The Name Game

Each day Luke and LIly chose to be a different person. For a long time Luke was "Buzz" (Lightyear), Lily was "Jesse", Kent was "Woody" and I was "Zurg" (of course I was the bad guy). This lasted for a good number of months. Luke insisted that we be called by our Toy Story Names and have a melt down when we "forgot" to use them. Like if I said, "Daddy is coming home!" Buzz would say, "NO!! Woody is coming home!!" It was no longer Mamma and Daddy, it was Woody and Zurg. We would go to the store and someone would say, "What a cute little girl. What's your name?" and Buzz would immediately respond, "Her name is Jesse!" and the poor cashier would try to say, "Oh that is a .... different ... name". I would try to hurry and explain that her name is really Lily. But of course Buzz would have a meltdown and start calling me Zurg. Even Luke's nursery leaders would call him Buzz.One day I found this hat in my closet and decided Luke might have fun being a cowboy with it on. As soon as he saw it he became "Andy" the boy from Toy Story, and he inisited Lily was "Molly" the little sister. And since Andy was wearing a hat, Molly insisted on wearing her hat. Even though it was a warm, knit kitten hat. Andy even insists on wearing the hat when we go to the store. We get a lot of looks! A couple of weeks ago we were visiting with Kent's sister Melanie and her family. Luke and Lily LOVE her children! The next day Luke informed me that he was "Hallie" (yes she is a girl) and Lily was "Lexi" and I was "Aunt Melanie". I would say, "Mamma is going upstairs to get a drink." And "Hallie" would say, "NO! You're Aunt Melanie!". I can usually remember to call them by their new names but trying to call myself a new name as well gets really confusing, especially when I'm in a hurry or getting after one of them for not minding. We went to Costco and I said, "Come on buddy". Making sure not to call him Luke (because he was Hallie) but also trying not to call him Hallie (a girl name). To which he would say VERY loudly, "My name is Hallie!!" Yes, I got a lot of stange looks from mothers who I am sure were wondering why my son had a girl name.

Some other names they have and rotate through are, "Panda Bear" (Lily), "Tailung" and "Master She-Fu" (Luke and Kent), and "Tigress" (Me) from Kung Fu Panda. Or "Gus-Gus" (Luke) and "Jack-Jack" (Lily), "Cinderella" (for once I wasn't the bad guy), and "Prince Charming" (Kent) from Cinderella.

I know you're thinking this sounds like a fun game to play. But trust me it gets old real quick! They rotate and change who they are depending on their mood or the day. And when we get their name wrong a small meltdown quickly follows!