How stuffed cows become real

When Jon David was just a little baby (maybe 6 weeks old), I held a blue and yellow cow in front of his face and noticed that his face brightened up. I could not believe that he could already like a stuffed animal. Well, the love affair began and has been going strong every since. We have many pictures of this lovely cow in Jon David's mouth. Yes, that is the best place for stuffed cows, don't you know?? Here is a picture of him with the cow in February (he looks so little!).

This cow is showing signs of much love including the loss of an eye and part of his tail. Thankfully, the cow never leaves his crib except for his weekly bath, aka "trip to the washing machine." We have searched the web and toy stores for the past 22 months looking for a back-up cow. Well, my brilliant husband recently found not just one but two of these magical cows on eBay!

We made the switch one night and Jon David took a moment or two to inspect the new cow. We, of course, did not advertise that this was not "the" cow. We did not mention it at all. After looking it over and JD and I holding our breaths, the new cow was welcomed into his mouth. I guess he decided a new cow was better than no cow. We are now rotating the cows and sleeping easier at night knowing that we will never be without our cows!

Of course, I need to include a picture of baby brother. Josiah is doing really well. He's such a sweet baby! And - we went out three times last week all by ourselves!

Lastly, an excerpt from one of my favorite children's books, The Velveteen Rabbit...

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."