Hippo

When I was a little girl, I had a massive collection of stuffed animals.  And I mean massive.  I had two twin beds in my bedroom and one of them was pretty much covered with my collection.  Among the collection, I had two that were very special to me.
HugglySnuggly and Bunny

I slept with them pretty much my entire childhood.  My mother bought Bunny for me when we were visiting my grandparents the year I was born.  Somehow, I got the idea that my grandmother had gotten her for me.  She passed away the next year, so I always felt connected to her through Bunny.  My sister got HugglySnuggly for me the Christmas that I was five.  As you can tell, those animals mean a lot to me and the people who gave them to me are always with me when I have my animals. (I know, I'm a grown woman, and I don't sleep with them anymore, but you'll see where I am going with this.)
Recently, I took on the project of knitting a stuffed hippo for a baby who joined our family recently.

 I love to knit, and I will take any excuse, but even more then that, John and I are moving to California in September, and I don't know how much of a role I will have in this baby's life.  I might not be able to be there, if he loves this hippo, then I will be a part of his life.

I got the pattern from the book Itty Bitty Toys.