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Every night after dinner we start our nighttime routine. We brush our teeth and wash our face, change into pajamas and pick out what books we’re gonna read. Brady is really into books  so we spend awhile reading his worn-out favorites and whatever new one’s we’ve picked up from our library list of 1000 books before kindergarten. After a few stories we turn off the lights and make shadows on the ceiling with his dinosaurs or animals. Then I kiss him goodnight and ask him how much I love him, and we say “to the moon and stars”  in unison and point up at the sky. That’s our routine. He knows it so well that I can’t skip a single part or he’ll point it out with a “momma, book time” or “momma, make shadows.”

I love our bed-time routine. I love it so much, but I hate that my husband can’t be there most of the time because of work. He works late into the night and rarely makes it home before Brady is asleep. When I tell him about our day and what we’re reading, what new words Brady has said or silly thing he did, I can tell he hates that he misses out on these moments.

So when I saw the CloudPets™ at Walmart I thought it would be really great if Brady could have a special message from Daddy he could play whenever he wants. The CloudPets™ are new, one-of-a kind toys that let you invite friends and family to send a message to your stuffed animal through a free app. Walmart has a few different CloudPet™ stuffed animal options- a Bear, Puppy, Kitty, Bunny and Unicorn. I let him pick out his favorite and he chose the Puppy and named him Bubbles. The CloudPets™ need three AA batteries to work so I grabbed those too.

When we got home I set-up our CloudPet™ with the app. It’s really simple, you just download the app to your smartphone, link up your CloudPet™ and give it a name. Once your animal is registered you can invite others to send a message to your pet. Friends and family can record a message and the CloudPets™ heart will flash. You can hear a message on your CloudPet™ and then record one to send back. We got Bubbles all set-up and ready to go and played around with recording silly messages.

Check out this how-to to see how the CloudPets™ work, click here.

When my husband got home I showed him our new CloudPet™ and explained how it all works. He recorded a little message for Brady and I snuck Bubbles back into bed beside him so he’d be surprised in the morning. It was so sweet watching him on the monitor the next morning, listening to his message and hugging the puppy.

I’ve shared my CloudPets™ story with you. I’d love to hear how you’d use your CloudPet™ to keep loved ones close.