Over the years each of our children has formed an attachment to a toy that they will describe as "special to me." I've been wanting to document this for some time, so today we gathered for a group photo! From left to right it's Woo-oo, Baby, Kitty, Monkey, and Dark Horsey.
Unfortunately I couldn't find Woo-woo's twin brother Doody, so he'll have to represent on his own. If you've been following this blog since the beginning, you may remember Woo-woo and Doody from THIS POST written when Jake was about two and a half. (they sure look a lot whiter then!) Since then, I think almost everyone has described Woo-woo and Doody as special to them at some point. It has always been a blessing that there were two of them! If somebody was lost, we still had the other one, and if a sibling or friend wanted to share, it was okay. In fact when Braden came along, and approached age two, Jake was willing to let Braden have Doody, so long as Woo-woo was strictly his.
However, around 2012, when Bray was almost three, Auntie Shauna decided to clean out her closets and sent us home with an armload of large and small stuffed animals. Almost immediately, Braden picked the snow tiger out from the bears as his new best friend and constant compadre. Jacob often tried to claim Kitty too, or at least bargain with Bray to trade or share. But Kitty became firmly Braden's-- often playing the role of "son" or superhero sidekick in his imagination. Even now, the boys still ocassionally construct "kitty's house" projects upstairs with tape and cardboard boxes, cut and colored with care.
Of all the special friends, I think Kitty has been the object of the most controversy. When Ethan got old enough to want his own special stuffed animal, Kitty was on his radar. If Braden left Kitty out where Ethan could reach him, he became Ethan's constant companion = lots of tears for both boys! Finally things started to get ridiculous, so Jason decided to take Ethan on a Daddy date to Walmart, and find him a special friend of his own. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall! According to Jason's description, he lined up about 20 stuffed toys and put them in front of Ethan. Then they went down the line and through several rounds of elimination-- saying goodbye to each one as it was put back on the shelf. Finally Ethan settled on Dark Horsey, and he has been Ethan's special favorite ever since. (I think the fact that he has an excellent tail, just like Kitty, and is Ethan's favorite color, black, helped him win his way over!)
Although Brooklynn is a lover of all stuffed toys great and small, as is illustrated toward the end of THIS POST , her Baby dolls definitely hold a special place in her heart. She is getting better, but especially when she was littler, Brooklynn would generally scream if the boys took anything pink, even if she was not playing with it-- after all pink is her territory! However, the Baby dolls are especially precious to her. Being the only girl, Brooklynn had to have a baby doll. Then and now the Baker girls have been sweet enough to send Brooklynn some of their outgrown girly things for her own-- doll stroller, doll cradle, dress-ups, etc. There are actually two of these babies, and Brooklynn often holds one in each arm like twins (foreshadowing???) But, in general this one is the favorite.
The Monkey toy/blanket is probably more my addition than Susan's. It has a blue twin and was a gift from Shelley when Brooklynn and Ethan were born. Susan loves sleeping with it and snuggles it when I put her down lately. I don't know whether this will turn into a lasting bond, but for now it is sweet and we shall see.
