What Do Your Kids Call Their Grandparents?

I'm always so curious to find out what names for grandparents other families use. How did you come up with the names, who chose them, and which names stuck (kids are notorious for nicknaming grandparents I've learned!)?

When I was pregnant with Lily we put it to the grandparents (all six of them in our case). What would they like to be called? I had my hidden hopes, but ultimately I do believe it's the decision of the grandparents to choose the name they'll be called. I think that's what I'll want if the day comes when I have grandchildren, so it seems fair. Plus we already get to choose baby's name. Ultimately, it feels like a way to honour our parents and give them that power as they step into a new role as well. 

My parents began as Grandma and Grandpa - the names we grew up using for my dad's parents. I liked the familiarity, but it didn't stick. Before long my dad was being called Papa by the kids and so it stuck, and then when my sister's kids started talking, my niece started calling my mom Mimi, thus Grandma and Grandpa became Papa and Mimi. Brad's mom and her husband Bruce created their names - Granna and Papa Bo (B O for his initials) and they've stayed the same ever since. Brad's dad and his wife Deb chose the names Papa and Nana Deb, but my father-in-law became Papa Jim (because they kept saying "Papa what?" to match Nana Deb). 

And am I the only one who's thought about what they'd like to be called if they ever become grandparents? I know I know, my kids are 5, 7, and 8, so it's not something to really wonder at for another two decades, but I've full on decided, haha! I want to be Granny, like my mom's British grandmother was :)