Mario's lovie is a blanket with a rabbit head that he named Hoppy. Hoppy was a gift from one of our neighbors and was here to welcome Mario when he came home from Guatemala. Mario loved him instantly: he took one look at that rabbit, gave him an enormous hug, and just held him close. Even now, when he is ready for bed or sitting down on Sunday afternoons to watch movies, he'll hold him against that space between his nose and upper lip, and just breathe in the comforting smell and feel of Hoppy.
Erik's lovie is a similar looking blanket with a lamb head named Lamby. After seeing the close connection between Mario and Hoppy, we went out and got Lamby so that he was waiting for Erik when he came home from Guatemala. The love there is just as strong and so sweet. He'll hold Lamby in the exact same place as Mario, but also pinches one of Lamby's ears between his thumb and forefinger and just rubs it slowly back and forth.
Hoppy and Lamby have taken a beating over the years, just from being loved. One of Lamby's eyes, which was a large french knot, looks more like a string now from being held in Erik's teeth when he was teething. The satin in Hoppy's ears had to be cut out because it had just been ripped to shreds. The wool on Lamby's ears is all but gone. Hoppy and Lamby are nowhere near as white as when they were in the store. But they are irreplaceable. They are the first friends (I can't even think of them as toys or even dolls) the boys search for when it is time for bed. It would be unthinkable to take a vacation without Hoppy and Lamby. If the house ever burned down, Hoppy and Lamby would be the only things I would grab after my children.
I wonder what kind of lovie there will be for #3 and #4? Do they already have a lovie? Probably not. Because they will likely not be infants like Mario and Erik were when they came home, will they still want a lovie? I would think so. Will they take to the lovies that I choose for them or will they be old enough to choose their own lovie? We'll see, I guess!