All Smooshed and Flat and Well-Loved

I know I've been a little blog-happy lately. And I'm really not searching for photos to take just so I can post another blog. Really. This one was Henry and Alice's idea. Really. They insisted.

As a child, I was crazy about stuffed animals. I have very specific memories of tucking each one in at night before I would go to sleep, saying each one's name, and giving them a kiss. Whenever I had money, I remember going to a little gift store downtown and buying more stuffed animals. As many as I could. I must have had 100s. How did my Mother stand it?

So - when I had kids, I thought they would also be crazy about stuffed animals. But alas, Henry is - Alice, not so much. She thought it was great fun to pose for photos tonight, but the world does not come to an end if one of them is missing when she's ready to go to bed. Unlike Henry.

So, here's our tribute to stuffed animals and all the love and comfort they can give - if you just let them!

Here's Henry with Ted. My big brother had his own "Ted" growing up - a panda bear. There are great family stories about Jay's Ted Bear. The favorite story is the time we were driving down the freeway and Ted somehow flew out the window with Jay screaming, "Teeeeeddddddd...." until my parents stopped the car, turned around, and hunted in the weeds until they found him. Well, my son has his own Ted Bear, given to him by one of my best friends, Kim, on Henry's 1 yr birthday. Ted has slept with Henry every night since. I mean every night. He's like The Velvetten Rabbit. All smooshed and flat and well-loved. Over the years, we have made up songs about Ted ("My name is Ted Bear, I like to sing and dance, and my favorite boy....... is my Henry!") and stories about Ted ("One day when Henry was out playing, Ted decided to go exploring..."). I imagine the day will come, not long from now, when Henry will put Ted aside. But he will always have a special place in my heart as Henry's first "comfort object" and a true friend.

Ted managed to get in this picture too. We also have Mount Baker - the mountain lion Henry purchased with his own $ during our recent camping trip to Mt. Baker. Sammy the Snake - Henry's Valentine present when he was 1 1/2 yrs old, and Rattle the Snake - one of Henry's Santa Christmas morning presents.

Moosey (don't know where he came from) and Stripey, another Santa Christmas morning present.

Okay, so these aren't stuffed animals. But Henry insisted! He got a new pair of boots today when we went shopping for back to school clothes. He's very fond of them. "Good traction and speed" he tells me.

Some other favorites. First is Hector the Horse - received this from a friend in Denver when Henry was 5 days old. He's loved and smooshed too. Elphie the Elephant - he's quite special. The Christmas before Henry was born, I gave our unborn baby a gift - Elphie. I knew he was going to be a boy and wanted to find a panda bear, just like my brother's Ted. But Elphie caught my eye, and I fell in love. He's smooshed too. And then there's Rocky the Mountain Goat - another Santa Christmas morning gift.
Now, on to Alice. She's not big on any "comfort objects." Never has been. So - she doesn't have a special Ted Bear. Or a special doll. She has A LOT of them, but none that stand out as her very own Velveteen Rabbit type friend.

With that said, here are her many, many animals and one of her dolls (maybe we'll have to do another blog post just for her 17 dolls!).

Just as I bought a gift for Henry when I was pregnant with him, I wanted to find something for Alice when I was pregnant with her. One day, when walking through a toy store, I saw a doll. Not just any doll - but the exact doll I had and loved when I was a little girl! I couldn't believe it. At the time, I didn't even know if I was pregnant with a boy or girl - but I couldn't resist buying her. I decided if it was a girl, she got the doll. If a boy, I got the doll. As it turns out, Alice has the doll, named Lucy, and she could care less about her. Much to my dismay. Tonight I took down from the shelf my dolly. Note the brown dirty hands and how well-loved she is. Take a look at Lucy - note the pristine never-loved quality of her. Oh well...

Alice with Pink Bear. Our neighbors in Denver gave this to Alice when she was born. It was like 4 times bigger than her! Now they're about the same size.

Snow the Unicorn - a Santa Christmas morning gift. Snow is quite special. She was chosen to accompany Alice to the hospital when she had her tonsils removed this past January. She even got the official hospital bracelet showing that she belonged to Alice.

Alice had to get in a shot of her new shoes too. For back to school - she tells me she'll be the fastest preschooler in her class with these. I don't doubt it.

Winter the Swan. Alice purchased her with her very own $ during our recent trip to MT to see my folks. She got her in Couer d'Alene, ID.
Ginger the Cat. Actually, Ginger the Cat II. We had another Ginger, who had her tail fall off. And her middle kind of fell apart. She was played with a lot. I was sick of her and sort of managed to get rid of her. One day Alice noticed she was gone. Hmmmm.... So, Alice used her own $ this spring to purchase a new one. We ordered it from amazon and Alice loved waiting each day to see if Ginger would show up on our doorstep. I promise I won't "get rid of" this one. Promise. Even if her tail falls off.

And the skunks. The big one, Petunia, was also purchased with Alice's own $ during our recent camping trip to Mt. Baker. For a girl who doesn't love stuffed animals, she's sure willing to spend her own $ on them. Must be burning a hole in her pocket!

We have a story about skunks and camping. Last summer when camping, Dan heard a funny noise in the campsite in the middle of the night. Dan and Henry got up to investigate and discovered a skunk sniffing around. After getting back in the tent, we heard the swish, swish as his tail scraped the side of the tent. Thank goodness he didn't spray. Ugh. So, when Alice saw a skunk, and we were on a camping trip, she had to have her. Then the little one, Flower, was purchased during our recent camping trip to the Peninsula. After all, every animal needs a baby.

Bonnie and Ho Ho. Bonnie was the bear who I thought would be like Ted was to Henry. I tried to force it on her as a baby. She was indifferent to Bonnie. Even had a song for her ("My Bonnie lies over the ocean...") that I sang to Alice every night before bed as I was trying in vain to stuff Bonnie in to Alice's arms. Oh well... Ho Ho is another Santa Christmas morning gift. When Alice was 1 1/2, she received this dog. She wanted to call him Santa Dog but couldn't say Santa - she always called Santa "Ho Ho." So, it became Ho Ho Dog. Then it just became Ho Ho. Of all her animals, Ho Ho is probably the most smooshed and loved.

Pepsi the Horse. Last Fall Dan took the kids to MT to see his family. On the way back, he got suckered in to buying all sorts of stuff for the kids, including Pepsi. When I was a kid, I was the one who had my own pony - a real pony. His name was Pepsi. So, I named this one. Alice had no objections.

Lamby is from Build a Bear. Alice went to her friend Owen's bday party there 2 yrs ago and made Lamby herself. She's very cute. Millie the Monkey was the 1st stuffed animal I ever bought for Alice. You wouldn't believe what I went through to get her! Millie is from Pottery Barn Kids - I saw her there and when I went back to get her a week later, they were sold out. But I had to have her! I had the store call every darn Pottery Barn Kids in the nation to track one down. Found one in some town in Minnesota. They shipped her to me just before Alice was born. I was so darn proud of myself. I gave Millie to Alice the day we came home from the hospital. I love Millie - she's very cuddly. Alice pushes her to the bottom of her bed and ignores her. Ahhh...

Alice also has Flopsy the Bunny but she informed me tonight that Flopsy is a "wild bunny" and should not be photographed. What was I thinking?

Okay, I think that's it on the stuffed animals. Maybe someday we'll have to get a real dog (Alice will be thrilled - truly - maybe that's what she's waiting for! Then she'll have someone to love and smoosh!!) and that dog can have all of Henry and Alice's old stuffed animals to play with and rip apart - just like my family's dogs got to inherit most all of mine!