Our Newest Family Member...

When we were at Disneyland a week before his birthday, Harrison noticed Build-a-Bear boxes being carried about in little hands for the first time.

"Mommy!... I want a house, mommy!"

"That's from Build-a-bear." I tell him.

"I want to go to build-a-bear house! Pleeease Mommy!"

"Well, honey, maybe we can stop by when we come back for your birthday but not today."

We go into the park and he soon forgets about it. For a few days.

The following Thursday, as we drove home from our Mops group Harrison announces,

"I want to go to Build-a-bear house, Mommy."

After a short dialog pursued I realized I had run out of reasons not to go to the local Build-a-bear.

I discovered that asking my 3-year-old to pick one animal to stuff is more painful than 3 root-canals! In fact, we left the store, visited other stores, run around a bit and came back.

At the suggestion we go home and come back a different day, Harrison was ready to pick.

He looked at many of the animals and would say, "that one!", then I would pull it out of the bin and he would say, "yuck! it's broken!" and throw it back in and we would start all over again.

I had to convince him that there was more to the build-a-bear part of getting a "house". That it started with an empty bear, that HE actually was going to help fill it and clean it and name it. With all that in mind, he became more willing to accept the limp clump of fabric-bear-fur.

Stepping on the pedals to get fluff and air were highlights , but the best part was naming the bear on the computer.

I asked him "what do you want to name him?"

"Bucky"

"What?"

"Bucky"

"Bucky?"

"Yee-as"

"Bucky it is, then."

Meet Bucky. I have been informed that he likes to sleep in his build-a-bear-house.

Bucky in his bear-house