Alayna's bond with her bunny

Some of you may remember Alayna's pink bunny she had. Well last summer we had to hide Alayna's bunny that she has had since birth. We had to do this to break her of her thumb sucking habit because she only sucked her thumb when she had her bunny. So I couldn't bring myself to throw it away so I put it in her keepsake box. Her last night with it I told her to say her goodbye's to it, and I could here her telling it goodbye and talking to it in bed and it broke my heart! I think the whole thing was harder on me then on her but the next day she was up and playing and bunny had been discarded to her bedroom floor so when she wasn't around, I took it and put it in her box. Of course that night and some night's after she cried for it and I didn't give in and she eventually forgot about bunny and her thumb sucking habit was broken!
Once in a while she would ask about bunny and I would tell her she didn't need it and she quickly moved on to something else. Well last night for some reason as she got out of the bathtub she started crying and saying she missed bunny and she wanted to see him. She cried to me "You didn't leave him in Maryland did you?" and I told her no I didn't leave him there and she continued to be upset and laid on my bed still crying that she wanted to see him so I told her if she didn't suck her thumb she could have him back and she said she wouldn't so I told her I would be right back and I went and got him out of the box and gave him to her and she just looked at him and said, still crying to me, "thank you mommy" and a tear rolled down my cheek! It was so heartfelt how she said that. She has no interest in sucking her thumb anymore, and now she just hugs her bunny and rests her face on him and sleeps with him, and last night in bed she was telling him about how she was going to be gone most of today and he would be taking lots of naps. So I can let her keep it now. Amazing the bond between a little girl and her stuffed bunny!