Baby was on vacation

Claire has never really attached herself to a lovey, or even a pacifier. The closest she's gotten is with Baby, a small plush doll that fits perfectly in her arms and lap. Baby is soft, huggable, and pleasant-looking with an embroidered smile and open arms; her body is pink and she has two short orange ribbons for hair. I first noticed Claire treating Baby like a companion on our vacation to Colorado last fall, just before she turned two. When we arrived at our condo in Snowmass, she and Baby walked around the place to investigate and I noticed Claire putting Baby's hand up to the dishwasher buttons as if she was pretending to push them. Lately Claire has been feeding Baby pretend food that she's cooked in her little kitchen and asking, "Baby ok?" if she accidentally falls off the couch (that all goes out the window when she decides she's had enough, and throws Baby across the room to get a break.)

Bedtime routine lately has included taking Baby upstairs with us to brush teeth, snuggle in Claire's bed to read books, and then fall asleep. Claire never falls asleep holding onto Baby; Baby is sometimes allowed to lay next to Claire on the pillow, other times she's laying on the floor across the room.

I can recall only one time that she got really upset and needed to have Baby, sometime late last week. Claire and I were backing out of the driveway to head to a friend's house when she started flipping out in the backseat. "Baby! Claire's Baby, Mama, Baby!" She was pointing to a front window, and sure enough, Baby was perched on the windowsill looking back at us through the window. I ran in and got Baby, and placed her in Claire's outstretched arms as I wondered if this was going to be a new thing with Claire...had she attached herself to a lovey? Would we never be able to leave the house without Baby again? But the phase was short-lived, as she returned to her casual attitude by the time we arrived at our friend's house 15 minutes later, and Baby was thrown across the backseat by the time I walked around to open her door.

So earlier this week when we couldn't find Baby we were not too concerned about a meltdown about it, but we were puzzled. She had to be somewhere in the house, but where? We checked the usual spots, Claire's room and kitchen, then spread to the rest of the house including the basement. Under couches, in closets, within balled up blankets. For five nights Claire was completely fine going to bed without Baby, but I kept an eye out for her in case Claire should happen to remember her and suddenly need her in order to sleep. Not that any child has ever used a stall tactic like that before bedtime...

Just when I had given up, deciding that she would turn up one of these days, she did. I was in Claire's room this morning, she was in mine, and I was calling for her to come in and get dressed for a playdate. She came galloping in, full of excitement, triumphantly holding Baby. I started laughing and asked her where Baby had been.

"Tunnel! Baby was in the tunnel!" She exclaimed happily.

"Can you show Mommy?" I asked, wondering what tunnel she could possibly be talking about.

Taking my hand, we walked (I walked, she skipped) back into my room and she lead me over to our dresser. Kneeling down, she pointed to the 2 inch space beneath it and announced, "tunnel!" She was so excited that her eyes were sparkling.

I lost it and laughed even harder. One of her favorite books includes a tunnel that the main character rides through while on a train. I remember when my parents gave it to her, they spent a lot of time reading it to her that weekend, and from then on she always pointed out the tunnel when I read it to her. "Tunnel...it's dark," she always pointed out with a certain level of authority. When we took her through an automatic carwash, she compared it to the tunnel. When we play with her blocks, she likes to make tunnels and then point them out. Maybe she was in need of a break, or just decided that Baby needed a vacation in a local tunnel. So that mystery is solved, and I have a better idea of where to look for missing items from now on - in anything that could resemble a tunnel to a 2 year old. At least it's not the garbage anymore...