Our Trip to Build-a-Bear

Last week we took Ella to Build-a-Bear to make a stuffed animal to bring to Kendall at the hospital. Ronnie and I took Ella there on her first Valentine’s Day – she was almost 1 month old – and made her a bunny. We wanted Kendall to have one and thought this would be a fun way to involve Ella and let the gift be from her.

We didn’t actually expect to get out of there with only one creation but surprisingly we did (sort of). Ella was excited to be making a gift for her little sister. She picked out (with our encouragement) a cute puppy that we ended up naming Snuggles. If anyone isn't familiar with Build-a-Bear, you can record a message that they stick inside of the animal (usually in its arm or leg) and you can press it to hear the message. Ella's message to Kendall says, “Hi baby Kendall…I love you.” At one point we recorded “Hi baby Kendall…whatcha doin’…see you later…bye!” It was hilarious but Ronnie accidentally hit the record button instead of the playback button and deleted it.

It worked out well because there was a smaller (cheaper) version of Snuggles we bought so Ella could have something, too. Her name is Snuggie. Actually, Snuggles can carry Snuggie in her mouth. Ella has been great understanding that Snuggles is for Kendall while Flops, the bunny, and Snuggie are her special animals.

We are still anxiously awaiting Kendall’s arrival and we’re excited to see Ella’s reaction when she comes to the hospital. We also can’t wait to see if Ella will actually hand Snuggles over to Kendall. :)