Pet Names

I think it is kinda cute when little kids make up their own names for people. Maybe because they can't fully say the real name, maybe they just have some special affection for the person, or maybe they just don't understand...
I have some friends I lived with for a while and when their son was about the age of Micah now, he insisted on calling me Ya Ya. He could say my name, but to him, I was Ya Ya. It was cute, it was okay, I felt we had a special bond. He's 6 now and doesn't call me that anymore (he was a little upset with me when I moved out), but it was cute when he did...
Micah has never really said his own name, but we have tried pretty hard to get him to say Judah's name. About a week or so ago he finally started calling Judah by name, but it was his own name he made up. It was clear he was referring to Judah, but it sounded like "doy' or maybe "dory" at times. Either way, he said the same thing anytime referring to his brother. Most words he says at least sound similar to what he is trying to say, so this one stumped us a bit...
Until yesterday.
When I had a conversation with him about his stuffed dog, referring to him as doggie, and I thought Micah was confused for a bit because he was using his name for Judah as we were talking. And that's when I realized that he is calling Judah the same thing he calls his stuffed dog: doggie...or as he can say it "dory."
Kinda funny, kinda cute, kinda sad that he maybe thinks that Judah is another one of his stuffed animals...I'm sure in time, Judah will let him know that he is not a dog and he does not like being called a dog. Until then, he has created his own special name for Judah, so we will keep saying "Judah" but we will let them have their special bond...the special bond that is so clearly displayed in the picture above...