As with most small children, T has a lovey. A lovey is a favourite pal beyond all others, who is loved well beyond their means.
For some kids, its a blanket, or a doll, but for T, its a dog. We got Bart as a gift from S's mother's best friend from BC when I was about 5 months pregnant with T. He was her first stuffed animal that wasn't inherited from anyone.
Bart came to us as Whiffer, a stuffed dog who resembles a beagle. We didn't think the name Whiffer really suited him so S came up with the name Bart, the Bad Dog. S added the Bad Dog part as a way of making the household cats less hateful of him.
For some kids, its a blanket, or a doll, but for T, its a dog. We got Bart as a gift from S's mother's best friend from BC when I was about 5 months pregnant with T. He was her first stuffed animal that wasn't inherited from anyone.
Bart came to us as Whiffer, a stuffed dog who resembles a beagle. We didn't think the name Whiffer really suited him so S came up with the name Bart, the Bad Dog. S added the Bad Dog part as a way of making the household cats less hateful of him.
At about 10 months of age, T really took a shining to Bart and hasn't looked back. People all laugh at me since all of T's stuffed friends have names but it has come in handy. When I ask for Bart, I don't have to explain who Bart is, all of our friends know who Bart is and well, T can kinda say his name so it makes the identification of what she wants in her toddler speak a little easier.
Bart has been loved so much (read: drooled on, puked on, gnawed on, slept on, hugged, dragged around, yanked lovingly through the crib bars by his head, washed in the washing machine, sewed up and then some) that he is starting to look beyond his years. T spent the better part of the last year of her life teething so Bart's ears were about 2 inches shorter than they started - let's just say, T didn't use a plastic teething ring.
I tried trimming his ears when they started to fray; this eliminated the holes that T incessantly put her fingers through and stitched them up so that they would last a little longer. The final straw came when he started to get holes beside the base of his ears. Bart needed some more in- depth surgery.
S kindly took T downstairs while I tried to slipcover Bart's ears. I left the originals just in case the transformation was just too much for T to handle. She loved to sit and flip his ears as they were practically as thin as cotton by the time I got to put new ones on.
I slip covered them with a pair of nice fleece ones. I broke two sewing needles and bent another but it was worth it. I used a zig zag as apparently its more flexible given all the yanking his ears take but it also made for some tough going for my sewing machine. T keeps telling me that Bart has new ears and while she hasn't gnawed on them quite as lovingly as she did she still loves him just the same.
Ironically, we have a backup Bart, waiting in the wings but I have a feeling that despite being Bart's doppelganger, I don't think she would take to him quite as much as she loves her current Bart.
Note to all new or soon to be parents, get a backup of any loveys if you can or learn to sew.
Bart has been loved so much (read: drooled on, puked on, gnawed on, slept on, hugged, dragged around, yanked lovingly through the crib bars by his head, washed in the washing machine, sewed up and then some) that he is starting to look beyond his years. T spent the better part of the last year of her life teething so Bart's ears were about 2 inches shorter than they started - let's just say, T didn't use a plastic teething ring.
I tried trimming his ears when they started to fray; this eliminated the holes that T incessantly put her fingers through and stitched them up so that they would last a little longer. The final straw came when he started to get holes beside the base of his ears. Bart needed some more in- depth surgery.
S kindly took T downstairs while I tried to slipcover Bart's ears. I left the originals just in case the transformation was just too much for T to handle. She loved to sit and flip his ears as they were practically as thin as cotton by the time I got to put new ones on.
I slip covered them with a pair of nice fleece ones. I broke two sewing needles and bent another but it was worth it. I used a zig zag as apparently its more flexible given all the yanking his ears take but it also made for some tough going for my sewing machine. T keeps telling me that Bart has new ears and while she hasn't gnawed on them quite as lovingly as she did she still loves him just the same.
Ironically, we have a backup Bart, waiting in the wings but I have a feeling that despite being Bart's doppelganger, I don't think she would take to him quite as much as she loves her current Bart.
Note to all new or soon to be parents, get a backup of any loveys if you can or learn to sew.
Note Bart's dog eared ears
What Bart started off looking like...
What Bart looks like now...his new ears are a little longer than the original but look just fine, or at least I think so.
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