Hmm..a penpal kind of relationship and she lives 6-8 hours away? Dude..go visit her during the weekends..once every other week or so. That's easy to do with only 6-8 hours man
And about the kiddo..depends..do you look like a little boy that's 3 years old?

I'm gonna go on a limb here and guess that you don't, and then the answer would be...nope. It's just a nickname.
Some girls like to call me papi, some call me dirty (love that name), others call me something else. Everybody has their own flavour of nicknames..this is just another one. Just make sure that she isn't TOO comfortable talking to you and that you're not ALWAYS available..and you'll do just fine.