I'm not a Princess!

Well, Alayna has reached another growth milestone. All of our kids have allowed us to call them pet names such as kiddo, buddy, and princess. However, at a certain age, they start to get this feeling of identity that tells them that their name is everything and they can't be called by anything else. Well, today was the day that it happened for Alayna.

This morning I walking into the kitchen where Alayna was eating. She smiled at me and said, "Hi Dad!". I gave her a hug and said, "How is my little princess?" She rebuked me by saying, "I'm not a Princess, I'm Alayna!" I have called her "Princess" every day since she was a tiny little baby.

Just to make sure that it wasn't a fluke, I tested the P word on her a couple of other times this morning. She followed up with the same response each time. I guess she is growing up.

We'll see if she continues with the identity issue over the next few days. If it doesn't change and if she is like our other children, I'll have to wait about four years before she'll probably let me call her that again.