Build A Bear Awesomeness

In May, Petey made a new friend. I had been trying to get her together with my friend's little girl because it would work out perfectly---I would have my friend, Petey would have her friend, and Spidey had already made best friends with their dog, Rico (true story).

So school was out and these girlies started playing together. One day, Petey noticed her friend had THE COOLEST My Little Pony stuffed animal and she asked where her friend had gotten it.

The answer?

Build-a-Bear.

Of course, for days, Petey was at my heels, begging me for one, telling me she needed one. She just had to have that MLP Build-a-Bear or she would die!!!

But I had no intentions of paying for the overpriced stuffed animal because 1) I'm cheap and 2) we have SO MANY stuffed animals. So I told Petey she was welcome to do chores to earn money for her Build-a-Bear trip.

And my goodness, was she determined! She earned a quarter a chore and after 6 weeks, she had around $12. It was kind of depressing. She would ask me all of the time if she had earned enough money and I kept having to tell her she hadn't. So I decided when she did bigger chores, she'd earn a little bit more.

During this time, Spidey had decided he wanted in the action so he would do chores every once in a while. But Spidey doesn't like chores as much as Petey so he hardly earned any money. I think he ended up with $7 after that 6 weeks.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, Petey kept asking when she was going to have enough money because it was taking FOREVER. I decided I'd give the kids the option of selling some of their toys to earn the rest of the money. And wow, Spidey started throwing all kinds of toys in his bag and within the week, he had more than earned his money for a Build-a-Bear.

It was great and exciting for him except Petey had been doing so many chores and working hard and now she was the one with less money. The reason being that almost ALL of her toys are things she just got for her bithday and she isn't ready to part with them yet.

But alas, she did sell a few toys and then the kids decided to sell one of their big toys and split the money and all of a sudden, we were there! They had done it!

So today, we headed over to Build-a-Bear!

We walked in the store and Petey already new her heart was set on Pinky Pie. She also had enough money for a simple bear so she chose a white one and got it a cheerleader outfit.

But my favorite part of the trip was when Spidey marched over to the bins and grabbed Rainbow Dash out and exclaimed that he had found his favorite one.

*Cue the giggles and squeals from both kids...seriously, SO MUCH excitement for their hard earned reward*

After stuffing the ponies and Petey's bear, Spidey and I were waiting while Petey picked out her bear's clothing and a little boy walked over and said, "Why are you getting a girl pony? That is just for girls. That's weird." and Spidey looked at him with confidence and said, "Uhh, Rainbow Dash is the fastest and the coolest. She isn't just for girls." He wasn't even phased by the question because he knows for sure that Rainbow Dash rocks. It made me smile.

I like it when my kids are confident. Because what the heck is the difference between my son liking Rainbow Dash and my daughter liking the color blue?

I'm all for teaching my kids about the awesome things about their specific gender. I am not pushing them one way or another. But I'm also ok with my son liking the same things his sister likes or vice versa. I just hope they're always confident and happy with their decisions.

And on that exciting note, enjoy this picture of my adorable children with their hard earned stuffed friends.

THEY ARE SO HAPPY!!!

PS: I guess I should also mention that the little boy's mom handled the situation quite awesomely and Spidey was quickly being apologized to...although he was a bit confused because he just didn't understand why someone was making fun of him for picking out the COOLEST THING IN THE STORE. Seriously, my boy rocks.

My Big Little Girl

There is so much to say about my big, little girl, Petey. In her 4 1/2 years of life, this little girl has been the perfect 'first child'. She is so helpful and seems to always be there when I need an extra hand. She is also sweet and doesn't like it when people are sad.
For example, lately whenever I ask her to do something, she replies with, "Yes, ma'am."
I keep wondering who taught her to talk like that!

Obviously, she has her moments. I'm not trying to say that my little girl is perfect but I am beyond grateful for her sweet moments.

Speaking of her growing up, a couple of weeks ago she wanted to ride her bike to the park but I had Spidey and he can't ride a bike yet so I thought of a different plan.

Yes, that's my girl, riding her bike by herself home from the park. She was nervous at first and cried for a bit when I told her we'd be driving but I assured her she would be fine.
Spidey loved watching her from the car and cheering her on. {On a side note, isn't it freaking awesome that the middle windows on my new van roll down?}

Also, this morning, I had just finished making my breakfast when the little baby I watch decided he needed to eat. I was trying to hurry up and finish when Petey came up to me and said, "Mom, don't worry about it. I'll feed him for you." And she did. {Have I mentioned how much I hope we have more babies? Her helpfulness is making me want one even more!}

As a last little bragging note, Petey has been learning to sound out words recently. I am having a hard time believing one of my babies is old enough for such a thing but she is doing it so well. We work a little on it each day and I love seeing the lightbulb go off in her head when she realizes the word she's trying to sound out. It makes me such a proud mom to see her learning and doing new things.

Have I mentioned how much I love that little girl? Well, I do. She is one of a kind.

And that's how Suze brags.