Mine!

Remember these little devils from the Disney movie "Finding Nemo"??

Well, I'm just waiting for Kenners to sprout some wings and fly to Australia to join them, because this is ALL she cares to say these days!

If she sees my cell phone, she reaches for it and chirps, "Mine!"

If I get anywhere near her while she has food, she protectively clutches it and scowls, "No.  Mine!"

Sometimes she just walks aimlessly around the apartment--with Blankie in tow-- repeating to herself, "mine.  mine.  mine!"

Where the heck did this come from!? 

And why is it that at some point or other in their young lives, (most) toddlers develop this nasty little love affair with the word "mine"!?  

Do we really use this word that often in our daily vocabulary?

Or do toddlers just clutch to this word as a survival-of-the-fittest instinct in a world where they are constantly in danger of losing their fishy crackers to another toddler??

Regardless, it can kind of wear on the nerves after awhile.
But then...

Taylor Swift's song "Mine" popped up on Pandora the other day. 

Kenners instantly began dancing to it

and then halfway through the song she stopped (realizing what the "key word" of the song was), smiled at me, and proudly chirped "Mine!" before doing another pirouette.

Now that, that was kind of cute.