real men wear pink

Meet Blankie.



He's a special member of our family.
Pink.
A little over 2 years old.
Satin on one side and amazing soft fluffiness on the other.
White trim and white heart that has "XOXO" embroidered on it.
He is truly amazing.

Yes, I said 'he'. You see, Blankie is a boy. I don't know how it happened. But really I do. It all started with daily conversations like the following:

J: Where's Blankie?
Mom: I don't know. Blankie, where are you?
Walk from room to room around the house looking for Blankie
...
Upon sighting Blankie
J: (pointing) Blankie!
Mom: There he is! Blankie, what are you doing in here?



J: I need my Blankie.
Mom: Ok. Go get him.



J: I love my Blankie.
Mom: I know. I love him too. He is so soft.

When I started affixing the masculine pronoun to J's pink Blankie, it felt ridiculous every time I'd say it, but every time it just slipped out. And then, there was just no going back ...

Blankie was a baby gift we received after J was born. We had a few similar blankets, but this was has been the clear favorite for over a year now. For a while, he (see I am doing it here too!) stayed in the crib, but at some point - likely when J was old enough to walk back to her room and pull Blankie through the crib slats - Blankie started participating in the rest of our day outside of nap/bed time. I've never been a big fan of kids dragging dirty blankets around with them, but whatever. I'm over it. We don't take Blankie everywhere and she's 2 not 6.

My mom found a second identical Blankie around last Christmas. This was the best find ever as I can now make sure Blankie is washed on a regular basis. The funny thing is that if she spots Blankie #2 in the clean laundry, she'll drag them both around. She really just likes blankets.

Blankie was just "blanket," but thanks to Baby Bop and her stupid baby talk, Blankie became Blankie. I could go on a random tangent here about how I don't understand why they would have Baby Bop talk baby talk on an educational show, but I won't. Dominic hates Baby Bop. I'll just leave it at that.

So, what is a Blankie good for?

Sleeping (duh!)


Road trips


Clinging to on your birthday


And just playing around


A few things you might hear J tell you about her blanket companion.

• "My Blankie is soooo soft."
• "My Blankie keep me warm. It cold." This said during the middle of August when it's 100+ degrees out and she's wearing only a diaper.
• "I love my Blankie."
• "Blankie want to come ______ ." You fill in the blank. Anywhere. To church. To the bathroom. Outside. To eat lunch. To watch Sesame Street. What can I say, he likes to tag along :)
• (Reading the heart on blankie) "XOXO ... BLANKIE! Mom, it says blankie! See?!?!?"
• "I NEED my Blankie." This is said when she's hurt or sad about something.
• J will also fetch her Blankie for people who she believes to be in distress or tired and let them know that Blankie will make them feel better. Usually her words are "There. You feel better?".

He's an all around great guy, that Blankie!