Panda and Bun

My girls each had a stuffed animal when they were small that was very important to them. I do not remember Josh having anything special - maybe its a girl thing.

Chelsie had Panda - a small black and white bear that she named. He probably was fluffy and plump when she first got him - but as time wore on, he wore out. His fur was kind of matted down to one flat length and his stuffing was flattened out as well. I believe he still had both of his eyes and I'm pretty sure his nose was sewn on so that was still intact for the most part.

She carried him backwards - or what I consider backwards. His back was up against her stomach. Her hand rested on his stomach and she held his left arm. He was with her quite a bit of the time but he was ALWAYS with her at night. That is.... until the day Panda got lost. We searched and searched. We just couldn't find that old boy anywhere. She was so sad and frankly, I felt bad too. Then one day it was time to change the sheets on her bed and there, tucked between the mattress and the wall was a cute little smooched bear - waiting patiently for a little girl to find him. She was a happy child - and I'm sure she slept better at night.

Rachael had Bun. She was a small brown rabbit that was laying on her legs I believe. You couldn't actually see her legs... but she was not standing up. Bun also accompanied us pretty much everywhere we went. She was a little small bunny that could travel easily with Rachael. She fit well in her one little hand.

I believe it was 1st grade when that rabbit disappeared, never to be seen again. Mrs. Brown had the front display and for some reason, Bun was in the display. From that point on, after the display, we never saw her again. Rachael has always thought that Chrissy Wernette took her - I don't know where that idea came from, but that was always the thought. We sometimes think that we've seen Bun but Rachael won't even let us pretend that we see her. Its still a sensitive topic.

The girls have had plenty of other soft animals - there were also People Pillows and Cabbage Patch Kids. There were Pound Puppies and Strawberry Shortcake Dolls. Who can forget Care Bears and The Get-Along-Gang. But nothing ever could or ever will take the place of Panda and Bun.