My Sleepy Son and Skinny Bear

Thursday evening, when Jack asked for Skinny Bear and we couldn't find him anywhere in the house, we assumed we'd forgotten him at school for the night.  After swimming class, Jack and Hannah Bear both fell asleep in the car on the way home.  When we got home, we got the kiddos quickly ready for bed, and they were both asleep at around 8:30 - a record here in our house!

When I went in Jack's room to tuck him in, he looked up at me with the saddest, little face and told me he wanted Skinny Bear.  When I tried to explain that we left him at school and we'd get him in the morning, he asked if I could go to school and get him.  If school had been open then, I would've gone in a heartbeat.  The sad face was breaking my heart, and he was so sleepy...  We gave him Back-up Skinny, listened to him explain how Back-up Skinny's tail would not do, and then kissed him goodnight.

Before I went to bed, when I was arranging my pillows, I found Skinny Bear hiding under our covers.  I took him immediately to Jack's room like I'd just won Mother of the Year, and quickly snuggled him under Jack's arm.

In the morning when I went in to wake Jack up, Skinny Bear was wrapped around my little boy.  And Back-up Skinny?  He'd been cast-off to the floor.  Even in Jack's unconscious state, he could tell the difference between the real Skinny Bear and Back-Up Skinny Bear.

When Jack sat up and gave me hugs, he told me that his arm was hurting.  I assumed it had fallen asleep, so I tried to give him a little arm massage.  That's when he remembered that his other arm was hurting too:)

When we got downstairs, Skinny Bear in tow, Jack told me, "I think Skinny Bear wants a waffle."

I had no idea that Skinny Bear liked waffles as much as my Baby Jack!  Such a smart little boy...keeps us on our toes:)

Silent Sunday

Uh

Oh

Not So Wordless Wednesday...Alternately Titled: Reunited

{Please Note: I do not always get to blog every day, although most days I want to.  I just may not get the opportunity.  So occasionally I back-blog.  I can tell my story and set the date and time for a date that has already passed.  It works for me and my OCD/anal-retentive ways.  So just be sure to scroll down so you don't miss anything if you're one of my dear readers who likes to keep up with what we've been doing.}

Turns out that my little man did, in fact, miss his lovey.  Very much.  After sleeping without him for two nights, Jack asked us where Skinny Bear was.  And he actually asked with a little bit of a smirk/grin which leads me to believe that he knew we'd done something to Skinny Bear.  When we told him we didn't know, he seemed okay with that, and agreed to sleep with his back-up Skinnies.

But then Grandma told us that Jack had told her how much he missed Skinny Bear, with his head hanging low and sad.  And yesterday in the car, as I brought Jack home from school, he reiterated how much he missed Skinny Bear.  In secret, I choked back sobs.

So last night, at bedtime, we reunited Jack with Skinny Bear.  And what a happy boy he was!  He even told us the story about telling Grandma how much he'd missed him.  And reenacted the head hanging low and sad he'd shown her as well.  He's nothing if not dramatic:)

See how happy Jack is to have Skinny Bear back?

{I'm so glad that era isn't over just yet.}

The End of an Era...and Something New

Well, today was the second day in a row that Jack was home sick from school.  I mentioned how he's been a little congested.  Wednesday night his stuffy nose got worse, and Thursday morning he woke up absolutely miserable, requesting to go to the doctor's office.  While I knew they wouldn't prescribe anything and it was probably just a cold or mild allergies, off we went.  I was right - no prescriptions, but they did give me some suggestions as to what he could take.  They said his ears, lungs, and throat looked good, but sure enough, last night he developed the horrible, hacking cough he seems rather prone to.

We've been to an allergist because of his tendency to wheeze.  He uses an inhaler twice a day.  Because of his age, they can't be sure if it's asthma or true allergies.  The allergist determined that while Jack is allergic to horses (I know, seriously?), he only mildly reacted to indoor and outdoor allergens.  In other words, he may have dog, dust, and seasonal allergies.

It seems that as soon as there is an outdoor temperature change, Jack gets sick.  But we also wonder if his dear lovey, Skinny Bear, may be causing Jack's illnesses as well.  I wash him frequently, but he's VERY loved and often a tad bit on the stinky side, I'm not gonna lie.  While the doctor's don't seem that concerned about Skinny Bear, Brad and I aren't convinced.

So today, I did something that felt so horrible.

While Jack wasn't looking, I took him and put him away.  I've washed him in the washing machine, and he's currently residing in our freezer.  I'm planning on running him through a sanitizing cycle after that.  Maybe with some bleach.

And while my heart is breaking that Jack is sick and doesn't have his lovey to cling to, our boy hasn't even noticed.  Not even at naptime.  Or even at bedtime.  How is it possible that I'm more upset than he is?

I do seem to recall that while Jack is particular about things and likes everything in its place (I wonder where he gets that from...), he did give up the bottle all on his own before his first birthday.  And he also gave up Milo Monkey (his pacifier) all on his own one night before bedtime somewhere around 18 months.  I cried when both of those things happened too...

They mean my little man is growing up.  Maybe this is the end of our Skinny Bear era.  Oh, how I'll miss you, Skinny Bear.

*****

Oh yeah - and the something new?  It is HARD to take care of a newborn and a sick toddler all day.  Thank goodness only one of them is sick this time because if they were both sick...I may have had to call in the troops.  My goodness...this mama is TIRED.

Skinny Bear Stories

I meant to write about this sooner, but it slipped my mind until something reminded me about it today:

At the beginning of Thanksgiving dinner, Grandma shared all of the things that she was thankful for.  It was a long, beautiful, weepy speech, and when she was done, Uncle Danny shared as well.  Then they asked Jack what he was thankful for.  "What do you love so much?"

After thinking for a moment or two, Jack clearly said, "Skinny Bear."

At least we know where we stand.  You know...as his mom and dad:)

*****
Today Jack was inspecting one of the topiary trees that we had at our wedding.  I told him we used the tree at Mommy and Daddy's wedding, and he said, "Jack's wedding."

It got me all sentimental and thinking, and so I said, "Sure, Buddy, you can use it at your wedding, too.  Who are you going to marry?  Who do you love so much?" sure that he was going to say me!

Ha, not so much.

"Skinny Bear," he said.

*****
This evening Jack and Daddy were playing and wrestling around on the couch.  Daddy tossed Skinny Bear across the room for Jack to go get, but Jack originally didn't think it was so great.  He went over, picked Skinny Bear up, and yelled to me, "Daddy just threw Skinny Bear!" like it was going to get Daddy in trouble.  And so the playing of one parent against the other begins, at a mere 30 months:)