Comfort measures in the crib

Margaret currently sleeps with four things in her crib, all of which can be seen in the picture above: a circle of nuk-nuks (pacifiers), GiGi the Giraffe (care of her second cousin Ann), Tommy the Toad, and a small Cubs blanket (care of her Great Aunt Mary.) She has always loved the nuk-nuks, perhaps too much. The ladies at the dog park liken her reaction to a nuk-nuk to that of a smoker getting a much needed puff - a big exhale and slumping of the shoulders once the nuk-nuk is inserted as if to say, "Ah yeah, that's the stuff."

I'm curious about when casual attachment to a familiar item turns into clear affection. For example, Margaret's cousin Andrew was a big fan of lovies (cloth diapers.) When did that really develop? At this point, Margaret seems most fond of GiGi since she'll sometimes be hugging it when we check on her. But she doesn't seem to want GiGi at other times, although early on, she was able to identify and grab GiGi when asked about it. So we'll see if GiGi, or any of the other items, becomes a "must have" accessory. I bet that it will, but when, and how, does that happen?

Maddie, on the other hand, clearly has her preferred toys. Tennis balls, tennis balls and more tennis balls. With some prompting, she'll take the frisbee or a stick or some other toy, but it's quite clear that she LOVES tennis balls above everything else. She's a bit stiff today after playing with random people at the park for the last few days (Korean kids from the nearby Catholic Church on Sunday, some other guy who wants a dog yesterday), but she's always ready to play play play when there's a ball around.