Dear Marshall,
Most kids like to have a toy to cuddle at bedtime. Usually it’s a stuffed animal. Livia almost always wants her stuffed poodle and monkey. You, on the other hand, have to have your “car,” which is a small plastic farm tractor with a detachable trailer. It’s difficult to get you to sleep without it. And if you find during the night that either part is missing, you’ll yell and scream until I come into your room and find it for you.
It seems odd to me that you’d want cars in the bed with you. Don’t they dig into you when you roll over on them? But you keep vehicles around you all the time. Sometimes you hold them in your lap while you watch TV. You often bring them with you to the dinner table. You even put them on your plate, and then we have to take them away.
Here’s another example from today. At bedtime last night, you made a nest of sheets and blankets on the floor. I had to take it apart to make the beds, but you rebuilt it this morning. You were sitting in it when I came to get you for breakfast. “Look, Mommy. I got my nest back!” you chirped. Then you pointed out the toys you had put in the nest with you: an entire train, a truck, and your car. Only a boy would build a soft, cozy nest and then fill it with vehicles!
Love,
Mom