My Little Schmo

Before Judah was born, Luke and I often referred to Ayden as "the boy," "the baby," or some other generic word. By the time Judah was a week old, we had a problem: we continued with the use of our generic terms, and constantly found ourselves asking each other, "which one?"

Now I know we can use their names (and we do), but sometimes the generic terms are just easier. Do you really expect me to remember my kids' names when I'm in the midst of wrestling them into their carseats? I mean seriously, let's be realistic here.

So we started brainstorming. The Kid & The Baby. Big One & Little One. Senior & Junior. Big Schmo & Little Schmo. Neither of us could agree to any of the suggestions that the other gave.

But Schmo kinda stuck with me, and I've found that it is becoming my nickname for Judah. It's kinda cute, and easily rhymes with things. It rolls off the tongue much more naturally than Judah. It's easy to use affectionately ("Hey little Schmo-mo") or when I am exasperated ("Dude, Schmo!").

Then Luke informed me that Judah might not appreciate the nickname in a few years. So I Googled it. Uh oh. The first result is dictionary.com, where schmo is defined as "a fool or a bore." Wait, what? Isn't a "Joe Schmo" just an average guy? Insert a perplexed sigh here.

I love my little Schmo!

So, when I say to Judah, "Good morning, Little Schmo!" I'm actually saying, "Good morning, Little Fool," or "Good Morning, Little Bore." At 5 months old, he may be a fool, but he is certainly not a bore!!

So the question at hand is, can I really give him a complex for this? I mean he'll be at least 5 or 6 before he would be able to Google it for himself, and by then he would know that I mean it with the deepest of affection, right?

As an alternative, maybe I should stick with "Wiggleworm." It certainly applies, even if it doesn't fit so neatly into common speech!