Stuffies Galore

My daughter loves stuffies!  And her Daddy cannot say "No".  From the moment she was born, Rob has taken great pleasure in buying our little girl stuffed animals.  It all started with a pink bear that he bought at the hospital gift shop the day after she was born.  Over the next few years, she received small bears, medium bears, big bears and Care Bears.  One February she spotted a giant white bear with pink heart footprints that was bigger than her.  Her Daddy said "No" and she cried and cried and cried.  A week later he brought it home for Valentine's Day and she was thrilled!  She still sleeps with that bear.  Other animals followed:  giraffes, tigers, lions, dogs, cats, fish, bunnies, unicorns, snakes, and many others.  I would say "No", but often her Daddy said "Yes".  One day we took her to African Lion Safari and as we were about to walk out of the gift shop, I noticed a baboon in the bottom of my daughter's stroller.  I was almost a shoplifter thanks to my little girl's addiction.  First her bed and then her bedroom became engulfed with stuffies.  She could play hide and seek in her stuffie pile. And yet she wanted more.  For a long time her favourite stuffie was a giant Dora doll.  One day she was misbehaving and I warned her that I might take away her Dora.  The next thing I know, she had the ugly baboon in her hand:  "How about taking this one instead, Mommy?"  A couple of years ago, she spotted another giant bear to match the Valentine's one.  Now when she sleeps she is the filling of a bear sandwich.  We took her to the zoo and she saw a display of used stuffies.  She begged us for one:  I said "No" and reminded Rob to stay strong.  Fighting back tears, she walked to our van.  Weeks after that visit, she still hadn't forgotten about that stuffie.  On trips to Disney World, she sneaks stuffies into her Daddy's suitcase for the flight there.  The Disney staff then displays them neatly in our bedroom window for passersby to enjoy.  She is getting older, but her obsession continues.  Today, we visited a Dutch bakery and restaurant in Mount Pleasant.  We made the mistake of checking out the gift shop.  With her stuffie radar, she spotted a white bear with a pink shirt.  She batted her eyelashes at Rob and the test began.  It took a few minutes, but we left without the Teddy bear.  Long live stuffies!