Bear is turning out to be the best toy of all time. Alexis is still in love with him and he is a magical tool of distraction. The first thing that Alexis does every day when she gets home is find Bear (he's always in her chair where she left him). Then she gives him a big hug and brings him over to me so that we can all sit on the couch for a few minutes. Gone are the days when we had a treasure hunt every day to find her rubber duck, Meg, Jasmine, and a cat (it didn't matter which one--we just always roamed the house until she found one). I would much rather hang out on the couch than follow her all over the house as she lives out her compulsive tendencies.

Not only is Bear now the center of the universe when we get home, but he also works to make Alexis forget whatever has her all annoyed. When she found out she couldn't go out on the deck to play on her slide earlier today, I gave her Bear and she totally forgot. When I took away the knife she pulled out of the dishwasher, Bear comforted Alexis until she forgot how mean I am. When she decided she wanted to eat pudding and grabbed some out of the fridge, Bear saved the day and convinced her to go play for a few more minutes. I heart Bear.