Over the last month, Uma has gotten really attached to her stuffed animals. Not all of them, of course; some are clearly more worthy than others. You've seen her puma before, which at present is her number one. Last week, we spent 15 minutes looking for her puma just before bed time (someone had put her in an empty oatmeal box; I wonder who'd do that...). I'd tell you her name, but I can't write it in English; it's Uma's version of a meow.

Her current number two is Snowflake, a.k.a., "so way," the dog featured in two of today's pictures. Snowflake is one of the few stuffed animals we purchased for Uma, grabbed in a pinch from a Wal-Mart in Kerrville, TX, when we foolishly forgot to bring any toys for Uma on a trip.

Finishing out Uma's top rankings of the moment are Sayo and Dayo, Starbear and this bizarre anthropomorphic duck with duck's heads for feet. Those two don't get carried around everywhere; usually they just stay in Uma's crib. They do have to be there at bed time, though, as seen in this picture from November.

I mention that these are the current rankings because they change frequently. Puma's on top right now, but a few weeks ago, Sayo and Dayo were tops. Snowflake has been rising in favor over the last week or so, and may challenge Puma for the top spot. I can't claim to understand the internal politics of Uma's clique; I can only report on the developments I observe. The top four seem pretty stable, although every now and then one of the bears makes an attempt to grab a place; just last week, one bear managed to secure a coveted position in the crib overnight, though he must have committed some egregious faux pas in the night, as he wasn't welcomed back. Or, more ominously, perhaps Puma, Sofay, Sayo, and Dayo all ganged up to force out the pretender. It's a woof-woof eat woof-woof world out there.

Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 1/29/2007 07:16:00 AM