Nib Loves Mooky

Everybody has that memory from their childhood of that one special toy -- you know, that one: the favoritest, most bestest toy ever!

For some it's a stuffed animal or blanket, for others it's that cool bike or Corvette, or the Baby Beans doll that smelled just so. Whatever it is, it symbolizes the best about childhood: innocence, wonder, joy, comfort. Just seeing it or even talking about it takes us back to that time and brings back some of that feeling, those warm memories.

When I was very young, it was a pair of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. I loved them until they literally fell apart. I "lost" them one day only to have them reappear several weeks later at one quarter size. My mother told me that she washed them and they "shrank". I'm still getting over it.

When I was older the toy was a full scale Star Wars Imperial Walker AT-AT with battery operated machine gun tusks that lit up. I loved anything and everything Star Wars, but I loved having that AT-AT best. It was 1980 and the thing cost an unbelievable $50. My parents told me they would never ever buy a toy that expensive. Yet it was my birthday and there it stood in all its gray plastic glory. It still has a cherished place in my mother's house and my kids play with it when we visit.


My youngest, Nib, has discovered a stuffed pink walrus named Mooky. It was originally a gift from me to my college girlfriend. It was returned last year when she cleaned out her closets to move with her husband to Finland; the thought was one of my many Nod-lings would enjoy having it.

It has turned out to be Nib's favorite toy -- it's small, cute, and cuddly just like her. Every single day she pulls it out and loves on it. Then, she will hide Mooky in a toy bin or under a blanket and come running to one of us demanding that we find it for her: "Da!". Once Mooky is "rescued" she snatches it up and hugs it while dancing in place.

Rinse. Lather. Repeat. It is the world's funniest display of toddler love I have ever seen.

This is a picture of Nib loving on Mooky. Shout out to Naranja for sending a little pink walrus to light up a little girl's life.