So, you may have seen in prior postings that Maggie has a lamb that is her lovey. Lamb was given to her by her Great Aunt Cheri. Lamb has to go everywhere with Maggie, and is an absolute requirement for bedtime and naptime, and for traumatic events (bumps, bruises, falls, trips to the doctor). There would be little happiness and no sleep in the Spaid household if Lamb got lost. Needless to say, Lamb is VERY loved (remember the Veleteen rabbit?). Lamb is getting so loved that at some point it is going to fall to pieces after a trip in the washing machine.
I have been looking for several months now to find a second lamb to replace the first in case of an emergency. I couldn't find any in stores, I searched the manufacturer's website, eBay, every online toy site I could find, no Lamb. The manufacturer makes a similar one with the same name, but changed the fabric from fleece to a curly "hair". That is not the same, and would never pass with Maggie.
This weekend when we went to Bellingham to see my grandparents I checked my Grandma's old Hallmark store (she sold it 2 years ago) just on a whim, hoping to find the elusive Lamb, since I knew Aunt Cheri had gotten it there. Eureka!!! They had a new Lamb. Boy, does it look different from the original. It iss soft, fluffy, filled out, had pretty ribbons around it's neck and doesn't have chipped eyes.
The indroduction: a very sensitive ordeal. a lot of kids will reject the "imposter" for the original lovey. At my Grandpa and Grandmas I pulled New Lamb out of the bag and handed it to Maggie. She looked back and forth from Lamb to New Lamb several times before dropping Lamb for New Lamb. She touched it for a couple of seconds, poking it in the eye, and fingering the turn-key on the music box inside (Lamb had his music box surgically removed last fall so it could be washed) before - hold your gasps - she cuddled it and sucked her thumb! New Lamb received the Maggie seal of approval!!! Yay!!! We have a winner! Can I say that I am really thankful that Maggie doesn't care which lamb it is? that will help loads when we have to retire Lamb for New Lamb.
The next morning, Maggie went over to the suitcase I had put New Lamb in and kept signing "please" until I got new Lamb out. She wanted BOTH at the same time. She would take turns with each lamb, holding and cuddling them. I have since put New Lamb away and Maggie hasn't asked again. Someday she'll get to see him again, when we have to lay Lamb to rest.
1 comment:
We rejoice with you that "new lamb" was accepted!!!! We know all about the "I can't sleep without it" game. Addie has a little blanket for a lovie that my mom made her. My mom, who knew me as a child, knew we'd need a back-up and made two "lovie blankets" exactly alike and boy are we glad!!!!
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