Introducing...Baby!

This is Baby, or Baby Elephant...AKA "Wally's best friend."
I thought it was time to blog about this sixth member of the family. Baby came into our lives about the time Will was born, a gift from my sister Shelley. He traveled long and far in Grandma's suitcase, and was an immediate hit with Wally.

He started out calling Baby, "Toot," or cute, and he has always had a soft spot for the gangly elephant. Baby did not have as much importance until Georgia was born, and as I babied her, Wally babied, Baby. Now, Baby is literally a person in Wally's mind. I have found him washing Baby's hands, feeding Baby, and putting gloves on Baby to go outside. Baby gets tucked into a special bed on Wally's floor every night, that has a special blanket that he picked out himself at the fabric store. (A $2 piece of bright yellow remnant fabric with black U of Iowa lettering on it.) Wally makes sure that all of Baby's limbs are tucked under the blanket, many times says a prayer with Baby, and kisses him on the head. In the morning, Baby comes down to breakfast with Wally, and then it is off to school. The rule is that Baby is educated from the safe confines of Wally's backpack, and I have yet to hear that Baby is an issue in the classroom from his teachers, so I am guessing the rule is being followed. Baby goes to church, eats dinner with the family, when we play toss the ball sitting in a circle, the ball must be specifically passed to Baby for a turn, and Baby rides in the front seat of a shopping cart pushed by Wally. Wally makes sure Baby is securely in a seat belt in the car and asks Baby for an opinion on most subjects. Baby answers with a soft "eek," or "augh."

I am not too clear on Baby's gender. That does seem to switch from day to day. I asked Wally yesterday if baby was a girl and he said yes. But he does refer to Baby as "he." That is no indicator by the way, because he has trouble with his "he, she, his, her's" as it is. Georgia is a "he" herself quite often. But we love Baby anyway, ambiguous or not.

One day, I was trying to get Wally to take a nap and told him if he didn't stay in bed, Baby,(who was already in bed,)was going to have to hang out with me for a while. I guess this was seen as a "prisoner of war situation" for Wally, who was devastated I would suggest such a thing, and told me, "But I take care of him." And my heart melted as a realized, that yes, Wally really does take CARE of him.

Baby has seen better days. He has been re stuffed, restitched, and bleached to within an inch of his, or her life. Baby had an unfortunate incident that resulted in a snagged eye. This worried Wally to no end, so he did surgery on Baby with a pair of scissors, and the botched job left baby with only one eye. After Wally mentioning this handicap to me for several weeks, I did sew some blue thread on the spot, but as we all know, sometimes with transplants, you just aren't going to be totally symmetrical. Baby takes a ride in the washing machine as often as Wally is willing to part for an hour or so. And trust me, this is always a much needed bath.

I am hoping that one day Baby is not such a safety net for Wally. But for now he finds an inexplainable comfort in this little elephant. I am amazed at the nurturing side of Wally that is brought out by baby. Wally loves real babies so much, I guess he just couldn't wait for one of his own. He tells me that he is Baby's dad, and when talking to Baby about me, he refers to me as "his mom." So that tells me I am not Baby's mom. Wally has taken up the effort to provide Will with a friend as cherished as Baby. So I find him trying to force Will to love a stuffed monkey or pony. But a true "Baby" is hard to come by. I am just glad that Wally has found someone so incredibly lovable! We should all have such a friend.