If you've never been, I highly recommend preparing for a high energy super happy place, bless the people who work there and spend a larger amount of time than I did simply purchasing the bears. It's a great place to visit.. in short stints. So, I picked out a silver ear and foot lined bear carcass for Alexiss and a Canadian flat bear for me, or rather, for my car, onto the stuffing and outfits goes I. Shoes, jackets, backpacks, and yes, even pjs and boxer gitch for these lil darlings! I stayed cool and managed to limit myself to one outfit, one pair of shoes and one jacket for each, but you bet your sweet bippy I'll be heading in again for PJs and gitch in the next few months. The line up to stuff said flat carcasses was full of excited lil kidlets just waiting to bring their bears to life. I watched as each one went up to the stuffing machine employee, flat bears in their arms and big smiles on their faces, I'm sure some of them were not first timers, like me. In goes the stuffing, it's the magic that happens after that makes these bears sooo special. Build-A-Bear employees ask the future owner and best friend of the bear to go and pick out a little felt stuffy heart from the front of the machine. When the child returns they are asked to man handle the heart, rub it on their ears so their new friend will always hear them, rub it on their heart so they know they are loved, rub it on their tummy so they don't get hungry and close to last, jump up and down to get it's heart pumpin! And last but not least, close their eyes and make a wish. Oh yes, my dear friends and family, this old Momma, with no kid present.. went through the same ritual and you know, it did lift my heart a little and it DID make the bear just that much more special (just ask Alexiss). My wish as I closed both eyes and held both hearts tighter was simple, "Love Always, Always Love".
As soon as I got home, Alexiss and Joy were inseparable....and then she spotted Harmony and now they are a threesome. Needless to say, Harmony never made it to my car and is still keeping bearable warm in the house.
We have another child from the neighborhood coming over for home care with Olive, Lauren. Lauren is a few months older than Alexiss. It's all going well, poor Olive, and Alexiss is learning to share her toys and her "Olive". I really think it's good for her, although she's still not totally settled with the whole concept in just one week, but Lauren has gone as far as to brush Alexiss's hair, to which Alexiss was totally perplexed, but didn't get up and move away.
We almost have "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" nailed down. Alexiss surprised us by showing us her head a little while back, she quickly mastered "toes" like a natural. Knees was a little more abstract for her, but it still only took a few days. This weekend we start "shoulders". Pretty soon we'll be a'singin and a'dancin the famous song complete with actions!
Last weekend Alexiss pointed to an apple in the fruit bowl, not thinking anything of it besides exploring, gave it to her. Alexiss proceeded to start chomping on the apple! It was still round enough that her teeth scrapped off more than allowing her to bite chunks of, so have-at-her!
