Ariel

The fact that Emma loves hair is no new news. The fact that she is in love with her Ariel baby doll, and that it is her absolute favorite thing isn't either. She has packed Ariel around for as long as I can remember. When she was only a couple months old she started holding onto a strand of my hair when she would nurse. It was so sweet but my head would get so sore letting her play with my hair. After a few weeks I decided that a substitution was in order. Hence, Ariel. She was the perfect sized doll with a soft body that she could cuddle with and yet a head full of hair to pull on. Emma was still really tiny when she would take a strand in her two fingers and rub it on her cheek softly to put herself to sleep. so sweet. As she got older she would sometimes fall asleep on the floor of course with Ariel in hand. Whenever it is time for bed she will go find her. Just lately when I tell her it is bedtime she will start combing the house saying "Aarl, aarl, arrl" calling for Ariel and looking for her. When she finally finds her she will smile or giggle then hug her and come find me. In the morning she will not let me take her out of the crib until she has Ariel securely in hand. The bonding was pretty much instant and has lasted. Ariel is her baby. She LOVES that doll. When she is playing, Ariel either gets packed around in her arms or is definitely nearby. It is the one toy that is absolutely no sharing in her eyes, especially with Karsten. We left Ariel at my dad's house one time and it was the longest three days ever for Emma. She would wander around the house looking for her and then when we would tell her "Ariel isn't here" she would sit down on the ground and just cry. Even though she had been sleeping through the night for a looooong time she was up and down during the night crying about it. When Grandma and Grandpa sent Ariel in the mail we opened up the package with her. As soon as she saw a strand of red hair she started smiling and reaching her hands in the envelope to get her out. She hugged and hugged her. Definitely attached. Whenever I have to wash Ariel I have to sneak her out so that Emma doesn't see. The one time she caught me putting her in the dryer Emma sat by the dryer and sobbed. She would point at the dryer, mumble something and then start crying again. Having the dryer be noisy, making it sound like Ariel was being tortured probably didn't help. When Em rides in the car she holds Ariel on her lap and plays with her hair. Ariel's hair at this point has become extremely matted so we jokingly occasionally call her "Rasta Ariel" Big problem is that I can't find a replacement Ariel like her anywhere. Time to start searching onling for one. You know that Ariel is with her all the time when people at church will see her and ask, "Emma where is Ariel?" if she is seen not holding it. She brings her to the scout nursery every week with her and the ladies crack up and say "Hi Emma, Hi Ariel." One week we left Ariel and home on our way to scouts. When we got there and I realized it I worried that she was going to not stay there without her. When I picked her back up they told me that when I left she started crying and looking for Ariel. Then all of a sudden she got down from their lap and ran over to the toy bin. They started laughing as she came running back over to them with a red headed baby doll clutched in her hand. She wasn't Ariel but she obviously was a sufficient substitute and she kept her by her side until I arrived. It is cute how she cuddles with her and hugs her. She loves her so much.