Build A Bear 2015

I know our beach trip was four weeks ago, but please bare with me as I blog a couple of more posts. This blog serves as our family journal; individual posts have helped us all remember forgotten details and also settled arguments. (I lost. Jaina was right.)

So, here's our yearly tradition at Build-A-Bear.

And just in case you don't know what 1 stuffed animal a year per kid looks like, its this:

Jocelyn was determined to get a "cute little stuffed doggie!" and there were certainly plenty to choose from.

Jayce didn't really know what he was looking for. He saw Olaf first and grabbed it, claiming he was done with his selection.

I have to admit that I am surprised he picked Olaf. Sure, we've seen Frozen ten dozen times like every other kid. Of course we think Olaf is funny! But that's it. Jayce has never mentioned him outside of watching the movie with us every now and then.

Jaina is the opposite of Jayce. Whereas he grabs the first thing he sees, she hems and haws for a good 20 minutes before selecting her animal. She decided on a pink bear this time. I have no idea what her reasoning was.

And by the way, 13 is not the age yet where a teen might think Build-a-Bear is a stupid tradition or for babies. Our wallets hope that the big kids outgrow needing a stuffed animal soon.

So, Jocelyn was going to get a puppy. A Promise Pet puppy to be exact.

Then she saw the My Little Ponies.

She looked at the bins of deflated unstuffed animal shells and then looked up at the display of stuffed animals. "I want a BIG Twilight Sparkle. This one is broken." It took a lot of convincing to reassure her that the pony she picked out would turn out just like the one on the display.

Build- a - bear has a nifty new sound machine. It can program any chip to play a variety of sounds. I personally don't care for stuffed animals with sounds. Eventually the sound dies. Jayce has a brown bear that we made for him when he was 2 and it sounds like it is playing a lullaby from a horror movie.

But the kids like sounds so that's what they get. I wanted Jocelyn to pick the My Little Pony Theme, but she had other ideas.

I had to run to the restroom very quickly. And while I was gone, Jaina had already done everything she needed to for her bear and it was getting sewn up. Mommy fail!!

Then it was Jocelyn's turn.

Jocelyn stepped on the pedal to make the stuffing come out.

Then she was instructed to give Twilight Sparkle a hug to make sure she was just the right amount of fluffy.

Then she picked out a heart. She had to rub it in her hands to warm it up.

Then touch it to her forehead to give it knowledge.

And, then give it a kiss to pass on the love...

Finally, she got to put it in.

Brian took Jocelyn to give Twilight Sparkle a bath and get her dressed. I took pictures of Jayce and his Olaf.

Then it was time for Olaf's "bath".

I like the checkered hearts best, but they only had plain silky ones this time.

And here's where the money comes in...

Jocelyn wanted her pony to have roller skates. And it couldn't be naked on roller skates, right?

And you had to have a leash so you could pull your pony around on her new roller skates.

Olaf was easy. Jayce picked out the Summer Outfit that Olaf wears in his daydream/song about Summer. Then he got to do his favorite part: filling out the birth certificate on the computer.

Doesn't Twilight Sparkle look lovely?

Jaina was a bit more conservative with her outfit. She knew what she already had from years past and got something that all of her bears at home could wear, too.

And here's the finished products:

Going to Build-a-bear each year always sparks a renewed interest in stuffed animal pretend play. I love that this is something all three kids love and can play together :)