I love the way she loves on her blanket; kneading at him, stroking the soft satin beside her face as she rubs her eyes.

It happens the same every time, a little rocking for a minute or two, a kiss on the forehead, laying her down, her turning to the left as she rubs her eyes and loves on that blanket.

Sometimes she reaches her hand out for me to pet her head a little, beckoning me to help her settle in for a few minutes. And when she’s done with the petting, after only a short time, she turns to the left, rubbing her face into her dear friend’s soft love.

She wasn’t always a blanket baby. Blankey came in after he came.

She had figured out how to put herself to sleep. And sleep hard. For seven to eight hours straight hard.

And then the phonecall. And then the addition of our little crier.

He’s gotten better now. He’s sleeping four hour chunks now.

And then she got worse.

Conditioned to wake up. Conditioned to need more. Conditioned to be overly tired.

And then came blankey. He was added in at first when snuggling Mommy. He had been a nice addition to the top of the diaper bag. You never know when the wind will pick up and you’ll need a shield. Or a room will be a bit too cold for Ms. “Running Cold” baby girl.

But he took on new meaning. Joining us during mealtimes. Snuggling in amidst the comfort. And then he joined in at play time. Peek-a-boo was so fun! And he started to taste good.

Then came his normalcy at night time. Until we find ourselves today with our beloved friend.

And while there are still many times of unworking the effects of her adjustment to Little Man’s sleep interruptions, blankey has become a constant. An expected. And a friend amidst the nightly changes and adjustments.

And I love the way she loves on him. Snuggling into her dear friend.

And I am thankful… so thankful.

She loves him.

And I love my little Linus.

P.S. Don’t be worried, she has her pacifier in and plenty of air circulation in there. I check. 😉