Dollys are Important

And blankies too! When Amy was a baby, she received several lovely stuffed toys and blankets as gifts. I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember where the stuffed pink bear came from. It was bigger than the newborn she was when she received it.

We called him Pookie - I think the name came from the Garfield cartoon. (I don't know why it was a him, since it's pink...) Hmm, Garfield is where our dog's name came from too (Odie). I don't really even like Garfield that much, but I must have some kind of fetish. Anyway - out of all Amy's stuffed toys, she bonded with Pookie. That's often what kids do - they imprint on something and it becomes their crutch. It can be a blanket - I heard of a kid who used his blanket so hard it ended up in shreds. So his mom trimmed it to the size of a Kleenex. Still he fell asleep with it each night - rubbing it on his face. Ahhh.

The Bullock grandkids like their stuffed toys. Amy had Pookie - thank goodness our babysitter was only 3 blocks from our house. Sometimes in the rush to get out the door in the morning, we'd get to Carol's house and Amy would say, "where's Pookie?" in that panicked voice. Rather than face the wrath of a PO's 2 year old, I'd run and get him. We dragged him all the way to Florida on the plane more than once...he's big enough that he practically needed his own seat!

Pookie is dingy from loving and being hauled around - I wonder if he can be dry cleaned?

Thankfully, Jud bonded with a smaller bunny we named GusGus. I think that name came from the Cinderella Disney movie. I'd include a photo of said bunny, but Jud has GusGus in St. Joe where he lives. Pookie and GusGus were the stars of many a play and they benefitted from lots of meals cooked in our Fisher Price kitchen.

Colby Lefebvre had Hall Bear - given to him by Cindo's friend Mary Hall. (aptly named - no?). And who could forget Jordan Alvillar with her cat - Kiki. I think the story goes something like this - Susi, Leslie and Jordan went to Florida to visit Mom and Dad. Jordan left Kiki at their condo - our beloved nirvana where Susi, Cindy and I still go each April - though we don't stay in our parents' unit.

When the Alvillars got to the airport, Jordan realized her beloved kitty was MIA. She through a mother of a temper tantrum, screeching KEE KEE throughout the airport. I'm not sure how Susi ever got that little bundle of muscle on the plane...

Betsy's kids had special animals too - though I wasn't around them enough to know their names (the stuffed toys, not the kids - even though there are 5 of 'em I do know them all...).

A few horses were laying down on the job...

Paul and I checked out the new Farm/Fleet in Ankeny Saturday. I saw these toy horses there - reminding me of the porcelain ones we used to received for gifts. We'd put yarn halters on them - then use our erasers as riders. WHAT you say?

They were little rubber animals - you could stick them on your pencils at school. Or use them to ride your horses. We'd name the horses and pretend lots of scenarios - usually about Bar-L Ranch, the horse camp we attended in Guthrie Center. Man, the things we did to entertain ourselves before video games...