I'm eight years old, and my name is Kaiya (Ki-yah). I don't know why my papa can't remember my name.

My parents and I live with my papa and nana. When I was born, Papa kept calling me by his son's name, Kale (Kah-lay). Nana said that was okay because Papa had to get used to my name.

Whenever Papa came home from work, he played with me and called me Little Pal. Nana said that Papa and I had our own special way of talking to each other. We always made each other laugh.

When I was a little older, my papa took me to the zoo and to the beach. He also took me to the tennis courts to hit balls with him. My papa was a tennis teacher and coach.

Papa also taught me how to shoot baskets and throw the ball. He was a good football player and basketball player. When I'm older, I want to play sports, just like my papa used to.

My papa was a very good cook and made delicious meals for our family. My favorite was his Portuguese bean soup. Papa was also a really good baker. Everyone loved his banana cream pies. Sometimes, Papa would say, "My boy, you want to help me cook?" I always liked to help Papa cook, and I reminded him, "My name is Kaiya."

My papa played the ukulele too. He never took any lessons. He learned to play by watching and listening to others. Sometimes he let me hold the ukulele while he taught me a few chords. Someday, I want to play the ukulele, just like my papa used to.

When my brothers were born, Papa kept getting us mixed up and called us by the wrong names. I reminded him, "Papa, my name is Kaiya." To help Papa remember, I made name tags for me and my brothers. I also made a special card for Papa with my picture in it. I wrote "My name is Kaiya" right above my picture.

Some days, Papa remembered everything. Some days, he was more forgetful. On those days, he would look at me and call me by another name. I told him, "Papa, my name is Kaiya."

I tried different ways to help Papa remember my name, but nothing seemed to work. I wondered why Papa was starting to get mixed up with other things too, not just my name. He forgot where he put his wallet and car keys, and he thought we took them. He left the pot cooking on the stove and almost burned down our house.