We Finally Caved…

We made our first trip to Build-A-Bear yesterday.

Carrie and I, knew our days of strolling past the store in the mall without entering were limited. The girls are four years old now and notice everything, so there would be no more distracting them as we passed the store window filled to the brim with furry friends. This was especially true since we bought Allie a B-a-B gift card for her birthday back in October. :)As soon as we stepped in the store that day, AB was mesmerized and has asked several times since then to go back. But, like most of my friends, we’ve put it off as long as we could. (I laughed last week when my friend, Emily, posted on facebook that after years of “avoiding Build-a-Bear like the plague” they finally went.)

Neither Allie or Annabelle really understood the concept of building their own bear until they got to experience it firsthand together yesterday.

We fueled up at the Chick-fil-A first, because where else???

Proof that the babies were there, too! :)

The girls were the cutest things walking through the mall holding hands and giggling with excitement!

When we made it to Build-a-Bear, they surveyed the store and the wall lined with stuffed animals waiting to be chosen. Meanwhile, Carrie & I surveyed the price tags and quickly steered the girls down to the least expensive end of the wall…we knew how this whole thing worked – and that there would be accessories to be bought, too.

The girls both chose a tan bear and the sales lady led them over to start the process.

They took turns stuffing their bears and then each chose a heart for them. The sales lady had them rub it on everything from their head (so the bear would be smart) to their knee (so the bear would always need them). After a final wish, they put the hearts in their bears.

After the bears had been sewn up, they got baths. The blow dryer was a hit.

Up next, we shopped for an outfit and accessories for our bears.

AB was picking out every shiny, sequined and sparkly outfit she could find when I decided I better reign her in or we were going to be toting a new bear home that looked like she should be working the street corner in bear country. The girls were loving the shoes and all the accessories and you really can buy an entire wardrobe for your animals. I’m talking tank tops, dresses, shorts, skirts, dress up princess dresses, pajamas, bathing suits, and every kind of shoe you can think of.

Just when I thought we’d seen it all – we made it to the accessories- and I was so relieved to find out we can get our bear reading glasses, an Easter basket, panties, a passport, a smart phone and should our bear become injured – a wheel chair, cast, crutches and a complete medical kit.

It was equally parts insane and adorable, if that’s possible.

I was so proud of our girls who didn’t pitch a fit to have everything and were okay with the limits Carrie and I gave them. Sometimes places like this can bring out the absolute worst in kids – I speak from experience because some of the worst fits my own kids have had were in the aisles of Toys-R-Us. :)

After our bears were dressed, we set out to have their birth certificates printed up. Of course we had to do this – after all, how will this bear get on the ship for our upcoming cruise?

AB wanted to name her bear, “Annabelle” – I told her she might want to name it something different than her own name… so then she decided on, “Haley.”

We had two happy girls on our hands who were already planning which shoes and outfit they were going to get for their new bears next time they came shopping.

I have either “saver” or “sucker” written on my forehead, because I caved at the saleslady’s special and came home with a $10.00 gift card that I purchased for $5.00 that we can use on our next trip.

I’m sure there will be a next trip, because apparently, teddy bears can’t wear the same outfit everyday and they are inevitably going to get sick one day and need a doctor kit.

And so it begins…

~amw~