Alexa took one look at the selection of stuffed animal "skins" and immediately decided on a bright pink dog. When it came time to stuff her selection, she asked for "not too much fluff." Then, she made her way to a station where she gave her stuffed dog a "bath" with forced air. When prompted to pick out one outfit for her dog, she replied, "No thank you. My dog is fine just the way she is." Uncle Zach, who was paying, was perfectly fine with that decision.
Penny was next to make her selection. Since she didn't seem drawn to any animal in particular, I narrowed her choices down to the two least-expensive options. She proudly said, "THAT ONE!" and pointed to a light tan bear. I handed her the bear's "skin" and she hugged it tight and gave a huge smile. Oblivious of the rest of the process, she would have been perfectly content to take just a bearskin home. Next, she followed directions when asked to press the foot pedal that filled her bear with stuffing, but was too scared to give her bear an air bath. While perusing the clothing selections, she decided she wanted ALL the outfits: "THAT ONE! THAT ONE! THAT ONE!" but ultimately decided on an easy to dress/undress pink shirt and pair of ruffly socks.
Ronnie spent a loooooong time deciding on an animal to stuff. After careful consideration, she narrowed her choices down to a snowy owl or a bright blue bear covered with peace signs. She deliberated over these two for a while and finally decided on the peace bear because, "I have an owl at home, but I don't have a bear with peace signs." She stuffed and "washed" her bear and then carefully selected an outfit she deemed a perfect complement to her bear's coloring and personality.
Next came the Birth Certificate process where each kid picked a name for the animal they'd stuffed and dressed (or opted not to dress). Ronnie came up with a name that she thought reflected the peace aspect of her bear's design:
Alexa thought hard, stared at her creation for inspiration, and came up with a good, original name for her dog:
I held up Penny's bear and asked her, "What's her name?" And she told me. I said, "Are you sure?" and she said, "Yes." Maybe she'll develop her creative streak later. Or maybe she's just practical:
It was a fun experience for the girls (thank you Uncle Zach and Augustana!) and when they came home, they started planning all the new outfits they say I'm going to make for their animals. Hmm. Sounds like it's time for some little girls to learn how to sew...
