This morning, James got up and hopped in the shower while I laid in bed wishing I didn’t have to get up for about 5 minutes.

When I finally got up, I got a couple of clean items of Ethan clothing from the heap of clean laundry in our room and headed over to Ethan’s room. I opened the door, and found Ethan standing right inside. I could see he was a little surprised to have the door opened for him by me, but he hardly glanced at me as he sped by, ignoring my cheery, “Good morning! Do you want to pick out some clothes?” and the items in my hands.

I continued on my way, deposited the clothes in his closet, and went to get Jocelyn up. Every morning, she is still asleep, and I (when it’s my turn to get the kids up) gather some clothes, scoop her sleeping form up from her bed, and go plop her on the toilet to go potty. She wakes up halfway with me rummaging around in her closet and dresser, and I hold her for a minute before putting her on the potty, but yes, I know what you’re thinking, it’s kind of an abrupt way to wake up, but hey, I don’t see YOU over here doing it a better way so just shoosh already.

As I was sitting in the bathroom with Jocelyn, I heard Ethan motoring around the upper floor. He crashed around in our bedroom for a bit, and I saw an Ethan-shaped blur rush past the bathroom door into Jocelyn’s room, and then another blur as he raced out again and headed down the stairs. I halfheartedly called out to him, “GO PICK OUT SOME CLOTHES,” but it didn’t do any good.

Jocelyn, fully awake with a newly empited bladder, danced around the bathroom insisting on dressing herself and generally being a cutie patootie. I got her toothbrush all ready for her, along with Ethan’s, and then left her to dress herself and went to search Ethan down. As I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw him scooting at a much slower pace from his room to mine. No words. Grumpy, sulky face. Gone was the happy motoring pace.

I went into my room and found him sitting in a corner on the side of the couch.

“What’s wrong, Ethan?”

Nothing but a sad face.

“Are you trying to find something?”

“Yes. I can’t find my Pookie bear. I looked EVERYWHERE.”

Oh dear. CRISIS MODE! CRISIS MODE! Ethan has had the same little white bear that I had as a little girl since he was an infant and I put it in with him in his crib. As a baby and a toddler, he liked it, but I would say that his baby blanket was more of his “attachment item.” Lately however, he is enamored with his pookie bear. He will take it to school, he will make the bear give people hugs, he even made pookie bear show his bottom to James once, and then put him (pookie bear, not James) in time out for the act. Every now and then, he’ll talk for Pookie bear, and then quickly tell you, “That was my bear!” He will tell me, out of the blue, “I love my pookie bear SO MUCH!” and then try to squeeze it to death. That bear is much much much beloved.

“Why don’t you go brush your teeth, and I will look for pookie bear.”

I was sure I would find him, but as I took my turn motoring around the house I got more and more worried as I thought about the possibility of a lost pookie bear. I tried to remember when Ethan had him last. I knew he didn’t take him to school yesterday, but DID have him that morning. Ethan came into our bed in the morning for a few snuggle minutes before getting up, so I started to think Pookie bear must be hiding in our bed somewhere.

I came back to the room, where Ethan was perked up but still very sad on not having Pookie. James was out of the shower and I explained the dilemma. We started searching the bed and bedroom, and finally, james let out a cry of discovery.

“Look what I found!”
Ethan RACED to his daddy and took his beloved bear in his arms.
“There’s pookie bear! He was HIDING!! I love my pookie bear SO MUCH!”

Crisis averted 🙂 These pictures are old ones, but still cute, and give you an idea of what Mr. Pook E. Bear look like: