Build-a-Bear

Tia's first visit to Build-a-Bear was two years in the making. Tia received a $25 gift certificate from a friend from work named Sheri when work had a baby shower for me a month or so before I had Tia. Then a few weeks after Tia was born, her cousin Drew (my first cousin...my Aunt Kina's son) wanted to get her a bear from Build-a-Bear that she could stuff when she was ready. I also bought a recorder from Build-a-Bear and recorded Tia's heartbeat when she was still in my belly. We wanted to wait until we felt Tia could appreciate going and getting her bear done and so we decided to wait until she was two. Other signs she was ready is how much she loves bears. My younger sister was visiting from college and had a Build-a-Bear that Tia kept stealing and hugging. So once she had her 2 year birthday, we decided to take her up to the actual shop when we found an open day. So today we took her up to Build-a-Bear and had some fun. Tia was a bit overwhelmed by the mall and people. She wanted Daddy to hold her most of the time. In the store, she didn't want to give up her bear to get stuffed. We had to promise her that she'd get her bear back. So we had her bear stuffed, heartbeat recorder put in, fluffed her, and then bought her two cute outfits that Tia helped pick out. Well, she picked out the cute pink dress and shoes. I picked out the cute pink Cardinal's outfit. When getting the bear's certificate ready, I asked Tia 'what do you want to name her' and she said 'bear', so that is her name. It was really fun. So thanks Sheri, Kina, and Drew for the gift - Tia loves her Bear!