Hooray for Build a Bear!

Gah - I can't believe I just typed that title.

I wish I had a picture of Anna Marie at Build a Bear, but I left my camera at home! And yes, I have a camera phone, but it gave me an error message about too many applications open or something. Huh?

Anyway.

I never would've guessed how much fun my little one had at that store. I even had a good time.

I'm taking her back soon to make a lamb for Easter.

So, if you ever have a chance to go to one of those parties, or to just take a kid to Build a Bear, I highly recommend it.

Here's how it went down:

All the kids sat in a circle with their "party hostess" and got a name tag. (Funny, but the "hostess" kept calling Anna Marie "Anna Nicole." Too much E News, huh?)

Then they tell how they know the birthday kid. And under the plan we had, they got to choose a bear - either a "chocolate" or a "vanilla."

Anna Marie took the chocolate bear. She's my kid, alright.

Then, they got their flat bears and took them over to the stuffing station, where they took turns pushing the foot pedal as the hostess stuffed the bears.

Those Build a Bear folks, they're friggin' geniuses. They devised a game for the kids who weren't stuffing to play - hot potato, except with a little satin heart. That way, the kids were occupied while someone else was stuffing their bear, and it was an arbitrary way to decide who went next.

Speaking of the hearts, each kid got two - one for the birthday boy, and one for their bear. They each put a heart into Aaron's bear, after wishing on it and such.

Then, before they stuffed their bears, they put their hearts in.

Anna Marie's wish - "That I would be with my bear FOREVER!"

Aww.

I always wondered how the bears were sealed in the back, but they've thought of that too. The bears are pre-sewn, and the hostess pulls it tight and ties a knot. I'm thinking that part taks LOTS of practice.

When the bears are stuffed, the child tells the hostess what the bear's name will be. True to form, Anna Marie named hers "Power Ranger Bear."

The bear then got a T-shirt. Instead of a pretty pink one, you guessed it, we ended up with one with flames that said "All Star." She said Power Ranger Bear was a boy's name, so she would have a boy bear. And although the pink Supergirl shirt looked tempting, no self-respecting Power Ranger Bear would be caught stuffed in one.

Flames it was, then.

After each bear was issued a Cub Condo (a cardboard box - the bears are apparently bums) and a birth certificate, we went across the road to McDonald's for the rest of the party.

It wasn't an "official" McDonald's party, so we just grabbed tables and took over half the restaurant.

I'm enjoying that some of my cousins have kids not too much younger than Anna Marie, and it gives us another excuse to get together. Especially since Anna Marie's other cousins live 500 miles away.

And I finally got to see Ameila, the baby sister of the birthday boy and daughter of my cousin Cheree.

Oh my gosh - I don't know how my aunt Esther, the youngest of the 10 Coleys, ended up with more grandkids that look like that side of the family per capita than any of her other siblings. I guess the rest of us cousins just married people with stronger gene pools or something.

But! My camera phone was working at McDonald's, and I got a picture!



Just look at those cheeks!

And I think she's going to have the Coley blue eyes!

(Pardon me for the baby excitement, will you?)

So, to sum up: Build a Bear was fun. We're going back - maybe not the "99 times" that Anna Marie wants, but at least once more to make the lamb. Even Jason is on board with this one.

And Amelia is cute! And I finally got to see her!

Saturday was a good day.