The Disappearance of Baby Pepper

Several nights ago my husband and I were putting the kids to bed. All of a sudden Lil Sis said, "I want my Baby Pepper!"

"Have you seen her?" I whispered to my husband. "I haven't seen her all day."

"No, haven't seen her either." he whispered back uneasily.

Thankfully I was able to distract Lil Sis with two other beloved stuffed friends, a mommy fox and baby fox just like her big cousin has.

We looked around that evening and over the following days in the house and the car, but Baby Pepper was nowhere to be found. I started wracking my brain to think when was the last time I saw her?

Then I realized, the last time I remembered seeing her was almost a week ago when we went with to Friendly's with some cousins. We had left the restaurant in a bit of a rush as kids were getting restless. Maybe I forgot Baby Pepper there? It was a late night realization so the next morning I called the restaurant.

"Have you seen a little black stuffed dog?" I asked hopefully to the guy on the other end of the line. He asked the other staff if they were working on Sunday (the day we went) and had seen the dog in question. 

No one had.

"I lost my son's little snuggly lamb once." said the guy on the other end of the line. "I let it fall out of the stroller in a store and my wife never let me forget it even to this day. My son is six years old now!"

I appreciated the commiseration, but it was no real comfort for me. I left my name and number just in case Baby Pepper did turn up.

After not seeing Baby Pepper for over a week I started searching online to see if I could find a replacement. I didn't know if Lil Sis would go for it, but I had to try. She was asking about Baby Pepper more and more often but each time I just redirected her to something else.

I found a look alike online, and asked my husband if he agreed that I should order it. "Let's wait until tonight ," he said.

We forgot to talk about it later that night. But, as we returned home from music class this morning, Lil Sis reached down and picked up Baby Pepper from the middle of the hallway! She was so happy! She gave her beloved friend a big long hug, and cooed "Baby Pepper! I found Baby Pepper!"

Oh what a relief! I'm glad I didn't order that replacement. Turns out my husband found Baby Pepper squished in between our bed and the floor. I don't know when or how she got there, but boy am I glad she came back!