Name Game

I made a "mistake" last night with my oldest daughter, Melody.

You see, of course, for eight years or so "Mel-Mel" was the only little girl in the house. She was the baby. Forget the fact she's just 18 months younger than the heir to the throne, Coby. She was the baby.

Then Abigail Grace was born, eight years after Melody. We were all joyous at her arrival, of course, including big brother and big sister, but that created a titanic tidal wave in the structure of the household. No longer was Mel the baby. She became the middle child.

For eight years I'd refer to Melody as my "baby girl." Actually, it was more like "babygirl," one whole big, all-inclusive reference. I'm sure all parents have little pet names for the kids, and that was mine for her. I'm happy to say she rather enjoyed it as well.

Anyway, at some point close to Abby's birth, Melody and I had a deep conversation about daddy's moniker for her. Melody was concerned that she no longer would be "babygirl," and quite honestly, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to be. After all, she was eight now, and Abby would definitely fall under the category of The Baby Girl when she arrived.

But I wanted to hold out. As I'd told her every day of her life, almost, Melody would forever be my babygirl. The day she graduates high school, she'll be babygirl. The day she gets married (gulp!) she'll be babygirl. And so on.

But then Melody was concerned: what would I call Abby? It was an explosive question. I finally settled her mind on something like Abbygirl. Things would move on from there.

Of course, I'm not that smart. So for 19 months I've referred to the both of them as "babygirl." This was the situation last night at home in the 'Ville. I made the mistake of calling Abby "babygirl" as I was put in the position of having to get her ready for bed. Jeannie was busy making some delicious, fat-filled alfredo for a late supper around 9 or so, and Abby was ready for both supper and bed at the same time. The Perfect Storm.

I tried various ways of calming her, including use of the term babygirl. This worked, except for the fact that Melody -- from her perch in the bathtub -- heard it. I was told in no uncertain terms -- reminded, actually -- that she was, in fact, my "babygirl." I responded with something to the effect that I have two babygirls, to which she responded, no, I have just one. And it's not Abby.

This went on for a few long minutes before I finally hit the mute button and went into ignore mode. Melody eventually lost interest and went back to singing in the tub. Coby, for his part, never stirred from the couch while watching the Rangers beat the Yankees for the second night in a row. Yessir.

Nicknames are one thing, but pet names for your kids, that's something totally different. Now I'm forever tied to this one little phrase for both my daughters, and it's going to become quite confusing apparently.

Abby is into the act as well. I'm now a cross between "daddy" and "day," which she says at least 300 times a day. Along with several other new words such as "hot" while pointing to the refrigerator.

And Mel-Mel? I'm just Daddy. And she's still -- and forever will be -- "Babygirl."