To Sprout, Love Bean: Our Build-a-Bear Adventure

So, remember when I mentioned that last Saturday was a long day? I wasn’t kidding. We went to Touch-a-Truck in the morning, and after that was when things got a little crazy.

I had the idea to take Riley to Build-a-Bear so he could make a special stuffed animal for Sprout. I wanted Kenny to be a part of the outing, so we obviously needed to go on a weekend. And, since we were running out of weekends sans Sprout, I figured we’d stop by the mall on our way home from the trucks and get it done.

Riley looked pretty tired when we got into the car to leave the airport, but I decided I wanted to give it a go anyway. We headed to Lakeside, where I was told the only Build-a-Bear in the city was located. After finally finding parking on the outskirts of the lot (it seemed that everyone in the area had decided to do some shopping that day), we walked through Dillard’s and into the mall, only to discover the Build-a-Bear store closed. Permanently closed.

Great.

After much debate, we wound up in the food court for a late lunch and did some research on where else we could get Sprout’s special bear. It turned out the closest place was the Build-a-Bear in Baton Rouge, so you can probably guess what we did next.

We drove to Baton Rouge.

My dear, sweet husband does not mind driving at all, and he knew I wanted to do this as a family before Sprout arrived, so he suggested and I accepted. A quick stop for gas and 55 miles later, we were standing outside a fully stocked and open for business Build-a-Bear in another equally crowded mall.

We decided to let Riley pick out which bear he wanted for Sprout. After talking him out of the bright green shamrock bear (yikes), we pulled a few options (including a puppy dog) and lined them up for him to choose from. He didn’t pick my favorite (the second one), but he did choose the same one both times: the black bear.

He also spotted an alligator that he requested for himself. (Again, I would have chosen the cute leopard instead, but, alas, this wasn’t about me.)

Then came the fun part: stuffing the two new friends. With some help and encouragement from employee John Carl, Riley got to press the pedal for the big machine and watched as the black bear and the alligator filled up with stuffing.

 

What came next was extra special. Before closing up the two new friends, Riley got to put a little red heart inside of each. John Carl led him through a cute little heart ceremony, and, after giving the hearts a big kiss…..

…..Riley tucked one into his alligator…..

…..and one into Sprout’s bear.

And voila! Two specially chosen new friends that he helped to make.

We tried to get him to give both of them names, but he was throwing out some crazy ideas. I don’t think he really understands the concept of naming something just yet. Sprout’s bear remains nameless, but he finally settled on Alliekamoo for his alligator, which I thought was cute enough to keep.

We headed back out into the mall after the successful outing, our two purchases secure in their boxes. We let Riley take a spin on the mall “train” and then got back on the road.

We had been out and about since 9am, neither the boy nor I had had a nap, and we arrived home just in time for dinner. It was a full day but it was a fun day.

The next morning Kenny and I needed to get some work done in Sprout’s room. We had been keeping the door closed so Riley wouldn’t wonder why all of his old furniture was in there, but we decided it was time to let him see the room. He promptly made a mess, pulling books and toys off of the bottom shelf of the changing table.

But we also let Riley put Sprout’s new bear into his crib, next to his very own blanket and lovie (a tiger instead of a giraffe) that I got for him weeks ago. I hope Sprout grows to love those things as much as his big brother loves his.

  

So, my sweet Sprout, I hope you like what your big brother picked out especially for you. And hopefully by the time you get here, we will have given your bear a name.

Unless you want to call him “Pus.” I believe that was the first name Riley suggested.

But don’t worry; you’ll get used to your brother’s wonkiness. Eventually.