Hot damn, that slide moves fast. Even without the plasticky static cling, your hair stands no chance against that thing. When Max slows down, he likes to take a nap, every afternoon at 1, like clockwork. No naps are taken, however, without his security elephant, Elephanta.

Elefanta was born a washcloth with a little elephant head but has never been in the tub. She became a blankie soon after Max was born and we've never looked back.

One day, when Max was about 6 months old, we were struck by terror when we realized that one wayward diaper bag incident or laundry problem and we could be Elephanta-less and nap-less. No one is happy when that happens. So, since we are very smart, we bought a second Elephanta for emergency use and to let the first one get washed from time to time.

Last week, while Max was hugging Elephanta in such a way that we could not see her, Leah handed him the second one. Though he was nearly asleep, this gaffe caught his attention quickly. You could almost see his brain saying, "I need to learn how to swear for situations like this. What the...." His head swung back and forth like he was watching Federer pick apart Nadal as he tried to place the second Elephanta. We were no longer smart. We were dumb. Now what would we do if one went missing?

Leah said, "There are two Elephantas...", but I thought this might make him angry, so I said, "The second one is Elephanta's sister. Her name is....uh...Trixie. She's just visiting us from...um...Canada."

Max looked at us both and considered the situation. What would you do if you found out your best friend was really twins? "I want Trixie, too," he said. The backstory, instead of distracting him, had cemented Trixie in his mind. There would be no turning back.

Trixie will not be returning to Canada.