nanamimilalatutululunoni vs. mummum

Okay, I'm a bad mother. I accidentally left "Ne-ne" at my parents house. Ella and I stopped over there this afternoon and we had Ne-ne with us (aka. Nellie), but I forgot to grab her when we left (I also almost forgot Hobart, but shhh). I think I leave something there every time we visit. Nellie is, of course, Ella's stuffed Koala (thank you Uncle Jason!). The thing she carries, calls, and cuddles day and night. I was afraid I'd have to drive her over there in her sleeper to get it or bed would be out of the picture, but clearly, as I'm now writing, I managed to get her to sleep without marsupial aide.

Ella and Nellie

And old photo of Ella and Hobart vying for Nanamimilalatutululunoni's attention, and lap space

So the other crisis is that my mother has no name. Well, actually she has a lovely name, Alison, but she can't decide on a name for Ella to call her. It's the first time in her life she gets to pick her own name and she seems to be overwhelmed by the power in her hands. Nana isn't her favorite because of the association it holds with bananas. I think they're a wonderful, versatile, and nutritious fruit, but my mom has never liked them. Argh. Mimi doesn't work because it's already been done--I think she sees it as one of those trends that she just can't support, like slap-bracelets or Rachel Ray. Lala is a personal favorite of mine, because I think it most accurately captures her personality, but she's been bullied out of that one by my dear brothers who think it makes her sound a little crazy. Tutu, ala Obama's grandmother, is a favorite of hers, but we all think that sends the wrong message to a toddler (not to mention a teenager)! The list goes on and the debate continues. We keep telling her to just pick something because Ella's starting to talk and thinks my mom is the coolest thing on earth, but doesn't know what to call her. Meanwhile, my mom thinks I'm sending "mixed messages" because I refer to myself as "Mama" while Chris calls me "Mum". He can't help it. It honestly sounds ridiculous when he tries to say "Mama". Like one of those computer voices from the 80's. So I've become "Mum-mum". I can deal with it. It's actually seriously cute. And I call my mother "Nanamimilalatutululunoni". That's a bit of a mouthful for Ella though. Chris thinks that maybe we should just call her "Charlie" and tell her she missed her chance. Any ideas?