So two months or so ago, E and L received a balloon from our local grocery store for free. While in the parking lot, L let go of hers, and it took two hours to calm her down from losing her balloon. Matthew tried everything from chocolate to ice cream to movies to who knows what else, but for that two hours she cried uncontrollably. Well, just last week we went to the grocery store again, and when E asked if she could have a balloon, we went to get the free balloons again (apparently I need to remember tramautic events in the lives of my children!). Immediately after getting hers, L began to cry and signed 'don't want' so I gave it back to the woman at the service desk and we continued on our way. Well, apparently she is seriously tramuatized, because once we got to the car, she was again crying hysterically and asking for her balloon. E ran back into the store and grabbed the balloon for L, who hugged the poor thing all the way home, with a white knuckle grip on it's string. I had to hold the string to get her out of the car and into the house, and once in the house, the hugging and crying continued. E finally put the balloons out of sight in a 'safe place' (the top of the stairs) and she calmed enough to go to bed. The next morning, however, she spotted her balloon, and thereafter ensued 45 minutes of her holding tight to the balloon and crying -no screaming - while following me. I tried to take it from her to put it in a safe place, but she wouldn't have it. I tried talking to her to explain that her balloon was safe in the house, but she scooted as far away as she could from me. So, finally at my wits end (because whenever L cries, T cries; he doesn't like her crying at all), I pried the string from her hands and tied it to a very stable piece of furniture so she could see it was safe. She continued to sit next to the balloon whimpering for another 10 minutes before it was really ok. Yeah, no more balloons for her as I think she is always going to be afraid to lose another one. Anyway, here's the photo of her crying and holding her balloon. I couldn't resist capturing this memory forever!