Making do with Fluffy the Cat

We had a bit of a crisis during our recent trip to California that I was hesitant to write about until it had been resolved. In particular, we lost Margaret's favorite giraffe, GiGi. We're not quite sure what happened, but it involved one of the following: (worst case) GiGi was punted out of the stroller during a walk somewhere in Pasadena without being noticed by anyone, (best case, but increasingly unlikely) GiGi was misplaced in a suitcase somewhere, or (ok case, if the hotel staff pays attention, which is also increasingly unlikely) GiGi was mistakenly picked up by the cleaning lady when she made our bed in the hotel room. Regardless of the reason for her absence, we eventually left LA without GiGi.

Margaret is young enough that she hasn't really noticed GiGi's absence. She has always been very enthusiastic about GiGi's presence. For example, "Where's GiGi?" was one of the first phrases that elicited a legitimate response from her, similar to "Where's Maddie?" Both of which get a much more consistent response than "Where's Mama?" or "Where's Papa?" But we were not facing a complete disaster that could have materialized had Margaret been aware enough to ask her own question: "Where's GiGi?"

It turns out, however, that the people who really miss GiGi are the parents. It's very cute to see her grab for GiGi when asked and to cuddle up with it in her crib. Abby and I repeatedly bemoaned the loss of GiGi during the trip home. Upon getting home, I searched for GiGi on Beanie Baby websites since I figured that GiGi had to be a Beanie Baby. No luck. I was getting frustrated, so I fired off a desperate email to my aunt with the hope that my cousin who had given us the giraffe could remember her provenance. It turns out that GiGi is a TY Pluffie who is officially known as Towers the Giraffe (a much less catchy name, I believe.) Ann (my cousin) also pointed us to an Ebay seller who, after I bought GiGi II from her with a request for quick shipping, sent me an email:

Mark,
Don't worry. I will ship Towers to your wife's work address. It will go out in tomorrow's mail.
No 1 yr old daughter should be without her favorite TY Pluffie!!!!
Thanks for your business!
Lisa.

In the meantime, we've made do with a couple of other stuffed animals. First, Larry the Lion (I'm not sure why the names often have to involve alliteration) whose favorite trick, which is really Papa's favorite trick, is to ROAR whenever he makes an appearance. Margaret has also learned to ROAR after picking up Larry. And then Fluffy the Cat, a really cool cat puppet from some friends in Chicago, as pictured above. (BTW, Maddie does NOT like Fluffy due to her longstanding aversion to cats that started with her extended exposure to Auntie Eleanor's cat Martha during Maddie's first few months in Chicago - a long story involving a trip to South America, a breakup, inheritance by a sister of an older cat who didn't like dogs, and an inquisitive, but skittish puppy who would scurry under the couch at the first hint of a growl from the cat.) None of these have been perfect substitutes, so we're all looking forward to GiGi's return.