My 2-year-old daughter is talking about Lady Gaga—what’s up with that?

Kids say the darndest things, but I have to admit I was caught totally off guard today when my two-year-old daughter Leilani said, “Mommy Lady Gaga!” in one breath. 

Lady Gaga is a household name, but hardly a towering figure at our house.  That spot is currently reserved for Tinkerbell.  Lady Gaga’s name only comes up in passing, but apparently it’s enough for Leilani to pick up on.  The last time I mentioned Lady Gaga’s name must have really sunk in.  

I was complaining to my husband about Leilani’s eating habits.  She eats all her meals at a small Hello Kitty table next to our dining room table, and while pint-sized and adorable, it does have the downside of providing absolute mobility for our daughter, unlike a booster seat where she would be strapped in and cozy for the duration of the meal.  She can freely do her favorite activity, which is eating almost as if she were in a relay race, taking one bite, then doing a lap around the family room before returning for another bite.  (If I only I could keep that pace up I’d lose those last ten pregnancy pounds!)  Lately she has taken to standing up on her chair and bending over her plate to eat, almost as if taking a bow.  Lady Gaga loves doing this same gravity-defying position with her piano to wow the audience at her concerts: she stands up on the piano bench, then bends over to hit the keys.  

I verbalized my complaint about the absurdity of this Lady Gaga position, at least when it comes to eating a peanut butter sandwich, no more than twice, but apparently it was enough to make the catchy name stick forever in Leilani’s mind.

Then there was the pre-Halloween anticipation my husband and I had felt when his classmate announced that he was going as Lady Gaga this year.  The friend was building the costume from scratch and had announced to my husband that he was making a trip to the hardware store.  We knew this was going to be good.  The suspense was killing us, so no doubt Lady Gaga’s name must have come up a few times in Leilani’s presence then too.  Again, it must have sunk in.

Husband's classmate in Lady Gaga Halloween costume 

However, I’m not sure what to make of “Mommy Lady Gaga.”  What do I have in common with Lady Gaga?  Lipsynching to Sesame Street’s Placido Flamingo hardly puts me in the same league as the pop diva.  I wear sweats, while she wears leather bustiers, phallic heels and, let’s face it, stuff that you buy at the hardware store.  I just don’t have a practical way to incorporate power tools into my wardrobe, although I could probably make some awesome French toast with a blow torch attached to my leather bustier at six o’clock in the morning.

Maybe my daughter was making more of a statement, like, “Mommy, Lady Gaga.”  Meaning, here is someone truly original.  You better sit up and take notice.  (Love her or hate her, you can’t help but notice Lady Gaga).  And though I’m confident that Leilani hasn’t actually seen an image of Lady Gaga or heard her songs, I think she somehow understands that she’s a big deal, just by the way we use her name in passing.  Believe me, I sit up and take notice when Leilani eats standing up, or worse, when she practically does a headstand.

Leilani just got a karaoke mike for her birthday, and maybe she’s already getting ideas.  Maybe she was beginning an announcement to the world: “Mommy, Lady Gaga...” better watch her back!