Ishu has this book about Elmo that he likes to flip through. He’s memorized all the pages. He knows the name of the fish is Dorothy. He can name all of Elmo’s friends (Abby Cadabby being my personal favorite just cause he says it in such a stinking cute way).

There’s also a page with a picture of Elmo standing next to his mom and dad.

When we first read it to him, we said, “Oh look! Elmo’s mama. Elmo’s papa,” because he calls US “mama and papa.”

Every time we turn to that page, he says, “Eh-mo ma-ma.” “Eh-mo papa.”

After he’d say that, we’d ask him, “Where is Ishu’s mama? Where is Ishu’s papa?”

So now, as we do these days, we go through the bit each time.

But the other day while we were sitting at the dining table, just for funsies, I asked Ishu, “Where is Ishu’s mom?”

He looked up, paused for a second, and then pointed at himself.

“Where is Ishu’s mama?” I asked.

He pointed to me.

“Where is Ishu’s dad?” Ankur asked.

He pointed to himself.

“Where is Ishu’s papa?” Ankur asked.

He pointed to Ankur.

Our kid knows who his mama and papa are. But has no idea who his mom and dad are.

And that makes me giggle oh-so much.

It makes me think of that “Are You My Mother” book where the baby bird is in search of his mom and asks the dog and the cow and the plane and the Snort if they’re his mother.

I can just picture him in a few years, bopping around in his ponytail asking everyone and everything, “Are you my mom? Pretty sure I don’t have one of those. I have a mama though!”