"That's One Sneaky Fox!"

So I'm putting the kids to bed, we're done reading our stories for the night and the kids' eyelids are at half mast. David's got his EJ bear and Sofia is snuggled up against me but her arms are noticeably empty. Usually at this point she's got one of many nighttime buddies with her, and since Christmas she's got a whole new host of characters to choose from. I look over at the beautiful new sleigh-style doll bed that my sister Kate had gotten her, complete with custom bedding that she had hand sewn herself. Many nights I find Sofia lying in that little bed with her dolls, cooing and coaxing them to sleep. And sometimes I'll find her hugging and poking at her new Care Bear her uncle James got her that speaks each time you squeeze a paw or a foot. There are so many to choose from and they're all so cute, but she somehow makes time for each one. So as we snuggle up I look around the room and ask, "So who do you want to bring to bed with you tonight? Dolly? Little Bear?"

She does a sweep with her eyes, stops and points to a small spot on the rug. "Fwipe."

That is Sofia-speak for Swiper. Swiper the Fox, my friends. Most of you need no explanation.

I think that this moment, more than any in her young life illustrates the depth of her character. She would rather hold the lonely, loathed, repeat-offender, feared fox than soothe all the round, fair-faced dolls in the world. You see him up there, the 3-inch, molded plastic devil that she held tight in her little fist until she fell asleep. He's smiling 'cause he's loved.