This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CloudPetsForever #CollectiveBias

A few years ago, we moved over 5 hours away from my hometown. Unfortunately, that meant leaving my mom behind, and my kids miss her terribly! When my kids saw a commercial for CloudPets™, I knew we’d have to get one so they could connect with their grandma!

The CloudPets™ animals are soft and snuggly. They have many kinds to choose from, including a Walmart-exclusive unicorn, kitty, bear, bunny, and puppy.

This one-of-a-kind product allows kids to connect with people that might be far away or unavailable.  I think it would be sweet for military families, connecting with grandma (like we did), or even using it when one parent is away on a business trip.

We headed to Walmart for our CloudPets™ animal early in the day because I had made the mistake of telling them we’d be purchasing one right before bed the night before.  Guess who was up, dressed, and ready to go at 7:45AM?  Yeah, that would be my 4 oldest children.  I’m sure the 9 month old would have done it, too, if he had any clue what we were talking about!

We found the CloudPets™ display in the As Seen on TV aisle of our store, but I know that some locations have a separate pallet display as well.  When in doubt, just ask an associate.  That’s what we do, anyway!

After taking many votes, my kids settled on the puppy.  I honestly might have to go back and get one of each style for the kids so they can each have their own.  They can all share the one we have for now, but I think they’d all prefer to have their own personal CloudPets™ stuffed animal.  It might be more fun as far as sending and receiving messages, too, because it would specifically be to and from each individual kid instead of a shared family puppy!

Once we got our puppy home, I started getting it set up.  It comes with a handy instruction guide, or you can check out this How It Works video guide for very detailed instructions on setting up and using the CloudPets™.

Basically, once you have purchased your animal and placed the required batteries in it, you download the free app.  I was excited to see that there was an app for Android devices in the Google Play store, in addition to an Apple app.

You’ll need to have Bluetooth enabled on your phone since that is how it will sync with your new CloudPets™ friend.  Create a log in, sync the animal, and get started!

There are parental controls in the free app.  For example, you are in control of who can send and receive messages from and to your new animal.  In the app, you go in and send an email invitation to people you’d like to connect to.  In our case, of course, the kids’ grandma was the first one we sent an invitation out to!   Once they download the app, they’re able to send little messages to your child and will be able to receive messages that your kids send back.

I also added their dad on there.  My 3 year old insisted because he said he wanted to be able to tell Daddy goodnight.  I find this hilarious since Daddy is home every night and he already says goodnight in person, but whatever!  It will be adorable when he does it, even if it’s a little silly.

The stuffed animal has a little heart on its chest.  When your child has received a new message, it will flash to indicate to them that they have a new message.  They simply press the little blue button on their CloudPets™ left paw and the message will play.

To record their own message back, they will press the red button on the right paw, record the message, and press the button again.  You then go into the app and select who to send the message to.  What a sweet surprise for your loved ones!

My kids have been loving their new CloudPets™ puppy, which we named Pup.  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing their eyes twinkle as they listen to new messages.  They’ve gotten pretty clever with the messages that they send back, too.

Who would you connect with using CloudPets™?

Which adorable animal would your family choose?

CloudPets™ are available in select Walmart stores right now, but they’ll soon be widely available nationwide.  Don’t forget that they will need three AA batteries to work, and most stores will have these located on the pallet display where you will find the CloudPets™.