A New Favorite?

I don't have any problem with Lily being attached to a stuffed animal, doll, blanket, etc... It was the pacifier part of Mr. Froggy that had to go. But I was afraid that detaching the paci from the Froggy would make Lily even more upset than just taking him away altogether. What's Mr. Froggy without a paci? Who knows, taking the paci but leaving the Froggy might have been fine. But there's no turning back now. I'm too stubborn.

But I think Lily may have settled on a new favorite comfort-toy... Topper is doing his best to fill Mr. Froggy's shoes. I think I may have mentioned before that Topper is the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital mascot, so we've known him for a long time. I think Lily actually has five stuffed Toppers, so I've always hoped that if she were to become attached to a stuffed animal, it would be Topper. He would be easy to replace if something happened to him.

Yesterday and today, Lily has been bringing Topper with her when she gets out of bed. She must think I'm going to steal him out of her bed, like what happened to Mr. Froggy. She carries Topper around the house and gives him kisses. This morning he sat on the couch and watched Baby Einstein with her.

Today at naptime...

Mommy: Lily, are you ready to take a nap?
Lily: Nap.
Mommy: You're ready? Ok, where's Topper?
Lily: (raises her hands and shrugs her shoulders, looking around as if to say, "I don't know!")
Mommy: Go get Topper, so you can take a nap.
Lily: (runs out of her room, down the hall to the playroom, yelling) Oh oh oh!
Lily: (runs back to her room, Topper in tow, walks right over to her crib)
Mommy: Oh, you found Topper! (gives Lily and Topper a big hug and puts them in bed)
Mommy: You take a nap, and I'll see you when you wake up.
Lily: (with emphasis, smiling) Ah wuvvy! (translation: "I love you!")
Mommy: I love you, too! (Leaves room and closes door. Does not hear ANY crying.)
Awwwww.... She melts my heart when she says Ah wuvvy in response to my I love you. But for her to say it first... Awww... This is only the second time she's done that, and let me tell you, it's awesome. AND she went right to sleep without crying, and she's been asleep more than an hour already! What a great day.

Here are some adorable pictures of Lily and Topper, in case you need a cuteness fix today. My favorites are 1) the one with Dusty's grin, and 2) the one where she's giving Topper a kiss. Note: If the slideshow isn't playing, you can click the X in the top right corner to make it play.