Scary Creepy but Amazing

When my daughter was at the early point in her life when she developed true love for her baby dolls, we made an amazing discovery that I now could not live without.

This accidental discovery came in the form of creepy scary clowns.  At least I find them creepy and scary.  But my daughter found the the love of her life in a little clown with big blue eyes, a red nose and overalls with the name of Gymbo.  Many of you Moms and Dads will know exactly who I am talking about.  Gymbo is the mascot for the Gymboree classes that you can take your wee ones to.  (On a side note, I totally recommend Gymboree for the first year of the child's life.  The babies love the sing-a-longs and the playtime with peers.) 

Now Gymbo himself is not the discovery he was just the catalyst. The discovery came about when my little one wanted to take Gymbo everywhere she went.  She loved playing with him in her room, taking him on our walks, hugging him, reading him books, and taking him in the car for outings.  Everywhere.  So being the supportive Mommy I am, we would not leave the house without him.  At least not until Daddy decided to get funny.  

Every since the 1988 scary movie "Child's Play" came out I have not been a big fan of clowns, especially not ones that actually look like Chucky.  But for my daughter, I would suck it up.  My husband would tease me every time I called Gymbo "scary creepy clown" and eventually he took it too the next level. I would turn around and Gymbo would be standing up behind me, or sitting at the table looking at me, or maybe even in the shower when I opened the door to get in.  Not funny.  But to my husband it was hilarious.   So being the supportive Mommy I am, but one who can only take so many heart attacks, I banned Gymbo from the house.  To appease my daughter's crying, I declared that Gymbo was now allowed only in the car.  We needed him to guard the car, this would be his new job.  

THIS was our amazing discovery.  Since she could only see Gymbo whenever we went in the car, she was thrilled anytime we had to drive somewhere.  No more crying or fits, no more taking off her clothes or shoes right when we were getting ready to leave, no more delaying the process.  Now I was thrilled.  My life just got easier.  So easy, I soon added Gymbo to our walks.  

I strongly suggest this to all new parents.  Take your little one's 2nd favorite dolly or lovey, not the most favorite...that they need all the time, and make it your car buddy.  It will make life easier.  However, maybe stay away from dolls that scare you. 

Gymbo is still not allowed in the house, it is hard enough when I run an errand without my daughter and I look in the rearview mirror and see HIM sitting in her car seat looking back at me.