It all started with an Easter photo shoot and a trip to Walmart.
In 2022, my husband and I took Bella, along with my soon-to-be daughter-in-law Ravan, to pick up a few Easter props. Bella was about 13 months old, already dressed in her Easter dress and matching hat, and afterward we were heading to her Grammy’s house to take pictures in the front yard.
While browsing the Easter aisles, we reached the stuffed animals.
Suddenly, Bella started kicking her feet and squealing.
“Moo! Moo! Moo! Moo!”
Ravan and I looked to see what had gotten her so excited. Sitting on the shelf was a little stuffed cow.
There was only one.
It wasn’t expensive, and Bella wanted him so badly that of course he came home with us.
From the moment I handed him to her, she hugged and loved on that little cow like he was the greatest thing she had ever seen. He even had to be included in her Easter pictures that day.
And that was it.
Moo had found his person.
He went everywhere with Bella. She slept with him, fed him, played with him and took care of him. Before long, Moo had replaced all of her baby dolls.
Then, in 2024, Bella’s baby sister Elena was born.
Bella and Elena are biological half-sisters, and we adopted both of our girls. On the day Elena was born, Bella brought Moo to the hospital and introduced him to her new baby sister. When Elena cried, Bella would put Moo beside her.
As Elena grew, she watched the relationship between Bella and Moo. By about nine months old, she had decided she wanted Moo for herself.
Bella was not interested in sharing custody. 😂
Then, almost unbelievably, around Easter two years after we found Moo, Walmart put out another batch of the exact same cows.
I grabbed one for Elena immediately.
Actually, I grabbed two.
The third Moo is still hidden safely in my closet in case disaster ever strikes. Mothers plan ahead. 😂
Bella named Elena’s cow Mooey, and “Mooey” became one of the first handful of words Elena ever said.
Today, Elena is every bit as attached to Mooey as Bella is to Moo.
Eventually, those two little stuffed cows inspired the characters in our songs, videos and Moo Moo & Mooey Go Camping book. We changed their appearance when we created our own characters—something I had to explain to the girls—but they don't seem to mind.
To Bella and Elena, they're still Moo and Mooey.
Because long before there were songs, videos, books or adventures, there were simply two little girls and the cows they loved.
And in our house, Moo & Mooey aren't toys. They're family. ❤️