Our Toy Story

Last night I was making room for all the new toys (from Christmas) in Alex's playroom and putting his "cozy" new flannel sheets on his bed. Franky was helping me with the sheets when we got to talking. Alex has always slept with a stuffed animal. Loyal to the core, he will carry the animal all over the house, watch movies with it, take it on trips and when bed time rolls around makes sure that it is right next to him and is "tucked in'.

The first animal he formed the bond with was Zebra aka "Z". Z went everywhere Red did, including on our first ever trip out of state to Minnesota. He got us through nightmares, sick days and was a constant companion to Alex. That is until this summer when we found "Brucey".

Alex spotted Brucey on one of our camping trips to Morro Bay. It was love at first site. Alex begged to get him and sat him right next to him in the seat of his bicycle trailer next to "Z" after we bought him. By the time we got home from our camping trip, Z had been replaced.

Brucey was the new best friend. Since Bruce was a scary shark, whenever Alex had a bad dream, he would say Brucey "chased away" the bad guys. Because he is as big as Alex, he often doubled as a pillow. Brucey was it. But then we went to the Chaffee Zoo. That is where Alex got Nile.

Nile the Crocodile. Nile had sharp teeth and very scarey eyes. Alex loved him. Nile went with us to Minnesota. Another "well traveled" bed time friend. When we returned from Minnesota in October, Alex decided he needed a second bed time buddy and added Coco the little brown puppy to his night time ritual.
Now each night before Alex goes to sleep, Nile has to be on the right hand side, Coco on the left. Brucey and Z are still in the bed but now in the less desired spot toward the end. Franky and I both feel sorry for poor Z. He gets attention every now and then. Usually from Franky! : ) Not only does Alex become attached to these furry friends, so do we.