Birthday monkey

A couple weeks ago we took Ellie to the toy store. Grandma wanted to buy her a stuffed bear but couldn't decide which one to get on her own. As soon as we walked into the store, she squeeled with delight and pointed to a stuffed monkey. I handed her the monkey, which was really the end of the story.

She loved that thing and couldn't stop squeezing it tightly. We showed her an adorable stuffed bear, and her response was to squeeze the monkey again. We showed her a super-soft puppy, and her response was to squeeze the monkey again. We showed her a big teddy bear, and her response was to squeeze the monkey again.

Trust me, we tried to get her like something cuter! But she was perfectly content rassling the monkey to the ground and flipping him over her head and giving him kisses. It took a long time for us to convince her to let go of the monkey and give the other animals a chance. When we finally did, we put a bunch of our favorites in a circle around her. She looked at them and considered them briefly, and made her decision. Monkey!

At the check-out, the lady was trying to scan the tag on the monkey and Ellie had a fit. My Monkey! Mine! Don't you dare try to take her away from me!

Later in the afternoon we took a walk and apparently Ellie decided that the best way to show her new love for the Monkey was to drag him on the ground in the stroller. We couldn't convince her that it wasn't a good idea. Maybe she was just wearing him in with love. Gravel and love.

* Disclaimer: I know what you might be thinking (or not)... don't worry. We do not have to buy 7 monkeys. In the end, it was BunBun that she wanted when she got upset, but I certainly wish I had the toy store experience on video!