[leifjackie]

Our little princess will turn one year next month and we don't know if we'll be out of PGN by then (let alone the Minors) by then.

So, in reading the recent thread about Build a Bear, dh and I decided that was the PERFECT gift! So off we went to the mall last night afer work to Build a Bear. We picked out our favorite animal (a black bear with tan pads). The staff person choked up when we told her we were adopting a little girl from Guatemala and this would be her first birthday gift! She said we could each pick a lovely red heart and asked us to kiss it before she placed it inside the bear. We also chose to record two messages (one in English and one bilingual) and place one recorder in each paw. At the check stand, they placed the bear in a "house" shaped carrier box that said "I'm going home." Now, isn't that ironic?! I had a tear in my eye. This weekend, we will set up the tripod and take a family photo of dh and I holding the bear, so our baby can see her bear and us in the picture and hear us! We'll send it down with the bear and her card.

What a great time we had creating it and I think it will be the treasured toy for her for many years!

[PetDragon]

Oh my!

What a wonderful gift and how precious!

I will DEFINATELY be looking this build a bear thing up! On one of my Embroidery sites for home machine embroiders they have embroider a bear sets but now I'm wondering if the embrioderable outfits would fit these bears!

[tybeemuffin]

What an awesome idea!

[carrie2adopt]

I bet she'll love it!! I also made my Build A Bear this week...the pink one with a white heart on the tummy. I bought the furry angel wings instead of regular clothes (I didn't want to cover up the heart on the tummy). I also put a message into one of the paws. Why didn't I think about putting one in EACH paw? Duh!

Maybe we should take pics of our bears and post them...what a wonderful idea, I'm so glad whoever started that thread did...I never would have thought of a build a bear. I didn't even know you could record a message for them...such fun!

[CurlysGirly]

Oh my, that was beautiful. I literally got tears in my eyes reading your post. What a wonderful idea.

[Flops]

Build a Bear is an absolutely beautiful way to honor your child. Personally I would not send it down if you want it to be an heirloom for her to have and remember of her mommy and daddy for her first birthday.

I sent bears down for my twins and well they were never came home. They weren't with their things at pickup. I wish I had kept them till there arrival at home and given them to them as a welcome to your forever family present.

Just my opinion.

[Julaine]

I got teary eyed just reading your post too!

I agree ! I think I would keep the bear for welcome home and just send the picture ! Too precious of a gift to lose !

[Mommy2Paul]

I have tears too. What a beautiful idea that I know had to be happy/sad for you. I hope you get good news soon. You have waited a long time. Hang in there.

[Mandy4President]

aaaawwwww, I never thought of putting one in each paw!!! What a great idea!!!! That is so fun, isn't it?

[debragm]

You'll never forget your child's first bear!

I also teared up reading your post. How beautiful. My husband, my 7-year old daughter and I made a BB for our son and sent it to Guatemala. We recorded a message - one for each us (one in each paw, and on in the foot). The employees at BB were so helpful with ideas. My daughter sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and ended her message with "I love you, you're a great brother." I sang a special lullaby and told him that I loved him. My hubbie talked in his recording.

When we prepared for our pick up trip, I asked our agency if they could request the foster mother to return only a few items when she brought our son to the hotel. Most importantly. we asked for her to return the BB, as well as the disposable cameras that we had sent to them. We were so pleased that she returned everything we requested. You could tell by my son's reactions after he came home that they had played the bear for him often. My son is still calmed by my daughter singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. My son still loves his bear. I see him playing one of the paws over and over again and smiling or laughing.

Best wishes.

[keithandkristy]

We did the same thing for our first daughter and I sang "You Are Our Sunshine" in one of the recorders (in the paw). I ended up bringing it back home on a visit trip b/c I was scared I wouldn't get it back. I wanted to share that our daughter has been home over a year and still LOVES to press the paws and hear our voices. As a matter of fact, we just got home a week ago from picking up our twin daughters (in GUA) and we had to leave our first daughter (for the first time) at home. The grandparents told us she played with the bear the whole week and would listen to our voices!!! It is a great idea and they will cherish it for years!