Devastated Grandma

My mom, Ivan and I were looking at a our framed wedding photo, which includes both sets of parents. Despite my profligate picture taking, it's one of the rare framed photos in the house. Occasionally, we (all of us on separate ocassions) look at that photo and tell Ivan who's who. A while back he's started recognizing people in the photo, and as of recently, the first person he points to in that photo is Mimi, or Andy's mom.

She must have made an impression on him, as Andy said. I'm surprised he remembers her considering he's doesn't see Andy's parents that often. He did spend a week alone with them on two separate ocassions--around July 4 and in September--and we've gone up to seem them maybe once a month or so. I didn't think his memory would already be so good.

So this morning he first pointed to Mimi's picture and said Mimi. He wasn't sure who Papi was (Andy's dad) nor would he say his name when I pointed at his likeness in the photo. He identified Dadda without a problem, as he did Didi, Ivan's word for my dad (or Dida--it's a new word we just figured out he knows last week). Neither one of them were present in the room so it was easy for him. But when we asked him where's Mamma instead of pointing to my likeness in the photo, he turned around and pointed at me. when we asked him who's that pointing at my mom's photo, ivan didn't say anything. Nor did he really answer to where Baka (my mom) is. He must have been confused--why would he point to a photo of Mamma or Baka, when we were both standing there with him.

But my mom was hurt. She tried to joke about it, but I could tell it bothered her that Ivan identified his other grandma without a problem, whereas he stalled at the photo of my mom. I found it curious as well, considering that my mom sees him and takes care of him much more and much more often than Andy's mom.

I guess as Andy said, his mom must have made an impression on him.