A Tale of Two Bears

A year or so ago, we took Riley to Build-a-Bear for the first time. She was so excited to "make" her own bear, and had a blast doing so. Cuddly has become her nighttime buddy. Riley was never attached to a blanket or stuffed animal as a baby or toddler, so it was rather surprising to see her latch on to her beloved bear.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. A certain boy who seemed to only have an affinity for trucks, cars, and anything that can be used as a truck or car, developed a certain fondness for a stuffed bear. And, of course, among the myriad of stuffed bears in our home, he set his sights on Cuddly alone. As you can imagine, Big Sis was not amused. Last weekend they were lying together in Riley's bed preparing for bedtime. Riley came out with big tears in her eyes saying that Sawyer had gotten Cuddly and wouldn't give her back. As if on cue, Sawyer came around the corner with Cuddly in a headlock. It was then that we decided it was time to purchase a second bear.

Riley took this photo of the two bears, beautiful Cuddly on the right

Thankfully, Build-a-Bear allows for you to purchase bears online. Yes, it seems rather wrong to buy a Build-a-Bear already built, but I didn't think the one-year-old would mind. He didn't, and, as you can see from the photo, he loves his new bear.