A Letter to My Daughter’s First Lovie
Thank you for indulging a mom who has allowed the Toy Story franchise to run wild with her imagination.Ā
Dearest Yodi 1.0,
I will always remember the day you came into our lives. It was over a year ago (November 12, 2011, to be precise). We set out in search of a special friend for AE to snuggle, as she missed sweet Nora. There were many potential candidates, but she choose you. In that choice, best friends were born. Your given name is “Yodels,” but as we left the store, she decided you were to be called “Yodi.”
I wonder if you were afraid of getting lost in the sea of other furry friends that greeted you at our house. How could any of us have known how prominent your role would become? AE was nearly two and a half years old and had not yet shown any preference for a blanket, stuffed animal or other “lovie.” But that first night, she snuggled you close, declaring you “so comfy.” She has not slept a night without you since.
Nights are not the only time you are by her side. You are always close by as she plays. I so appreciate your willingness to assume new identities as her imagination dictates. You always agree to watch whatever she wants on TV and faithfully snuggle in close, even though you’ve already seen that episode of Doc McStuffins 25 times.
You have been a delightful addition to the welcoming committee at our home. Family, friends, contractors…you always help AE greet everyone warmly. Everyone knows you now.
It was for your safety and hygiene that we created the rule that you can leave the house with AE, but you always have to wait in the car for her. Thank you for helping make car rides a little easier.
She was thrilled to take you to “Mickey’s House” twice. And while she couldn’t take you to into the parks, she was always happy to watch the fireworks from our room with you each night.
When we welcomed LM last summer, you played a very important role. Over and over, we’ve assured AE that you are the one friend she never has to share. You are her’s alone. She has so needed that security these last seven months, Yodi. And, the times when she has voluntarily handed you over to her very interested baby brother…be still my mama heart.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I needed an insurance plan in case anything ever happened to you. Thankfully, I was able to secure several of your identical siblings. And, the search for them led to the discovery of Papa Yodi (who lives with Nana, but visits and does FaceTime with us) and baby Yodi. Three generations of Yodi makes everyone smile.
I’m just so grateful for you Yodi, which is why I feel awful. I take full responsibility for what happened. I can’t believe I left you in the driveway when we went out that day. We called our sweet neighbors to rescue you, and that they did. They brought you into their warm, dry home. When mom and dad weren’t looking, one of the members of their family found you just as irresistible as AE does.
Your injuries were contained to the nose. Not too bad. But, since I know you wouldn’t want AE or LM to choke on your loosened nose, we decided it was time to let you live in a special keepsake box.
Don’t worry about your girl, we were able to make the transition to Yodi 2.0 in secret. She sent you to the clinic for a nose job and a wash, and as far as she is concerned, you came back heeled and clean just a half hour later. I know you would want it that way. You wouldn’t want her to be sad. Yodi 2.0 is doing an amazing job, but this mama knows he isn’t you.
When she’s older and able to understand, I will reunite you with our girl. In the meantime, I’ll take good care of your best friend.
With Love and Gratitude,
Her Mama
This was so sweet! My son, too, didn’t show a lot of interest in stuffed animals as a baby/toddler. There was some interest in a pooh bear so we got some extras, but his real love came at his 4th birthday when he met Puppy Peanut. I actually told my aunt that I doubted my son would be interested. Boy was I wrong! Peanut (his given name on the tag) became his constant companion. Dylan wanted to name him Puppy Puppy, but we convinced him something a little less generic might suit him better. (At the time, any thing he named was the item’s name twice.)
Puppy Peanut has been everywhere. He is pretty irreplaceable but now that my son is 11, I’m not real worried about loss. Puppy Peanut spends most of his time on my son’s bed, ready for nightly cuddling…still!
Thank you, Dee! Isn’t it amazing how they make the choice? So sweet to hear of Puppy Peanut! Thank you for sharing! I imagine Yodi will be snuggling AE at night for many years to come!
My daughter adopted a frog lovey from the time she was a little newborn basically. It always helped her get to sleep somehow, and now she absolutely needs it to fall asleep. I have thought about getting another “insurance” Froggy but thought maybe that was silly. Thanks for letting me know it’s not. š
When Sydney was 5 months old, she took to a small (thank goodness!!) blue octopus. We named him Ollie. She loved him dearly. So we got her a second one shortly after. Then we regularly rotated and washed them….so that if one ever went missing, she would never know. She didn’t know until she was 4 or 5 that there were two. Both equally worn and equally loved. Thankfully, we never lost one.
This was such a cute letter, Jen! Both of my boys are blanket cuddlers—Christian (5) also includes sucking his thumb and twirling his hair if he’s really loving on it! Chancellor (18 months) is a blanket and binkie boy—at least until mama starts weaning him from the pacifer. I love to watch my sons’ sensitive sides! LOL But Christian in addition to the blanket has a strong love for stuffed animals of all kinds. He received a stuffed puppy–or is he a bear?!—from his big cousin Dylan after an Idlewild park carnival game. So needless to say, Rooney Pooney was very special and has remained very close to Christian for the past year or more. His quality isn’t the best, and fingers-crossed he’ll last until the desire to squeeze him so hard passes. I may do an operation and insert some extra stuffing if needed! Thanks for sharing. Love the blog and the look of the new virtual studio. I need to take some classes!! š
Thanks so much, Tami! So sweet about the boys. Hope you get lots of pics of them with their loves! And, the cousin-love in your family just makes my heart smile!