My son has never liked stuffed animals or anything with a really soft texture like that.  Sensory overload!!  You can imagine a mother’s disappointment as she, while pregnant, decided to stock up on all the adorable, soft, furry, fuzzy toys and blankets in hopes that one of them would become his favorite.  I thought for sure he’d pick the white bunny rabbit from Finland.  Drag it around by its ears and squash it in his sleep and completely wear it out from all their BFF adventures together.  But no.  Touching any furry creatures gave him the heeby-jeebies, and he would retract as if he were in pain or had just touched something that was too hot.  I kept a couple of the items in his crib all along, just in case one day he’d get used to them and need them for some reason.  It reached a point where he could tolerate the sensation long enough to toss them out of the crib, onto the floor like neglected orphan toys, but that was about it.

So imagine my surprise when I pointed out a stuffed dog to him while browsing through IKEA.  He made the panting sound for doggy and acted like he wanted to hold it?  So I handed it over, fully expecting him to throw it on the floor.  But he held it up to his face, nuzzling the dog cheek to cheek, and pet it the same way he pets Gadoo.  I smiled and then took it away before it ended up trampled on the ground.  He cried and gestured that he wanted to hold it.  So I let him, thinking it wouldn’t last long.  But he held onto that beagle pup all the way through the store, into the check-out line and to our front door.  Although the IKEA doggy has no name, he has made a little place in our home and in Stevie’s bed.  They aren’t exactly inseparable, but I think they enjoy each other’s company.  Never thought I’d see the day.