There were 7 in bed....

For most of his life, Zeke has never really been attached to any "lovey" or stuffed animal. For about a year, we have had some "friends" in his bed with him, but that was more out of having a particular order and routine to bed, than it was out of a need that Zeke expressed. Regular friends included Baby and Otter.

Sometime this summer, though, Zeke started getting attached to stuffed animals. I attribute to his imaginative world growing and maybe also to watching/reading the children's story Corduroy about a teddy bear. After we saw that, I opened up the drawer where all the stuffed animals live and took out some teddy bears so that Zeke could see that he had some teddy bears to play with.

Well, now the summer is gone and past, but the interest in his friends has continued and grown and most of them have to sleep with Zeke at night. As shown here, we have: Cow (from our July trip to North Carolina), Teddy (sometimes "Zeke Teddy"), Mama Teddy, Baby, Knuffle Panda (after the book character "Knuffle Bunny") and Otter. It is very crowded in that little toddler bed. He does call them his "friends."

Zeke is most attached to Teddy who goes a lot of places with us. Just this week he has been to the art museum, shopping and to school drop-off. He even got to go with us on our family vacation to Turks and Caicos last month. When he first started playing with this teddy bear he called "Zeke" and the blue teddy bear "Other Zeke". This reminded some of my friends of the character from the Newhart show where the one brother is Darryl and his other brother is Darryl. Because I wasted my college education as an English major, though, I saw it as a natural latent interest and acknowledgement of "The Other" of literary theory and philosophy. That being said, the blue bear quickly "Mama Bear" (which is more Freudian, than Lacanian....am I right?) Zeke Bear and Mama Bear frequently mirror daily interactions between Zeke and me. By turns this is touching, funny and/or horrifying. Mama Bear is frequently bossy, Zeke Bear is frequently mischievous and wants cookies. Fortunately, they love each other very much and hug and kiss often, so I have hopes that it will all work out. It is also touching that Mama Bear often has to be with me. Zeke will give her to me at bedtime sometimes so that I have a friend to sleep with. I also have to have her around if we are sitting on the couch or if I am making dinner or any number of other activities that would be more convenient without holding a blue stuffed bear. Poor daddy -- he doesn't get any teddy bears.