Mr. Monkey

From her very first days, it was pretty apparent Madelyn wasn't a fan of pacifiers.  I know paci's can become an issue as they get older, but I've always thought its so sweet to see little ones curled up, so happy to be sucking on a paci. Oh well, not our little one. Instead, Madelyn quickly began sucking on her fingers. I've shared a few pictures here and there where she has them in her mouth, always her pointer and middle finger on her left hand.  It's easy to distinguish when she's tired or ready for a nap because her fingers go in and I say she "blinks heavy." As we learned on our vacation, there is 1 other thing that we must have on hands at ALL times, no matter what.... Mr. Monkey.

Miss M has probably 10 different lovies. Different sizes, different textures, different animals... some with tags, some without, none of which she ever really took a liking too. I made sure to always have one in her diaper bag or the car, but she never really cared for them.... until Mr. Monkey.
Mr. Monkey was an impulse buy. About 2 months ago, my mom and I had Madelyn along for a walk through town when we stopped in a store that was having a big sale on kids clothes. We picked up a few things for her and while I was checking out, we distracted Madelyn by showing her a cute monkey lovey. It was honestly love at first sight. The minute she saw him, her face lit up and her hands when up trying to grab him.  Oh, you like him?" I said to her... Ok, guess I have to buy this too. I remember thinking what a waste of $ - he was $18. She seemed to like him though and it had been a while since I splurged on anything for her.  So, we left the store, Madelyn clutching Mr. Monkey and her fingers in her mouth, she was as happy as could be!

So it was love at first sight and it is safe to say, she is completely obsessed with Mr. Monkey. Well flash forward our vacation Day 1 at the beach, we brought Mr. Monkey and sure enough, she napped:

On our next beach outing, which happened to be our last day, we packed everything up including lunch and hit the beach. It was a picture-perfect day and we had a few hours to relax in the sun before hitting to road to come back home.

M was ready for a nap, so we timed it that she would (hopefully) fall asleep in her pack and play again while we were there. We forgot Mr. Monkey... bad Mommy and Daddy, how could we forgot Mr. Monkey? To be honest, until then I think I underestimated the need, and her love for him but boy did we learn a lesson.  Cue - her first real mealtdown... she whined and cried for most of our time on the beach. There was no way she was falling asleep while we were there, she made that very clear.  So, even though she was exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open, we played and played until it was time to go home. We got home, gave her Mr. Monkey and that was that, she was passed out for 2 hours until we woke her to hit the road. Note to self - do not lose Mr. Monkey, ever!

Here are a few more of M and Mr. Monkey, before nap time: