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"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Maile: A playful moment. A silly face for Dada, Ellie the elephant in hand. 

Maile has a menagerie of stuffed animals. They serve as the perfect illustration of our sweet girl's tender heart. She lovingly spends time with each and every one of them. Should she get a bit of food on one, she forgets about her meal until her friend has been washed. The zoo that is her room is regularly arranged just so for story time.

If she drops one, we hear, "Oh no! What happened?" She picks up the injured stuffie, bounces, and pats it with a chorus of, "Okay ... okay ..."

And heaven forbid one isn't in its proper place; Maile marches around the house, calling the missing by name, until they are found: "Poooooooh Beh! Pooooooh Beh!" 

So maybe she has one (or two, or ten) too many. But as long as she continues to show them such care, we'll continue not to mind.