Today was Baby Ari’s first birthday and her parents were holding her a big party. They invited all her friends from daycare, as well as her entire family. Everyone was very excited and looked forward to the party for weeks.

As Ari’s mom was getting Ari ready, her dad rolled in on his wheelchair. Ari’s eyes sparkled as he came closer, and a big smile grew on her face. She was wearing a cute, baby blue dress with a small tiara over her head. 

“Wow. You look adorable, pumpkin.” her dad said, gently rubbing his fingers along her cheek. Ari couldn’t help but giggle.

Like always, Ari was holding her favorite blanket that her mom gave her when she was born. It was a beautiful yellow with patches of blue. It was so soft and small that Ari took it everywhere with her. She would wrap herself in it to fall asleep, carry it when her parents took her on walks, cuddle with it when she was scared, and hold it when she played with her friends.

“We ought to get you a new blanket. That one is getting old.” her mom and dad often said.

However, whenever anyone took Ari’s blanket away, she would not stop crying. Even when her parents tried to clean her blanket, Ari would scream and shout until they had no choice but to let her keep it. No matter how torn and dirty her blanket was, Ari loved it with all her heart and refused to let it go.

When Ari’s mom finished getting her ready, she began to prepare the house for the party by decorating the living room with banners. Ari’s dad helped her too by blowing up balloons and preparing some snacks. During this time, Ari left her blanket by her side while she played with her toys and stuffed animals.

Around an hour passed, and the party was about to begin. First, Ari’s aunt arrived. She brought a cake and new toys for Ari as a present. Next, Ari’s friend from daycare, Baby Jay, came. His mom brought Ari some new clothes and shoes. This trend continued as people came in one by one bringing presents and gifts until the house was packed with everyone ready to celebrate.

In order to make sure Ari didn’t get lost in the crowd, her mom ran over and picked her up from where she was sitting with her toys. She cradled her in her arms, and introduced her to all the guests. Ari was very social, and loved to meet new people. She was adored by everyone because of her sweet, bubbly personality and everlasting smile. 

As the afternoon came to an end, people began to leave one by one. Once everyone was gone, Ari let out a big yawn. She was very tired and ready for her evening nap. So, her mom took her to her crib, and gently placed her on her back. She then turned off the lights and wished Ari a good night.

Once her mom left the room, Ari realized something was missing. She began to cry and wail desperately to alarm her mom. Hearing Ari’s screams, her mom rushed to her room.

“What’s wrong, darling?” her mom asked, picking Ari up and rocking her in her arms.

Ari continued to cry and yell like she never had before. Immediately, her mom realized what the problem was. 

“Oh, of course! You need your blanket! How could I forget.” exclaimed her mom.

After looking through the room for a couple minutes, Ari’s mom began to worry. She couldn’t find the blanket anywhere, and Ari would not stop crying. She called Ari’s dad, and they both began to look everywhere for it.

For hours and hours, they searched under the sofa, in all the cabinets, and every tiny crevice the blanket could have been in. However, they had no luck. It must have gotten lost from all the people that were in the house. Poor Ari would not stop crying, no matter how much her parents tried to calm her down.

Ari’s dad came up with an idea. He wheeled his chair to the storage room, and pulled out a brand new blanket for Ari. When he came back to Ari’s room and handed it to her, she stopped crying for a moment. However, after a few minutes, she realized it wasn’t the same, and tears began running down her face once more.

Ari’s parents had no other ideas. They didn’t know how to help Ari, as nothing they did seemed to work. So, they decided that the best thing they could do was continue to hold Ari and comfort her while she cried. 

Eventually, Ari became too tired to keep crying and fell asleep in her mom’s arms. She had never cried that much in her life, and her mom was worried that it would continue when she woke up. 

Her mom was right. As soon as Ari got up the next morning, the crying and screaming began again. Ari wouldn’t eat, sleep, or play. She felt tired, scared, and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with her blanket again. 

Although it took time, Ari got more comfortable without her blanket day by day. When there was a scary thunderstorm a couple days after her birthday, and Ari couldn’t hug her blanket, she realized that she could just hug her mom and dad instead. 

A few days after that when Ari felt homesick at daycare and couldn’t cuddle with her blanket, she noticed that she could just cuddle with her stuffed bear, Rags, to get the same amount of comfort.

As more time went on, everything that Ari used to do with her blanket, she was able to do without. She didn’t need it anymore to fall asleep, to go on walks, or to play with her friends. She was able to do everything on her own without any help.

In fact, Ari was able to do so much more without her blanket. She no longer had to worry about losing it anymore, and feeling as scared and sad as she did on her first birthday. That made Ari feel free and happy.

Eventually, a year passed and it was Ari’s second birthday. Ari hadn’t thought about her blanket in a while, but for some reason, she was remembering how scared she was when she lost it on her first birthday.

“Ma-Ma! Ma-Ma!” Baby Ari cried.

Confused, her mom ran to Ari’s room.

“What’s the matter, baby?” Ari’s mom asked gently. 

“Blankie! Lost! Blankie! Sad!” Ari cried.

“Oh honey, don’t cry. That was last year. I promise, you will love this year’s birthday. It will be lots of fun. No blankie and no crying.”

She took Ari in her arms and hugged her. After a few minutes, Ari calmed down. Her mom got her ready, this time in a red dress and a cute, little party hat. Her dad also rolled in and gave her a big hug. Ari’s frown quickly turned into a big smile.

The rest of the night went perfectly. Ari met a lot of new people, and got to play with a bunch of her friends from daycare. She even got to eat delicious chocolate cake. Like her first birthday, she was so tired and ready to go to sleep after everyone left.

As her mom picked her up and set her down in her crib, Ari fell asleep within minutes. Once her mom was sure Ari was asleep, she gave her a kiss and went to turn off the lights. As the room became dark, she turned around to get one last look at her daughter.

“Good night, my beautiful Baby Ari.” 

That evening, Ari slept better than she ever had before. She was able to sleep peacefully without her blanket, and had a big smile on her face the entire night. 

The end. <3