My Son's Best Friend

When I was pregnant with Michael, my husband's step mother gave me a Baby Gund Lamb. It was adorable and very soft. Michael didn't take notice to this Lamb for a long time. When he finally did, he was instantly attached. 'Lambi' became Michael's best friend. We could not go anywhere without Lambi. 

                                                

When Mike gets tired or is just relaxing, he will suck his two middle fingers and hold Lambi by the ear up to his nose. Sleeping without Lambi at night was not an option. If we tell him that he has to leave Lambi at home he hugs it really tight and tells us, "but I love him!" (in the most pitiful voice of course). The only annoying thing about Lambi is that Michael always has to throw him around when we go places. He throws him all over the stores, into cold cases, out of the cart, and into other peoples carts.

A couple summers ago, we took a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee with my parents to celebrate the 4th of July. While we were in town, seeing the sites, Michael decided to throw his Lambi on the ground (Michael was in his stroller). This particular time, no one noticed that Lambi was thrown overboard. This resulted in a 'lost Lambi'. We walked up and down the street again and found nothing. We dreaded what we would have to go through when we got home and Mike did not have his Lambi. As soon as we got back home, I went online and ordered a new one. Mike had no idea that it wasn't the same Lambi, but the look on his face when I showed him was priceless. His eyes lit up and a huge smile formed on his face. He let out a loud screech, "LAMMBIII". Followed by a big hug to his best friend.  Surprisingly, Mike actually did pretty good without Lambi. There were no big fits or long crying episodes. He whined and cried a little bit, not much at all. But now, Lambi was home and my son was very happy about that.

Ever since, we have tried our best to be careful with Lambi. We try to make sure that he is with us when we leave places and that he is always packed when we travel. We have definitely become more aware when Mike is throwing him around.

This past weekend we went to my Mother in Laws house. Michael got mad because he got into trouble for leaving the backyard unsupervised (after being told that he couldn't go out front). He stormed into the house, went upstairs, laid down on the bed and just looked out the window. He fell asleep quick, with Lambi. That night, we put the kids to bed and enjoyed the quiet. My husband went to bed as well but I stayed up a little longer. Before I went to bed, I got Mike up one more time to go potty. After he went potty, I tucked him back into bed and gently tucked Lambi in with him. The next morning, my husband let me sleep in. Oh, how I needed it. Later that day, Mike started asking where Lambi was and if we could help him find him. We all looked, but, Lambi was gone...

We still have not been able to find Lambi since Sunday. We have searched the entire house, top to bottom. We searched both cars and even asked my Mother in Law to search her home, just in case. Lambi was no where to be found. We won't be buying another Lambi this time but I still hope we find him. Mike has not thrown any big fits yet but when he is upset or it's bed time, he wants and misses his best friend.