Build-A-Bear

Daddy was off the Friday before Fourth of July, so we had a fun family outing to the mall! I'm sure Daddy was thrilled. haha. :o) We took Hallie to ride the quarter rides, to eat lunch at Chick-fil-A and then to Build-A-Bear. One of the last times we were at the mall, Hallie actually noticed Build-A-Bear. We walked around in there and she admired all the clothes, shoes, accessories, and the animals awaiting a loving family. She didn't question whether or not she could get anything...so after discussing it with Jonathan, we decided we'd take her the next day. She was so excited. We gave her a choice of a dark brown bear, the light brown bear, or a fluffy bunny. The bunny was honestly the cutest of the 3 choices, but after giving her the choices, I silently prayed she'd choose a bear. Yes. I'm admitting that. C'mon...she can't choose a bunny for her first experience at Build-A- BEAR!! She studied all of them for what seemed like an eternity. Then she pointed to the light colored bear. Whew!

I had never been to BAB...so I had no idea what to expect. The "Bear Expert" was very sweet to Hallie. She took Hallie to the cuddles and love fluffing machine and told Hallie to step on the pedal to start fluffing her bear. Hallie was hesitant at first, but when she finally did it she was excited to be the one making the machine work! The expert talked to Hallie while it was being done, asking her what she was going to name the bear. Do you know what she decided on? Bear. That's right. The bear's name is Bear. Then we asked Hallie if it as a boy bear or a girl bear. She stood there for a few seconds and then replied, "Um...itsa girl bear." When Bear was finished being stuffed with cuddles and love, the expert asked Hallie to pick her out a heart. The expert had Hallie rub it together with her hands--so the bear would have warm heart. Then Hallie rubbed it on her face so Bear would be as beautiful as she is. Then she rubbed it on her arms so Bear would have lots of hugs to give. Then Hallie held it close to her heart so Bear would be filled with love. I thought all that was sweet. After Bear got her heart and was sewn up, Hallie got to take her to get an air bath. I think this was Hallie's favorite part. She thought it was hilarious that the bear was getting a bath! She kept saying, "Bear, you like that?!" So cute. :o) Hallie promptly picked out some shoes for Bear and Jonathan helped her pick out a little outfit. Although neither is seen on Bear very often (which I figured), but Bear has been very loved since she came to live with us!