The Story of a Peep Peep

Once upon a time, my little angel turned one year old...

Her Grandma LuAnn and Pawpaw Pat bought her this pink teddy bear as part of her birthday gift. Who knew it was going to be love at first sight??

Originally this bear started off as "Pinky Bear" but as her owner got older and talked better, she became "Peep Peep" and she was very well loved.

She was so loved, in fact, that she became seriously ratty...no amount of washing has restored the original bright pink color and we've been left with a grayish pink bear.

Grandma Bronna (the neat freak of the family) decided that a replacement Peep Peep was in order, so she found an exact replica and brought it for Christmas when she was 2....alas, Original Peep Peep was not to be replaced and Replacement Peep Peep got put in the top of the closet with the other stuffed animals. If we tried to convince our dear princess to switch, she adamantly replied, "That bear is NOT Peep Peep!"

She sleeps with Peep Peep every night and at every nap and it's a very rare occasion that we make it out of the house without Peep Peep in tow. Here she is asleep standing up but still has Peep Peep tucked under her arm.

Peep Peep even goes to the zoo with us when we go. Poor Replacement Peep Peep has sat up in the top of the closet, neglected and unloved. However, I got a message from a good friend that is helping a family member out and keeping their little girl for a while and she had asked me if I had any hand me down clothes and things they could use. I said that I was sure we had some things and took a bag upstairs to dear daughter's room this morning.

My kid is a total clothes horse and had a meltdown over every piece of clothing I put in the bag, even though I explained to her, "This stuff doesn't even FIT you anymore!" Finally I tried the tactic, "There's a little girl that needs these things that doesn't have nice things like you do, so we need to be nice and share with her, okay?" You could see the wheels really turning as she thought this over and then she pointed up to the closet and said, "Mommy, can you get me that pink bear?"

I pulled down Replacement Peep Peep and handed it to my sweet daughter who then patted her and placed her gently in the bag and said, "We need to send this too, Mommy. Every little girl needs a Peep Peep."

And she's right, every little girl DEFINITELY needs a Peep Peep and I hope Replacement Peep Peep ends up as well loved as the original.