Snuggles

Olivia is a snuggly girl. Her preferred snuggled buddy? Me.

But she's been known to fall alseep snuggling such things as a cup, a measuring spoon and once, she cuddled with a flashlight.

She's never really had much use for stuffed animals. When she was younger, she was very oral so everything into her mouth. Stuffed animals were, in her opinion, useless with all that yucky fur that just made her mouth feel gross.

Alyssa? Adores stuffed animals. She's always loved them. She has at least three on any given night, all nestled around her head.

In the past year or so, O's tried to warm up to stuffed animals but when Mom's around? Why bother snuggling with something inanimate?

The last three nights, though, something seems to have clicked.

She found one of Alyssa's small stuff puppies. This puppy is wearing a headband with rabbit ears, so he appeals to O's sense of whimsy.

She's insisted the last few nights that she has to have Puppy before we go to bed. The first night, she laid there and just gazed at Puppy. She played with his head band and ears. She used his paw to scratch at her own hand. She nuzzled him under her chin.

She was your typical four year old child, snuggled her stuffed animal as she fell asleep.

I love it. I love that she took Puppy to Gram's house yesterday. She took him and a blanket. Maybe this is the first step toward giving up the thumb. Maybe she's finding outside sources of comfort.

Then again, maybe she's watched Alyssa and Jaxon enough to think she's supposed to enjoy blankies and stuffed animals.

Whatever the case, it's adorable to watch. And it lets me keep my measuring spoons in the drawer where they belong.