My lils were never ones to suck their thumbs, or to be soothed by pacifiers. Sometimes I wished they would use either – or both! They both developed very early attachments to special toys or other objects, and it was there that they found their comfort. For Woo, his first and best love was his blankie. For Goose it was her doll that was given to her at birth by my aunt and uncle. While both of these are the go to in times of distress, others have come to take significance in their lives over time. For Woo, right now, his little wolf that Santa delivered under the tree this year is *almost* on par with blankie for comfort and love.

Imagine our surprise when we noticed in the middle of last week that Wolfie was missing! We searched all the usual spots, all the unlikely spots, and even spots that Woo could not have reached or that Wolfie would not have fit into. He was really MISSING. While the lils and I were at the cottage on the weekend Willy tore the house apart (and then cleaned it up!!!), but no Wolfie. I got home and repeated the exercise, then got our wonderful, awesome daycare provider to do the same to her house, just in case Wolfie had snuck through the security fence. We have a pretty strict rule about taking loveys out of the house for exactly this reason, but there was a slim chance that he had been smuggled out. He wasn’t there either. We were stumped and declared him lost.

This was a particularly bad time for Wolfie to go MIA. We started our immunizations for the big move on the day after Wolfie was first reported missing. Woo was sad to go to the doctor with out him that morning, but decided that his Curious George could accompany he and blankie to the doctor. This surprised us but we went with it. All was fine until our Doc gave “immunizations” to the various loveys that the lils had brought to the appointment. Woo realized that Wolfie missed his needle and was distraught. I promised that we would find Wolfie in time for the next round of needles.

The second round happened yesterday. Willy and I both thought that appointment was on Friday, and hadn’t found or replaced Wolfie by Tuesday night when the calendar error was discovered. I knew I could replace Wolfie, as Woo and I had discovered his twin in a local mall one day. I just didn’t want to do that without talking it through with the lil man. Right before we were going to the appointment I had to explain that we were getting needles early, that Wolfie wasn’t around to get needles, and that I could get “another” Wolfie, but it would be too late for today’s needles. It did not go well. There were many pleas to go now or make the mall open. Much discussion ensued, and in the end his moose got the needle and I went shopping after work.

I presented the replacement at the end of the day. He was too soft, too fluffy, too big, too white (Wolfie needed a bath…), too not Wolfie. It made Woo more distraught, but I explained that Wolfie became how he was because Woo loved him and squeezed him so much. The new guy just needed some love. Woo decided that he was up for it, and they went skipping off together. I knew all was well when I tucked them in at night, and the new Wolfie was cuddled under his arm.

This morning I was changing the sheets on Woo’s bed when I noticed that the mattress was lumpy. I lifted the corner and found Wolfie. Of course. He was even flatter now, but he made a little boy’s day. They spent the day together, with Woo going over each little difference. He loves that he now has two Wolfie’s, and is excited for them to get their needles. I am kicking myself for replacing him when I did. We knew he would turn up eventually, just didn’t expect it would be the very day AFTER we replaced him!!