Abbey has two things she won't sleep without: her dummy (we've tried getting rid of it, but the idea upsets her so much we think she needs to keep it a while longer - with the strict rule we've always had, which is that it's for bedtime only) and her teddy bear.
She has a lot of soft toys. So many that we have some on display in her room, and the rest taking up most of the top of her double wardrobes and stored under the house. Yes, I know. All of them were gifts, and so we've had to put a ban on soft toy presents.
One, given to her by her grandparents (Steve's parents, who incidentally are responsible for 95% of her soft toy collection), was quickly named Frosty because of his hat, scarf and mittens. And from the moment she first cuddled him, Abbey loved Frosty ("Otty").
There are a few signs, though, that teddy bear love might have gone a little far. And that as parents, we might be taking his place in our family a little too seriously. Things like...
- Panicking when he is lost near bedtime, resulting in a full-scale search throughout the house and its perimeter.
- Holding conversations with our daughter via Frosty.
- Using him to communicate things we want Abbey to do (actually, this one works quite well!).
- Thinking a request for him to sit on my lap and 'drive the car' is reasonable, and playing along as he talks and sings with Abbey whilst keeping his eyes on the road and his hands upon the wheel. (What have I become?)
- When Abbey hit him recently, I disciplined her for it. (I then had to hide to laugh at myself.)
- Having to quickly wash and dry him in a day, without Abbey seeing, after taking him camping and bringing him home a new brown colour.
- Taking him everywhere - to the shops, out walking, to the park.
I have a feeling that Abbey will always love this special little bear, and cherish the memories of him being part of her childhood.
Which makes all the craziness worthwhile.
13 comments:
We had a Tigey who was very much part of our family for many years - he still is, but on the down-low (he'll be going to Sovereign Hill 5th grade camp in November, lucky thing - I've never been!).
I hear you! Harrison had two particular soft toys that I feared we'd have to find a seat for at his wedding... And when I lost one, it was such a distressing day (blogged about it when I was meant to be on a bit of a NappyDaze hiatus... http://www.nappydaze.com/2010/10/farewell-ode-to-woof-woof.html)
Thankfully he still has the one treasured constant little companion (amidst the endless sea of soft toys we have too - love the ban idea!) and I watch it like a hawk to make sure it NEVER gets lost!
Let's just say that for someone who has only actually given birth to one child, I am currently raising between 3 and 5 children. We have twin bears (that is a story in itself) who have adventures, are disciplined, often partake of meals, sing, dance, tell stories and are completely accepted as part of our family. Then there are the others...
I take pride in my child's incredible imagination. Part of this is accepting the bears (Cat, Cheetah) as part of the family. It's a gift.
Enjoy.
I think all those things are perfectly ok.
You really wouldn't want to hurt Frosty's feelings, after all the wonderful things he does and puts up with, including the washing machine.
Ahhh, I still have my childhood bear, Moya, who has an over-sized head because I crawled with her in my mouth (lioness style) so much that all the stuffing from her neck went to her head.
So many memories, like teaching my teddies maths, seating them all as plane passengers when my sister was playing flight simulator (I was the air stewardess of course), operating on them when their limbs were "loved" off. I even married Moya off to my sister's favourite teddy, (imaginatively named) My Bear.
My dad has memories too. Memories of the 9 hours he drove back to the train station when I accidentally left Moya on the train while we were visiting New Zealand. *That* might have been taking her place in our family a little too seriously. I have no recollection of this traumatic event, of course.
So you might want to consider finding a spare Frosty. I have a spare "Hattie" which I luckily found on eBay when my son decided his favourite teddy was one gifted to him from someone in England(!) It also makes secret washing a bit easier, I just have to remember to rotate them to keep them identically grey (they were originally white).
Anyway, teddies were a huge part of my childhood and I'm sure Abbey will appreciate your acceptance of Frosty just like I do.
Hee hee.
Frosty can you please tell Megan that this is just gorgeous - and they get too 'cool for school' far too soon, so enjoy?
:-)
I know some might think you crazy but to me you are perfectly normal. At least yours is a being of sorts our 2yo has blankie (which is a 'taggie'). One day dada left blankie at daycare and it was an awful night, it was like someone had died, he was genuinely grieving and very worried about him (see it's become a person!!! arrggghhh). I love blankie especially because it seems to have special sleep-provoking powers upon sniffing, it's so cute to watch it put him in a trance.
Thanks for sharing 'otty' you have inspired me to write about blankie too (which I will credit you with of course)
Nicole
http://www.myidealife.com.au
I love this! Our two year old Noah left "Ducky" behind in Adelaide in April and just last weekend he was finally returned. And we haven't let go of him since.
It's too cute watching them interact with their teddies!
xx
Hello there! Have just been introduced to this blog via google. Loved reading about Frosty and his companion. You might like to know about the ColdhamCuddlies via my blog www.ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com. and visit my shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com. There are bears to meet, as well as foxes, coyotes and rabbits of all sizes. Will be following you as well. Best wishes. Isobel
I think it's totally acceptable! I'm 19 and I still have my teddy bear (Theodore Roosevelt - Teddy for short) that was given to me by an aunt the day I was born.
When I was younger, my parents actually bought a second bear completely identical to Teddy so that they could wash him. I've been told, however, that I could always tell the difference and the spare bear ended up being given to my younger brother.
<3 Kiersten
http://kierstenevan.blogspot.com/
She's so adorable.(:
http://czarinacuison.blogspot.com/
My childhood teddy is still around. i'm 22 this year. his name is fred ted and one day i want to write a book about all the adventures he had with me when i was little. childhood teddies are best friends for life and i have many fond memories of fred always being there for me. nowadays he still comes with me on holidays and when i stay at my boyfriends house, he sleeps on the bed with me and is there for a good cry when i need him. of course when i was about 14 i became to 'cool' for teddies to fred spent a few years sleeping on my shelf. but trust me, he's not going anywhere. make sure frosty sticks around through the teen years of your lovely daughter, she might just want him again after :)
kiss ur hand 10 times
say ur crushes name 15 time
post this to 2 other blogs
look at ur hand~^^
Post a Comment