My Birthday: Part 1- Build-A-Bear

On Thursday, Addie and I got to spend the day with Faye.  After a nice cup of coffee at her house and a chance to admire her (and Jim's) new living room set and decor, we headed out to the mall.  Faye had a Build-A-Bear gift certificate that she has wanted to use on Addie for over a year now, so we finally made a date for it.  In retrospect, I'm glad we ended up doing it now instead of sooner because of Addie's understanding of the process and the attachment she now has to "Frankie" the bear (yep, he is named after Aunt Faye and Uncle Jim's cat).

Addie was a little nervous about helping too much with the filling of the bear, but as long as I held her she was fine. The pictures that you see of me holding her are really the only times I got to hold her because she decided that she would rather have Aunt Faye hold her most of the day.

If you have never been to Build-A-Bear, the first step is to choose your bear (he is floppy and unfilled).  Next you go to a "filling machine" where the bear is filled with fluff.  Addie then had to pick out a little heart, give it a kiss, and put it into her little bear.

We had a great "Builder".  She was so sweet and happy and wanted to make sure that Addie's bear was absolutely perfect. 

After giving her bear a hug to make sure he was perfect, we went over to the "tub" to give our little bear a bath.

Then it was time to register our bear and name him. Addie and Aunt Faye decided on the name Frankie.

 Aunt Faye insisted that Frankie have a little shirt.  What a big girl Addie was as she gave the cashier her bear at the checkout.  Then she thought he needed another bath, so while Aunt Faye finished up at the register, we headed back to the tub. 

Thank you Aunt Faye for our visit to Build-A-Bear and for our new family member "Frankie".

We then headed to Barnes and Nobles to color and read in the children's section. 

Aunt Faye then treated us to lunch for my birthday.  I had never been to Grill Smith before.  Wow!  The food was absolutely delicious and the dessert was even more fabulous!  We had a wonderful time together.  Faye, thank you for such a wonderful time!  Thank you for being my faithful friend.  And thank you for "Frankie".  Addie did not put him down until it was bath time. She talked to him as if he could really hear her.  I think she thought when I spoke for him, he was really talking to her! She even told him the story behind the Resurrection Eggs and thanked him for putting the pieces back in the eggs for her.