Build A Bear

This weekend we decided we would take the kids to Build A Bear for the first time.  The kids have walked by the store in the mall a hundred times because it is conveniently located right beside the kids play area.  The last several times I've taken the kids to the play area, Zoe has walked out of it and headed directly into the Build A Bear store.  She's even picked out a bear.  So despite we were questioning if the kids were old enough to truly enjoy the Build A Bear experience, we took them.  During our time there we definitely came to the conclusion that we would have likely been better off to wait another year.  Despite a little bit of chaos, it was worth it though.

We were expecting the experience to be a little more guided so we had to ask lots of questions, but all worked well since the kids are really more into going at their own pace anyway.  The kids were able to pick out their very own bear.  Zoe picked the same bear that she had picked the other two times she has wandered into the store.  It was a tan and cream color bear.  Dylan picked a black bear.  Then it was time to go have the "fluff" as Dylan calls it put into the bears.  Dylan and Zoe each picked out a little heart to go inside of their bears before the associate sewed them up.  Picking the heart, kissing it, and sticking it inside the bear seemed to be one of Dylan's favorite parts.  It was hard to get him to move on to the next step in the process until he realized it was giving his bear a bath.  Both kids enjoyed pretending to bathe and groom their bears.  Once the bears were all good and clean, it was time to go pick out some outfits.  Dylan was actually pretty quick in picking out his bear's outfit.  He's been really into soccer here lately and so he picked out a soccer outfit that was complete with shin guards and a soccer ball.  Daddy helped Zoe pick out a cute dress and Mommy helped her pick out some matching shoes.  We dressed the bears and got them all ready to be taken home.  Before leaving you get a birth certificate for your bear and so the kids needed to come up with a name for thier bears.  This was a bit challenging so we ended up leaving the store with our new friends "Bear" and "Soccer Bear."  Dylan and Zoe both had to sleep with their bears and Zoe has carried hers around all day today.  We hope this will be a toy they both remain fond of for a long time.

Bathing the Bears

This was my attempt at taking pictures of their bears all dressed before checking out of the store.  I will have to try again.  Zoe nor Dylan were interested in pictures.