The Birth of Hearty

I told you yesterday about our colorful run through Richmond. I didn't mention what went on for the rest of the trip - a lot of driving, a lot of shopping and a lot of eating. Basically, the most boring trip imaginable for Charlotte. So when we happened upon a Build-A-Bear Workshop during one shopping outing, I know we had to stop in. She has a reindeer from there, but it doesn't fit into most of the clothes, so we've never spent much time in the store. Until this weekend. I think we were in there for about an hour. Eeek!

Our bear-building started with her picking a pale pink bear and helping Allison (the worker at the store) get her stuffed and fluffed. Charlotte decided to name her bear Hearty, after the heart patterned fabric on the bear's paws. We all got a good laugh at the super obvious name, but Charlotte stuck with it. Here she is, captured by the same junky waterproof camera that I used on the race:

After Hearty was sufficiently bathed and brushed, we got to shopping for clothes and accessories. One thing is for sure, my girl knows how to shop. Mark, my mom, my sister and I all helped (steered) and she ended up with quite the mix of daywear, pajamas and princess dresses. The amount we spent was a bit shameful, but my girl doesn't get these sort of shopping sprees often (ever, really), so it was fun to be able to spoil her.

She spent the rest of our trip changing Hearty's clothes for every occasion - bedtime, dinner out, the drive home. And she's been playing with and sleeping with Hearty since our return. I have a feeling this bear won't have any shortage of love.