Baby, baby

Benji will be my baby until he's 20 years old -- and maybe longer!

But not just anybody can call him baby I have discovered today.

I can call him a baby. Shearn Yoong can call him a baby. Any relative can call him a baby. Any other mom can call him a baby, since she knows what I mean when I say he'll be my baby forever. But other folks might need to start using the "toddler" term in my presence. Other special aunties and uncles are also included in this list.

Three 8 or 9 year old boys called Benji a baby today. The first was one my mom's students, and he did it in the "look-how-cute-the-baby-is" way. So that was fine. The other two, one at the park and the other during our evening walk, had a different tone of voice - more like "look-at-the-sub-human-baby." Especially the boy playing on the jungle gym - I started getting annoyed at how often and in what tone he was calling Benji a baby. I tried to call him by his name (Benji), hoping the boy would follow suit. No such luck.

If you're reading this post, most likely you are in the aforementioned catergories allowing you to call Benji a baby - if not, beware! :)