us.  So when Alan suggested Ward, a shortening of his paternal grandfather’s name Howard, I was sold.

So there we had it – Aidan Ward Sinks – the perfect name for our little guy.  Never in a million years did I think we would end up with a bunch of nicknames for this child.  In fact, I think we only call him by his first name when we are warning him about eminent danger such as cars or his propensity to climb to the top of his high chair and then just teeter there for a few seconds longer than my heart really requires.   But I digress.

Alan’s favorite nickname is Chubster.  Yes, chubster.  Because you can add an -ster to anything and make the word more interesting.  Also, because our very slim child deserves a nickname that is quite the opposite of his physique and hopefully will not add to any future self doubts.

For me, I love Aidan the Animal.  Although I never actually call him this and only really refer to it in writing.  The real origins of this came when I misunderstood something in conversation on Friday Night Lights and loved what I mistakenly heard.  Since people were clamoring to hear the reasons for the hashtag I’ve been using on Instagram , I just had to comply and give an explanation (#jaytothekay because exactly no one asked me about this but I’m over sharing anyway).  So if you’re curious for more, you can find me @cadysinks where I am a professional overgrammer of all things knitting, Aidan, and made up nicknames.

Photos taken with my Nikon D750 & 50mm lens.