My little boy is growing up…

Since he was about six months old, I have been trying rather unsuccessfully to get Gavin to accept a “lovey“.  Then, just when I thought all hope was lost, Gavin started to show an interest in a few of his cuddly toys.  It wasn’t a particularly strong affection for his toys, but it was affection nonetheless and I was happy with the progress.

My BFF suggested I make my own soft toy for Gavin after she started getting into the whole home-made toy scene and had sent me a couple of patterns to start with.  I have yet to go and buy the materials so I haven’t quite gotten around to it, yet.

Meanwhile, over the last few days, Gavin’s attachment to Daichi, the TY bear, appears to be growing ever stronger.  For instance, after waking up from his nap, he refused to go downstairs without Daichi.  He even insisted on taking Daichi shopping with us, even though I was quite reluctant to have him drag his bear around the shopping mall where the bear could pick up all manner of germs since Gavin occasionally drops his toys.

Since Gavin has become so fond of Daichi, hubby and I decided it was time to buy a spare Daichi in the event Gavin loses Daichi the original.  This is one of the recommendations from “What to Expect the First Year” so that your child doesn’t have to go through the grieving period in the event that his lovey gets lost. 

The idea is to have two of the same toy (or, in the case of a blanky, to cut it into two pieces) and interchange the toys on a regular basis so that both toys adopt the same familiar “smell”.  Children have an acute sense of smell and will be quick to pick up on the different scent if you produce the second identical toy only after the first has been lost. 

Lucky for us Gavin hasn’t spent that much time with Daichi so he obviously hadn’t developed a special “smell”.  When I presented the second Daichi to him today (after cleaning and hiding the original Daichi), he didn’t seem to notice there was a difference.  Since TY toys are all handmade, I realised after comparing the two toys that one Daichi faces slightly left and the other faces slightly right.  Good thing Gavin seems to have missed this point, too.

I suspect Gavin’s increasing attachment to Daichi is somewhat related to his growing independence of Mummy.  For instance, the hubby was able to get Gavin to sleep while at home for the first time last night.  He did it again during one of Gavin’s naps.  Ordinarily, Gavin would only want Mummy at night and hubby could only successfully get Gavin to nap when we are out and there are lots of distractions.  I guess this is a sign that we are ready for number two, since I previously told the hubby that until he could successfully get Gavin to sleep at night, we would not be able to cope with a second child.

Aside from displaying increasing affection for his toys, Gavin has also started to show preferences for certain clothes.  When my in laws came back from their holiday in the States, my SIL bought this cute pajamas for Gavin that he took to instantly.  Out of all the clothes he received, this was the one he wouldn’t stop carrying around the house:

Whenever he sees this green top, he makes a lunge for it and he’ll drag it with him all over the house.  When I put it on for him to sleep in, he pulled up the front and gave his little chicks a kiss.

Gavin’s fondness for the top is because he likes the pictures of the chicks on it.  Ever since my MIL brought back some live chicks, Gavin has taken an instant liking for little yellow birds.  Whenever he sees them he signs, “bird,” and says, “chi chi,” which is supposed to be: “chick chick”. 

It was also interesting to note that this partiality towards yellow birds seems to have extended towards Tweety bird.  He has never watched a single cartoon of Tweety, yet he was interested in toys and clothes that bear Tweety’s picture.

Another toy that Gavin seems to have developed a growing interest in is Thomas the Tank Engine.  Although he doesn’t watch the TV program very often, I have noticed that he gravitates towards the Thomas toys whenever he sees them in a toy shop or the toy deparment.  Thomas the Tank Engine is also one of the few TV programs that doesn’t feature a lot of music that Gavin will sit still long enough to watch the program. 

He also likes Bob the Builder, although I think Thomas the Tank Engine is the clear winner between the two.  Looks like Daddy doesn’t have to be so worried about his son only being interested in girlie stuff after all…

It also looks like my SIL and I might have to rethink our plan to create a Lego theme for his second birthday party after all.  Gavin appears to be developing some pretty strong interests of his own.  While he enjoys playing with his Duplo pieces, Lego’s biggest downfall is not having a TV program or a mascot for young children to identify with.

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