“Hi, Mommy Cow. Bye, Daddy Dog.” No, I’m not in a pet store. I’m home with my kids and this is now how my three-year-old greets us. For some odd reason she is now attaching animals to everyone’s name. Sure it may be cute…at first. But, for people who are not up on her new lingo, it can be embarrassing at times. My absolute favorite is when she doesn’t know people’s first names and simply says, “Bye pig, or bye horse.” Then, I have to explain the obsession to a new set of horse eyes or a new pig snout. Sometimes, I just want to hide in the barn.

   I’m trying to figure out where this animal obsession came from. We certainly don’t live on a farm. Yes, she’s been to a farm to see animals, but that was months ago. We don’t have animals. Heck, I don’t really even like animals all that much. She doesn’t watch any “animal” based cartoons. So, how in the world did it happen? It just kinda did one day. At first, I thought it was a fluke. I was going to file it under, “kids say the darnedest things.” But, I’m beginning to think this is going to stick around for awhile…kinda like Caillou, but perhaps not as annoying.

   My daughter not only assigns animals to people, but changes them on a daily basis. Yesterday her cousin was a squirrel. Today, she’s a cat. Yesterday her Grandmother was a duck. Today, she’s a dog. While everyone else gets to play musical animals, her father and I are destined to be dogs and cows. For some reason, I have the joy of being called a “cow.” Just what every woman dreams of!
Why can’t I be a cat, or perhaps even a squirrel? I would even settle for a duck every now and again. But no, I am “Mommy Cow”. I’ll let you know if things change. But for now, moo to you:)