Un-bearably Cute!

I know, I know, I'm seriously overdoing the cutesy theme and what is it with my obsession with bears at the moment??? Anyway bear with me (ha ha) for a while longer while I share with you some pics of Carl and his new best friend. By the way that's face paint on Carl, not pizza.






















When he jumped off the school bus with a furry brown bear and its substantial luggage (who said animals travel light? Obviously Paddington isn't the only bear with an extensive wardrobe) I figured Carl must have swiped the furry fellow from someone at school. But no, this is Boris, mascot and friend of Group 1B at the Dutch School. Boris gets to go home with a different kid each weekend, to be subjected to a crazed weekend of non-stop partying, beer swilling, drinking games and general debauchery. Or in our case, pizza on the sofa and a day locked in the car while we watched Sinterklaas arrive at Keppel Marina on Saturday.
Boris comes from the Build A Bear Workshop, a place which we ourselves discovered recently and which is a hugely fun venue for young children. The kids get to pick out what kind of bear (or other animal) they want to make from a wide range of pre-sewn 'empty' bodies. They then help to stuff it with the help of a very cool machine which blows soft stuffing into the beast through a hole in the back. An assistant then gets them to pick out a red satin heart, make a wish with it and then poke it inside the toy before it is quickly closed up. They then get to 'bath' their new bear under an air shower, after which comes the fun part - picking out an outfit. There are literally hundreds of different accessories available and if you thought the price tag of a basic bear, at $32, is quite cheap that's because they sting you on the extras. Who can resist the little miniature wellington boots, pyjamas, handbags, back packs, hats, tiny Eskimo outfits, superhero costumes and sailor suits, all made in bear size? I limited the kids to two outfits each but still, the bill was pretty high.





















Ironically a week later both boys have stripped their toys naked, although they do have pride of place snuggled up to their pink little cheeks in bed at night.
Before we went to the shop I explained what we were going to do and we visited the shops website a few times, mostly to get Carl to decide which bear he wanted because he is chronically indecisive. Eventually he announced he wanted a husky dog, not a bear. Was he sure? Yes. Totally sure? Yes. When we got to the shop was he still sure? Yes. Once the stuffing was in was he still sure? Hell no, now he wanted a frog. No, a turtle. No, a frog. Eventually he chose the most appropriate beastie for him: a monkey. He is after all our little 'aapje', and was born in the year of the monkey. It figures.