Belated Birthdays at the Build-a-Bear

After our big zoo trip, my mom and I decided it would be best to take rest days between each activity for sanity's sake. So on the 29th we relaxed at home and did arts and crafts, watched some good movies, and ate lots of yummy food while we awaited the next day's adventure.

Which just so happened to be a trip to the local Build-a-Bear to get the girls belated birthday gifts from grandma!

Lily IMMEDIATELY decided she was in love with a Hello Kitty doll and quickly found an attendant to start putting it together.

She got to help stuff it with fluff...

And then put a heart inside before it was all sewn up. I actually think her doll ended up with two hearts since she kept stealing more and sneaking them over during the sewing process.

Then it was Brooklyn's turn to stuff her purple peace bear full of fluff...

And give it a heart! She only put one heart in her bear, but not before she smothered it with hugs and kisses!

After assembly, the stuffed animals enjoyed a nice warm (waterless) bath and brushing.

And then the dressing began. By this time, Lily had occupied herself with the swivel chairs, so Grandma had to do all the dressing for Hello Kitty.

But Brooklyn was still totally focused and she picked out a great ballerina outfit and dressed her bear all by herself.

Then Grandma helped the girls type up birth certificates for their animals...

and the attendant boxed them up in little houses to go home!

The girls had so much fun and absolutely LOVE their special stuffed animals, however, Lily was a tired stinker by the end of the adventure and refused to touch or look at Kitty...Until we got in the car a while later. Then she suddenly pulled it out of the box and started smothering it with loves and kisses while repeating, "Cuuute Kitty! You so cute! I love you!" Hahaha I guess she wanted to love it on her own terms, the little punk!

Anyway, after we were done at Build-a-Bear, we treated grandma to a real Chicago hotdog, Portillo's style! And then we all split a yummy chocolate shake before heading home for naps.

The next day was supposed to be another rest day, but mom and I got "the itch" so instead of resting, we decided to redo my office!

A couple hours, a bucket of paint, and a little sewing later, we ended up with this! There are still a few more things to do, but the bulk of it got finished that day. Not very restful, but it was still a fun and rewarding project!

Stay tuned for more on our visit with Grandma Uda...