Adding to the collection

You might have read about this before, but we have a tradition in our family. Usually a few weeks before our new baby is born, we go to Build-a-Bear to make their very own special bear. Jacob's bear is chocolate and it has a recording of Adam and I saying that we love him. Gavin's bear is vanilla and it sounds like this, "Love you Gavin (Daddy), love you Gavin (Mommy), wuv you Ga-bin (Jacob)." The more kids we have, the more fun the bear and experience gets!



Since we didn't know if our baby was a boy or a girl, we had to make Casey's bear after he was born. Jacob and Gavin had the best time... it was so much more fun than when Adam and I had gone by ourselves almost five years ago. Adam wanted to get a little dog, but I talked him into a black bear so it would match his brothers. It was really cute watching Jacob and Gavin kissing the hearts that went in his tummy, giving him a bath, and helping Daddy fill out his birth certificate.

So Casey's bear sounds like this, "Love you Casey (Daddy), love you Casey (Mommy), love you Casey (Jacob bursting into laughter), and Gavin's sweet, soft voice (luv you Ca-sey)." The boys, of course, like Casey's bear the best because it has their voices on it. Going through the experience also rekindled a love for their own bear. My favorite is watching them bring Casey his bear to comfort him if he is crying or just to keep him company.