Snuggly pals

Good Buddies

Good friends came for a visit for a couple days this week.  The 5 year olds and 3 year olds were both born within 4-6 weeks of each other, so as you can imagine, it is a wild romp when they are together. 

They ran around outside, planned traps for Squeeze, made zip lines, wrestled, had tea parties, played with Legos, fought, and made each other laugh. 

They had a such a blast -- it was a great visit.  Diego cried and said, "but I will miss my friends!" when he realized they were leaving that afternoon.  Awwww.

Incidentally, this picture also shows my boys' new favorite snugglies.  (Jack and Claire had snugglies for the pictures too, but they must have been stuffed down in a crack.) 

We've never really had anything even resembling a favorite stuffed animal or blanket in this household.  A pacifier, my neck (Diego) and my armpits (Truen) are the closest comparisons. 

[My armpits, yes.  !!!  Since weaning last spring, Truen adores touching one armpit or the other, or both.  Why?  He likes the hair.  "It's soft," he says.  No joke.  Good thing I don't wear conventional deodorant.  I don't know what I'm going to do when the truly cold months come and my pits will be virtually inaccessible.  That, and nursing a baby all day long.  Oy.  Still, it is very sweet.]

But, back to the snugglies. 

Last spring I pulled a cheapy pink stuffed bunny-rabbit out of the dumpster to give to my friend's brand-new thrift store.  Needless to say, it never made it there -- Diego claimed it for his own, declared it a girl, and named it "Bunny-rabbit Smudge".  It stayed in the van for the longest time and he would play with it whenever we went anywhere, but has since made it into the house.  He loves it, though mostly just for play-time.

Truen, however, has become extremely attached to a little dragon he named "Honey".  Also a girl, she's a little beanie baby with iridescent red wings that I picked up at a thrift store at some point in time because it was so irresistibly cute.  He sleeps with her, totes her around the house, and likes to take her with him when we go places.  (He puts her in his little "pack-pack" with her head sticking out so she can see.)

Who knew? 

I'm enjoying their attachments, actually -- it's fun to pretend along with them.  Honey loves snacks of raisins and walnuts and I find her in the most thoughtful and comfortable spots.  And because they both have a favorite, Bunny-rabbit Smudge and Honey often play with each other, too. 

It is all very sweet.