Horsey

Most children have a lovey or special item they are attached to. Something like a blanket or stuffed animal is pretty typical.  Erik's had a blanket since he was born, an extra piece of materiel left over from a nightgown my mother made me when I was pregnant.  He became attached right after my maternity leave when I went back to work. One day he was inconsolable so Mom wrapped him in my nightgown and ever since then he needed it. Here's a picture of that day.

  Luckily she had lots of materiel left over. so we can cut him off a piece whenever the current one gets nasty and smelly like so many children's blankets do.  The materiel is pink, with a Hawaiian print of big white flowers.  Not very boyish, we don't really take it out in public. As a person who encourages children to be who they want to be, I will allow it, if he asks for it when he's older, but I think he'll probably just want it to be his "at home blankie". 

He also has a "horsey" that I offered him one day after searching for hours and hours at the store for something I could give him that would replace my hair.  I was starting to go bald for him always needing to hold my hair and rub it on his face.  I had debated on a barbie, or a doll because they would have hair that felt like mine - but those items were quickly nixed by Mike. Guess he didn't want to add a barbie doll to the pink blankie.  We found a stuffed horse for $2.00 with a tail and mane made of real feeling hair.  Erik took to it immediately and my scalp felt so much better!!  I noticed that it took about 4 months of Erik sleeping with that horse and rubbing it's mane on his face several times a day for it to look like a crazy drug horse with dreadlocks.

Luckily one day at Target I found a whole stash and I bought them ALL!  I told the lady at the check out I needed them for a birthday party. 

I am now rationing them and when the current Horsey gets to the dreadlocks stage he is swapped out with a new one.  I wonder, is it really gross of me to save the dreadlocks horsey's?  Part of me really wants to save them.

Here's a dreadlocks headed horse with the pile of new ones I found, he's looking a little worse for wear, but very loved. 

If you happen to run across these little horsey's at Target, they run about $3.00, I'll pay you back if you snatch me up a few!  Erik doesn't care about the color, it's the hair he's after.