I am not Uniqua anymore

A couple of months ago, Drew and Henry took on new monikers. Drew called himself 'Uniqua' and Henry called himself 'Pablo'. Both names come from the Backyardigans, one of their favorite cartoons. I'm not sure why they chose these particular characters, but I have a feeling Drew picked Uniqua because she's pink (Drew loves pink) and loves to sing and Henry picked Pablo because he's blue. Regardless, they introduced themselves and each other by these new names, sometimes adding their actual names--"I'm Uniqua-Drew." "I'm Pablo-Henry."

While I thought this was really cute, I started to worry that if for some reason they ever got lost, they wouldn't be able to tell anyone their real names. Can you imagine hearing "Can the parents of Uniqua and Pablo please report to the mall security office?" So last week, I explained to them that when they're with me and Jeff they can go by Uniqua and Pablo, but if they ever get separated from us and someone asked for their names, they should say 'Drew' and 'Henry'. They understood this and I think it might partially explain what happened tonight.

As Jeff was getting the boys ready for bed, Drew said to him, "I am not Uniqua anymore. I am Andrew." He then came to the kitchen where I was putting away the dishes and said, "Mommy, I am Andrew. Not Uniqua." Soon after, I asked Henry what his name was, knowing that he would probably follow suit and drop Pablo like a hot potato. He said, "I am Henry, Mommy. Henry G****."

I'm a little sad to say goodbye to their nicknames, but I'm glad to have Drew and Henry back. And I'm going to enjoy it before they decide to give themselves new names. Buzz and Woody? Dora and Diego? Thomas and Percy? The sky's the limit.