"I'm not yours BABE!"

I didn't even realize that I call Talan
"BABE" all the time!
Over the last few week whenever I refer to him as my babe, he quickly corrects me! I'll say, "Come here babe." And he responds with an I'm so sick of this you annoy me tone of voice,
"I'm not yours babe!"
I tell him, "Oh but Talan you are my babe! Because you are my baby. You will always be my babe! All my kids are my babes!" And he says, "Naa Ahh!
I'm not yours babe!"
So we have had a discussion about what it is I'm to call him. And according to Talan, "Talan babe" is okay but "babe" all by itself is unacceptable!
Sometimes when he tells me that he isn't my babe I ask him, "Well then who is my babe?" He'll look around the room and pick one of the other kids, "Carsten's yours babe!"
Even though I know this bugs Talan I just can't seem to stop myself. It's like a habit that who knows how long I've been saying. I'll say, "Hey babe!" "Come get your pajamas on babe." "Come here babe." And every time without fail he says, "I'm not yours babe!" Even when he's hurt and crying I'll say, "Oh, come here babe!" And with tears in his eyes, "I'm not yours babe!"
It's become pretty comical! Now I'll say it on purpose just to see if he'll remember to protest my saying it! And so far he's NEVER forgotten!

Last night I came home after being gone for a few hours. The whole entire family was here. Everyone was sitting at the kitchen table working on homework or just hanging out. Talan was in the family room playing by himself. As soon as Talan heard me walk into the room he threw his hands in the air, he was beaming with joy and filled with excitement that his mom was home!
He said,"Mom's home!" As he ran to greet me! And all the while everyone else in the house continued with whatever it was they were doing. I don't think that any of the others weren't necessarily happy to see me, it's just that that overjoyed outward excitement fades as people get older. And that's when it hit me,
Talan IS MY BABE!
He's my last one! And this isn't going to last forever! I'm not going to be the superhero mom for much longer, and so I had better enjoy it! I've got to convince Talan that it's good to be the babe! I've got to get him to want to be the babe! Because really and truly, I don't want to lose MY BABE!

Talan,
YOU ARE MY BABE!