"Baby"

Wandering through Toys R Us one day shortly after arriving home I came across this soft little doll. It was the only one they had and I handed it to Paige to hold and see what she'd do. My intention was to give it to the clerk at the checkout and go on our merry way. That wasn't to be. By the time I tried to take it away she had chewed on the knots on the hat and had a death grip on the doll itself. The shreik she let out as I tried to pry her little fingers off convinced me it wasn't worth the battle. Baby went home with us. Several months later I realized we probably aught to have more than one, only to discover that they were no longer being made. So instead of paying the $10 we had paid for the first one, we paid $15 + shipping (each) for two more! For a while that was fine and all were equal in Paige's eyes. Then one day, I handed her one and she promptly threw it and yelled, "not that one!" That was to be the beginning of the end for the backup babies. Now, there is only one that will do and no amount of persuading will change her mind about it. The odd thing is that no one else can tell the difference (other than color now) between the three! I've mixed them up, tried to deliberately give her the wrong one all to no avail - she knows the difference! The only way we could tell for a long time was that the one she chose was the one that the tag shredded on so I wrote our phone number on the back of the neck instead. Now, she is so loved, floppy and faded there is no mistake. Baby goes nearly everywhere with us. She has developed an immunity to Spray and Wash, most of her stuffing has accumulated in her head and legs and one of these days she'll probably bust a seam. Yet, those little knots on her hat are golden when it comes to needing comfort or falling asleep. What would we do without Baby? Let's hope we never find out!