Hattie

Remember Hattie? 

She's a delightful little frog wearing a delightful little pink gingham dress who came into our lives in October, from my Aunt Debbie, as a gift for Anneliese's first birthday.

I was taken with her from the start (cute, quiet, lightweight non-licensed character? win) and I'm sure that my own Hattie-snuggling encouragement has played some part in this, but....

oh man.

Anneliese is hella attached to this thing now.

Nathan has spurted in and out of toys he's attached to, some longer than others, but almost always replaceable by something new or cool or just distracting.  He has never loved a toy the way Anneliese loves Hattie.

(I think the attachment is breeding more attachment.  Hattie is almost always a surefire way to soothe tears, so we use her.  And then she's out of the crib.  And involved in all the playtime.  And then... even more attached.  Even more likely to soothe tears next time.  And so the cycle continues.)

(I'm sure this is a totally normal thing for toddlers, but because we didn't really go through it with Nathan, it feels like brand-new parenting territory for us. How attached do we let her get?  Under what circumstances does Hattie leave the crib?  The house?  (Right now, it's only if Anneliese needs to sleep somewhere else, like an overnight trip or naptime at the new house.)  Do we need to buy a backup Hattie?  How does this whole lovey thing work?) 

Anneliese has finally picked up on the fact that if she throws her toys out of her crib, we're not going back in there to pick them up for her.  Dropsies is a game that might work on her big brother, but it definitely doesn't work on mommy and daddy. So she might throw her other toys on the floor at night, but she's learned not to let go of Hattie.  She snuggles with her all night and frequently uses her as a pillow when she needs a playtime respite during the day.

Hattie comes with us most days to the new house to snuggle during naptime.  And then gets dragged around on the floors afterwards.  And did we mention the new house is kind of hugely dirty and grody?  So Hattie gets kind of dirty and grody.

...So Hattie had to have a bath.  In the washing machine. While both Nathan and Anneliese hovered around on the laundry room floor (Nathan's favorite t-shirt was in the same oxy-soaking load, recovering from a paint smudge).  It was an amusing juxtaposition of sweet and sad.  (Everyone survived the night with minimal tears, in case you're wondering.)

Yesterday Anneliese spent at least half an hour (that's eternity in toddler time) trying to buckle Hattie into the spare car seat at the new house.  I like that she's maternal and, well... girly in a way.  It's like her first doll.  :) 

So for anyone who likes Anneliese, I hope you like slobber-covered paint-stained well-loved girl frogs too.  Because Hattie is here to stay.