Stuffed Animal Evolution

Meet Monkey and Cow (also known as Moo Cow), Harrison's Must Haves of stuffed animals in the last two years:

Beloved as these two are, there has been quite the evolution of animals in my Little Man's life and it would appear that his preferences are still developing. You see, Monkey and Moo Cow have some new associates.

It started with the addition of Chameleon:

Chameleon has been in our house pretty much since Day One of HD, and up until about a month ago, was wholly ignored. So why the sudden mustness of the haveness, I don't know, but OK, I thought - three animal friends are doable.

Then came Little Bear:

See where he gets his name? Little Bear came home with Harrison from his last visit to Grandma's house. Why? I really don't know, but apparently he is now just as crucial as the others. This is tricky because Little Bear is, well, little and has a way of disappearing through the slats of the toddler bed and getting lost in the blankets. Therefore, when Harrison demands Little Bear (along with the other three) before he can possibly consider sleep, it is sometimes a struggle to find said small stuffed animal and cram him into HD's full-to-bursting arms.

But here we are - almost three years of age and going strong with four sleep friends. I have to say, I kind of love that he has room in his arms and heart for so many lovies! All of this got me wondering, though, about the progression of Harrison's stuffed animal preferences....

Because I was a crib nazi when he was a baby, I did not allow any animals in his bed until he turned a year old. But that didn't mean that he didn't have some favorites before then. The first was, of course, a monkey. From a very early age Harrison was my little monkey and we loved everything monkey related (especially pants with monkey faces on the feet made by Carter's. Loved! this eventually progressed to Robeez shoes with monkey faces, too. Loved!). The first stuffed monkey, though, is not the same as the one pictured above. He was a replacement bought in case something ever happened to this guy:

That's Harrison at approximately four months with Monkey #1. They were buds for the next eight to ten months and then somehow, the transition from to New Monkey happened even though Monkey #1 is still alive and well.

What I can't seem to remember, though, is when Cow came into the picture. I remember buying him with my mom at Walmart, possibly over Harrison's first Easter weekend, because he is a puppet and we thought that Harrison (at nine months?) needed some puppets. OK. Sure!

So I went looking through pictures and here is the first evidence of HD's love for Cow, circa 14 months of age:

Note the lack of first haircut on Little Man and how vibrantly white Cow is - whoa! I've given Cow a few washes in his time, but looking at this picture makes me think, once again, that it is rather unfortunate that my son picked a white stuffed animal to be his No. 1. But that is what Cow has been for every night and nap, and while traveling everywhere from Milford and Mission Hill to Chicago, and not to mention, on many a driving nap (Monkey and his bear neck pillow have gone on those, too).

Do you see how in the first pictures Cow's head doesn't really stay up so well? That's because his little neck has been squeezed thin by being tucked in to Harrison's little elbow time after time like this:

I have no idea where the animal evolution will go from here. I have a feeling that it will be Cow and Monkey who have the longest staying power, but perhaps Chameleon and Little Bear (or some other random stuffies) will surprise me by hanging in there, that is, if we don't lose LB first! All I know is that I love my HD as much as he loves his Moo Cow and Monkey, although I'm glad I have learned proper carrying techniques of my beloved so as to not squish his little neck!