Build-a-... Cat!!

A few nights ago Ella was humming a cute little tune with strange words that went like this: "builder bear, builder bear, where are you? builder bear, builder bear, how are you, etc., etc." At first it didn't click. She had heard about "Build-a-Bear" probably from her friends at school and that's what she thought it sounded like "builder bear!" Funny!

You see, this kid did not know of this magical place where you could "build" your own bear or other stuffed and cuddly favorite toy. So on Saturday I decided to take her there and let her pick a toy to stuff. She was super excited! First, I must say she was very patient with me finding the store in the mall. I didn't know which side of the mall it was on, and with the mall being outrageously big, we had quite a walk. Good thing that there were a few interesting places (for mommy) along the way (i.e. Ann Taylor, Loft, Old Navy, etc.) and she was a good sport about stopping in and waiting for me to try some clothes on. (I love my sweetie pie! She is the best shopping buddy.)

Anyway, we finally got there and she was so happy in the bear/stuffed toy paradise! As I suspected, she didn't pick a bear (she's not a big teddy-bear fan), she picked a cat instead. 

[The experience was so neat, how she picked a "heart" for her cat, and rubbed and kissed it and then stuffed inside; then pushed the pedal to stuff for just the right amount of fluffiness, gave the cat a bath, and then picked her outfit! Once we did all that, we moved on to the computer station to create kitty's birth certificate and enter other very important data :)! Very neat! I was almost as excited as she was!] There she is:

Now she has to earn money for any additional outfits or accessories.