Dear Bubby.

Dear Bubby,

I am so sad that you are gone, and I miss you already! You were such a great friend. You helped me sleep every night and you always made the monsters stay away. Thank you for being with me whenever I was sick, when I had to get shots and for always cheering me up when I was sad. I love you, Bubby!

Yours Truly,

The Bug

So, today was Brady's 15 month appointment. Yes, if you're doing the math, it was a little late, but due to the MAJOR sickness B. endured around his 1 year appointment, we had to delay his shots a bit which have subsequently backed up our next appointments. He's growing right on the correct "curve", as Dr. Gates calls it and he's right at 25 pounds. (I actually thought he was going to be more, so I was a bit disappointed!) He's 31 inches and his head circumference is in the 40's... don't remember what it was.

I had many 'parenting' questions for Dr. G this time, as we've started the temper tantrum phase of parenting. He told me that I was right in 'ignoring' B. whenever he begins to throw one, as long as I know he's not hurt, or anything. He assured me that not rewarding bad behavior can never start too early. He told me to give it 3 more months on the vocabulary because he's a boy... but we really don't have too much in the way of words right now. I try not to worry about it - especially since Dr. G pointed out that he really does understand what I'm telling him, so nothing should be wrong with his hearing.

We were scheduled for 2 shots today. I wasn't too worried about them since we had done pretty well last time with 4. To provide a little comfort to my sweet boy though, I brought his Bubby along. Bubby, (a.k.a. a small stuffed animal that is attached to a soft blanket), has been with us since before B. was born. He was a gift from one of my furniture reps while I was at HKS. Brady has a few other 'lovies' that make okay substitutes while Bubby is being washed, or the time that he spent the night at the Nursery for a month, but all in all, he loves Bubby - and Bubby loves him.

Normally, I don't carry him around with us - he's only allowed to have him in his bed. I'll stick him in the diaper bag if I know we'll be out past his bedtime, but more often than not, he just always stays in his bed. But today was special. He got to come out with us to keep B. company while he got his shots.

Well, I don't know if any of you have noticed, but it's a pretty rainy day here in Big D. It was definitely a struggle to get him in and out of the car in the pouring rain, but we made it. He did great with the shots and we were ready to leave. He had Bubby in his hand. I got the umbrella out and made our way toward the car and we got in just fine. We ran a few errands and then headed home - just in time for our afternoon nap.

We said 'hi' to Georgia and then I told B. it was time to get Bubby and go night night. I reached in the diaper bag.... no Bubby. "Okay, Brady... BoBo will have to do!" (I got Brady a new "lovie" last week when I was on vacation and it's SUPER cute and SUPER soft, but he really hasn't shown an interest in it yet). My mind started racing "Where is Bubby????"

After putting Brady in bed, I went out to the car (in the pouring rain) to find Bubby. Not in there. I called the Dr's office and this is what I heard.

"Mrs. Leach, I saw one in the parking lot in a puddle on my way to lunch but I didn't know it was Brady's or I would have picked it up!" OH NO!!!!! The thought of Bubby laying in a puddle brought back the heartache of having to choose 3 stuffed animals to sleep with at night when I was little.

"Could you check and see if he's still out there?" After a long hold, she came back on the line and said he wasn't there anymore.

To make matters worse, my sister was at a doctor's office right around the corner and I asked her to go check the parking lot and see if she saw it anywhere else... a small ounce of hope...nope. Bubby is officially gone forever. I know that Brady will probably not notice too much, but I'm the one that is taking this really hard. It's just that I thought we'd have Bubby forever. This is seriously the first time I've thought, "He's still a baby! He needs Bubby!" But really, he doesn't. Really, he's not a 'baby' at all anymore and he doesn't 'need' his Bubby... it's ME who has the problem. I'm so going to miss the smile that lit up on his face when I handed him Bubby before Night Night. (Tear). Alright... time to suck it up now, Becky!

Bubby - we love you!!!