What's its name.

Everything must have a name. If a child is walking down the street, she'll ask, and we must tell her his name. We must be careful, for later, she will ask us again, what his name is. If we are correct, we move on. If not, we must remember, or be chastised for giving faulty information.

At the doctor's office recently, we were there with two other children. One named Madison, the other Reece. Those truly are the children's names. We've been trained that now, when ever we hear that she hears a name, we pack it away much like a lonely old lady who keeps all of her Washington Posts stacked against her walls in a much too small apartment. People will wonder what the newspapers were for. We know why we keep the names.

But given names are often not enough. The game started a few months ago:

"What's Daddy's name." Of course, the answer is Daddy, but that was wrong.
"Daddy."
"No. What's Daddy's name."
We'd try again, "Daddy."
"No. Egg." She'd say and a smile would spread across her face.
It was harmless at first. She'd ask us about different people, and we'd give them names. Suddenly, though, she began requiring us to remember whose name was associated with whom.
Daddy usually is egg, although he can be oatmeal, and is rarely waffle.
Mommy is usually waffle, but at times she is waffle-egg.
Tahlia is almost always muffin, but sometimes is egg-waffle -- yes, don't confuse her with waffle-egg, they are two different people.
Mya is bouncy ball
Damon is foot ball
Serge is soccer ball
Renee is watch
Lucy is book
Dr. Wong is car and her daughter's name is Dr. Wong
Opa is mustache
Sam is bicycle
Asher's name is Potato

If you forget, it is ok. You can simply ask her, and she will often remember. It becomes exceptionally tricky when you weren't there. For instance, say that she went to the story with Mommy. Later, she may ask Daddy who the boy was. Of course, I have no context, and Mommy has forgotten.

It's important to name things. They help us categorize our world. Names help us to understand the importance of things and their relationships. And somehow, in a little girls world, it helps her to better understand that another little girls name is place mat, Asher is potato, Mommy is waffle, Pinky (a chihuahua) is Roger (her owner who is a large black man), and Mariam is Lisle (Mariam's mom).