The Line Leader

Jackson Bird loves his stuffed animals. He calls them his "friends." He has 15 or so that he plays with - loading them in trucks, pulling them with tractors, and lining them up for concerts or parades. At night, I try to stick to the "only 6 friends in the bed" limit. Otherwise, I worry Jackson would suffocate! (Besides, starting a habit of sleeping with multiple "friends" in the bed could be a bit shady later in life, right?) His favorite friends include Clifford the Big Red Dog, Tigger, Cowboy Mickey, pillow Panda, Cow-Cow, Pickle the Dog, and a few beanie babies passed down from Great Gran & Quincy. There are several other friends, but these favorites seem to receive more snuggle time.

Here's a pic of Bird getting ready for bed, surrounded by his friends. He's kinda hard to pick-out among all the stuffing - Bird's the one with minimal facial fur.

At night, Bird picks one special friend and brings it and his tat-tat to the den. (NOTE: His tat-tat is a special mini-blanket lovey sort of thing that he's slept with since birth. Meme has made 4 different ones so we're never without, even during laundry days.) Every night, Bird, his one selected stuffed friend, and Daddy sit in the recliner, giggle, and watch TV for a few minutes before reading a book in bed and saying prayers. Recently, when it was time to select his one special friend to sit in Daddy's recliner, Bird has said, "Let me pick a line-leader for tonight." The first time I heard him say it, I was a bit confused. A line-leader? But now that it's part of the nightly routine to pick a "line-leader," I just smile while an immense appreciation for preschool swells in my heart. My 3 year old kid is teaching turn-taking skills to his stuffed animals. For real. Oh the wonders of preschool! I will never understand how pre-k teachers teach so much in so little time to such rascally little monsters kids! Thank you, God, for preschool!

Just so you're up to date, last night's line leader was Clifford (which explains why I woke up with a big stuffed red dog in my face this morning). Today's naptime line-leader was Cowboy Mickey. Tonight's line-leader: Snort ,the red beanie baby bull. And, of course, tat-tat. Tat-tat is a permanent line-leader of sorts.

Love this smart, order-loving little Bird!