Little Babies

All kids have a special stuff animal, toy, or blanket to help get through sleeping alone or to cuddle with. My boys have not only a special blankie but for S.E. he has a brown bear and for Koo it's a white dog. Both boys refer to their stuff animals as "Baby". We really need whenever there's a meltdown or naptime. All very cute and lovely because the boys take care of their babies and blankies-bath days for these items are usually met with whining and crying. They've gotten better now that I let them throw them into the washer for a bath. We are glued to the house until it makes it into the dryer.

In my mind, I would think "what would these boys do if we lost their blankies or babies?!" Would I be able to deal with the meltdowns? I am secretly fearful of this happening. When we travel, they bring their entourage and because their babies might get lonely-usually they sneak one or two extra friends along. Packing light is not a concept the boys and myself are good at.

Then, it happened. To S.E. in October. He left it at my parents home SIX HOURS away. Well, my mom is old school so she didn't send S.E.'s baby back to us. At first, S.E. acted very brave but for a week, he would sadly talk about the leaving his baby and who would look after it. Eventually we thought he forgot about it. Nope. He would just find substitutes to cuddle with until his baby can come home, but what happened was then his bed was overrun with a mound of different stuffed animals. It was like Noah's Ark on his bed. We finally got Baby back in January. Whewww...S.E. was so happy and has since been able to let go of some of the other substitutes.

This week, Koo lost his Baby and he fell apart. We looked high and low and all around the house and even enlisted Tia and Tio to help find Baby. Koo's loss was profound and I was at my wits end because this has been going on since Sunday. I can't take months. I don't have that kind of patience. Then, S.E. found it this morning underneath our loveseat. Reunited never looked as good as how Koo celebrated the return of his baby. He has been cuddling and talking to it all morning. Super cute. S.E. was so loving to Koo and their were thank yous and hugs for each other. It made all the whining and crying worth it to see my boys care for each other and their babies.