June 21, 2012

Three Little Monkeys


When I was a little girl I was very attached to my stuffed monkey, Jocko (that's him wearing the sweater). I took him everywhere, my mother made him matching Halloween costumes so he could go trick-or-treating, I even occasionally brought him in the tub at bath time, which explains why he is a bit worse for the wear.

I'm hopelessly sentimental, so when I found out that I was pregnant I wanted to get a matching Jocko for my baby, but they changed the design radically and the new one's looked very different. Our friends, Cindy and David tracked down a 1978 model to match my childhood memories and my mom surprised me with him... I was elated! I actually slept with him a few nights to break him in for Little Smith.


I kept my original monkey in my own room above the wardrobe and placed Little Smith's on a shelf in his nursery... not sure when he would take an interest. It must be in the genes because in recent weeks the kid is monkey obsessed and loves to run around waiving his arms and ahh-ahh-ahhing.

He's been playing with his own monkey for a little while, poking at the eyes and nose, but today he spotted the original and freaked out. He needed to find his monkey and get these two buddies together immediately. It was serious business.


I love this stage of toddlerhood when it is becoming so clear how much he understands and he's actually able to communicate desires. I anticipated all of the big milestones like crawling and walking, but I didn't know that one day he would be in his own world and the next he would be listening to my telephone conversations and whining when I mention bed time is approaching.

With the matching monkeys united the kid was thrilled, as though he'd solved an impossible puzzle. He rolled around on the bed, lined them up in the hall, and made a lot of wild monkey calls. Once I saw them together I realized that of course they should always have been pals.


I kept thinking of Toy Story 3 and feeling guilty for having banished my dearest toy to a life on the shelf... but now he will be loved (and abused) all over again!

8 comments:

  1. Those three little monkeys are super cool, the cutest one is smiling! :)

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  2. That's sweeter than sweet. Gus has a doll of mine from when I was a kid and she is looking RAGGEDY. He seems to love her all the same. Isn't absolutely insane how much these little people are able to process?? It fun and terrifying!

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  3. How cute! Love the pictures of Wyatt and his monkeys :)

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  4. Oh, I love this! I have a couple of toys from childhood that my kids now play with, but I never had just one very special thing. It's so touching to see this!

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  5. These pictures are priceless! We have an old monkey from Robert's childhood... His name is Bear. :) After Toy Story 3 came out, my mother-in-law mailed Bear to us with some old pictures-- she couldn't stand the thought of him being in storage.

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  6. So sweet that your friends were able to find an original for Wyatt! I'm sentimental too - I still have my dearly loved teddy bear "Grizz" who resides in the boys room. He hangs out with my husband's childhood stuffed dog "Duke" and so far they've been left alone. But maybe one day they'll be taken notice of...

    xo
    cortnie

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  7. I have to say this is amazing. I have the same monkey. And thought of getting one for my daughter but decided to let her play with mine. I have 3 in different sizes and they are the most amazing monkeys. and last forever. Its so wonderful to see them playing with your toys.

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