Bernadette and Her "Friends"

Nine...That's right...Nine...


It all started on Bernadette's first Christmas. She received a "My First Doll" doll from Grandma Karen. It was cute and pink and jingled when it was shaken. We affectionately named it "Jingle Dollie."



It took some prompting, but it didn't take long for Jingle Dollie to become Bernadette's best friend. It made us smile how sweet she was with her dollie and how attached she became. We had to get a new Jingle Dollie about every 6 months or so because she was so loved. (Or at least that's what we tell ourselves. Really, Bernadette sucked on her hat every night and then she started to mold...Gross!)

Its all kind of a blur after that. What started out just Jingle Dollie escalated to Jingle Dollie and Emilina. Then she received Genevieve as a gift.



Over the past two years, many of Bernadette's friends have come and gone. One night she won't be able to sleep without Emilina, the next night its Ducky. Some friends get left in the living room and forgotten.

She has a few favorites that have withstood the test of time. One in particular is a finger puppet named Little Emilina. She looks like Emilina, only finger puppet sized. She has become a security blanket of sorts. It will be a sad day when she gets left behind. She has already lost most of her hair.

This year, before Christmas, we decided that after the holidays Bernadette would have to choose. Emilina, Genevieve, Sock Monkey, Little Emilina, Angela, Baby Carrie and Moose were just getting to be too much. And they were keeping her up at night.

But then, she received Madeline as a gift and, of course, we had to get her Princess Emilina (another finger puppet). So, that brought her total up to nine. Nine friends in bed with her every night. After we tucked them all in, there was barely room for Bernadette.

So, we decided one night that the magic number would be 4. She could pick four of her friends to sleep with, the others had to sleep somewhere else. It was a rough couple of nights explaining to her that she could pick four different ones the next night. She accepted it.

Tonight, as we were getting her ready for bed, she quietly asked, "Can I sleep with all my friends tonight?" I looked at Jeremy. He looked back at me. "Sure."

Nine.