Meet Raffi (Part 2)

At the beginning of December we took a vacation to Disneyland. The week before we went involved some serious negotiations about how much Raffi would be allowed to accompany us while in the park. I could picture losing him (for the record, the zoo gift shop no longer carries "raffi's" so he is now officially irreplaceable) and having to deal with the sad, sad aftermath. Sam was insistent that Raffi would be inconsolable if he was left behind in any capacity. He really just wanted to share his experience with his friend. Finally, I decided to compromise and allow Raffi along as long as he was tethered the whole time. I tied a ribbon around his neck and the other end to Sam or the stroller and we were incident free. In addition, I added a tag with our information trusting that most people who go to Disneyland are decent people who would contact us if he were lost and found.

When we go to D-land, we generally let the boys pick out a souvenir and Sam kept insisting that Raffi get one too. I think I have proven that I am a little bit of a sucker when it comes to this Raffi phase, but I thought I drew the line at souvenirs for imaginary friends. Until we came across this:

Yes. He has his own Mickey mouse hat! Apparently I have no "line"....

The cupholder in the stroller was Raffi's seat.

Around Christmas time, Samuel submitted his list for Santa and also began telling me all the things Raffi wanted. He was pretty modest actually. Mostly he just wanted a candy cane, a scarf, a blanket and a teddy bear. Are you wondering if he got it? I already said I am a sucker...

Sam and his new bike, showing off Raffi's stocking.

Helping Raffi "hold" his new bear.

Raffi's Christmas sweater. Sam spotted it at Walmart and it was actually had a little pouch inside to hold a gift card. We cut the pouch out and the sweater was a perfect fit. Meant to be? Maybe.

Around the house we tend to find Raffi in various costumes and acts of play. It always makes me laugh when I come across him in some scenario.

Being blasted off into space (in one of those kid cups from Denny's). Raffi goes to space quite a bit actually and sometimes we find him "landed" on the moon (Sam has a blanket that has moons and stars that he uses for his outer space backdrop.

Hide and Seek in a Mr. Potato head

"Dressing up" with his buddies (I actually asked Sam about this one and he said that each of these figures represented someone in our family. Ironically, I was not the girl one.)

Playing Pirates (The Mr. Potato Head toys we have offer a lot of options, don't you think?)

On our recent cruise to Mexico, Sam came across yet another souvenir for Raffi that once again, I could not pass up either. Sam spirited Raffi off the boat and into Puerto Vallarta before I realized he had him and against my better judgement I did not take him for safekeeping. Instead, I told Sam to put him in the side pocket of the stroller we rented from the ship and forgot that I did that. When we returned, Sam wanted Raffi to try on his new accessory, and he was not to be found. I began to panic and Sam's eyes welled up a little "You mean he's lost forever, mom???!!) I was actually considering taking a cab back into town to retrace our steps when I happened to remember the side pocket. Whew! (Later that evening J lost/had stolen his iphone and it did not magically turn up in any forgotten side pockets, but to be honest, I would have been more sad to lose that scruffy little giraffe.)

Ole!

Joining us for dinner in the dining room on the ship.

So now you have introduced to Raffi. He features quite prominently in our home. Love us, love our stuffed giraffes. Those of you who have never met him should come over. Sam will be happy to let you know what Raffi thinks, says and finds hilarious. He doesn't carry him around much anymore, but still talks about him constantly. Yesterday he chattered for an hour straight about how we all need to go to Raffi's house and the games we would play there. He also let me know that Raffi can eat whatever food he wants because he is a "talking giraffe" Giraffes at the zoo don't talk and therefore only eat giraffe food. Makes sense, I guess although I haven't heard much out of him. He (raffi) has been helpful recently because when he "asks" Thomas to go sit on the potty he is obeyed cheerfully as opposed to when "mom" asks him to go. The way I see it, he owes me for all the things I have done for him. He leads a pretty cushy life for a stuffed giraffe.