Meet Ani. This is Ava's partner in crime. Grammie gave Ani to Ava when Ava was about 6 weeks old. I didn't want to give the toy a name right away, because I wanted Ava to be able to name it for herself. I would always just ask her, "Where is your bunny?" When she started to talk, she thought it was called "your bunny" and she would try to say that. It always came out as "Yanni"--yes, like the musician. As funny as it was, I started calling the toy Yanni too. Since her diction has improved, it is now just Ani.
Ava and Ani spend most days playing together and watching Elmo on Sesame Street. With Ava's help, Ani sometimes canvasses the house looking for people, animals, and other toys to shower with kisses. There have been times when I was sitting in the chair watching television and out of nowhere this dingy pink mass would come flying at my face with a loud "MWAH" and I would realize that I was being kissed.
As you can imagine, with all of her adventures, Ani sometimes gets dirty and needs a bath. Ava has tried to take Ani into the bathtub with her, but the washing machine really does a better job than a toddler with a bar of soap.
Today, Ani needed a bath. I put her in the new, front-loading washer and went on with my business. When I walked back in to the kitchen, I found this:
She had her little face mashed up to the glass as she cried, "Ani. Ani. Ani." Quite possibly the saddest thing I've ever witnessed.
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