Build A Bear

So, the time is fast approaching that Steven is going to leave us for 6 straight weeks, to go on the road to do training to be a long haul truck driver. This was a very hard decision for our family to make, but in these tough economic times, we have to make sacrifices to do what is best for our family.

Steven lost his job at the end of August 2009, and here we are in January, and he is finally employed, so we count our blessings. Steven was able to do several side jobs (tiling floors, wood floors, bathroom remodels) that kept us afloat over the past four months. His CDL training was paid for through a government WIA (Workforce Investment Act) program. They paid for his CDL school ($3,000+), and all of his expenses regarding actually testing to get his license.

He is scheduled to leave on January 19th to go to Forest Park, GA for a 3 day orientation. After that he will leave us for 6 weeks straight, and should be home the beginning of March.

So, we decided to take Parker to Build A Bear at the Mall of GA and build a bear with a special voice message from his dada telling him that he loves and misses him. So whenever he is away, Parker can hear his voice and cuddle with him. He really enjoyed all that went into making his special stuffed bear, and loves to cuddle with his "Dada Bear".

Riding the carousel before going up to Build A Bear


Listening to all of the sounds that you can put inside your bear. We chose the custom one where Steven recorded a message for Parker.


Watching the stuffing go round and round!


He kept saying, WOWW COOOL


Now its your turn Parker


He kissed the heart and put the heart inside the bear, awww


Stepping on the pedal to fill up the bear


He wanted his bear!!


She told him to give it a hug to see if it felt right, he squeezed it and said "umm humm"


Giving Dada Bear a bath




He wouldn't let us carry the box, so he dragged it through the mall. And once we got to the stairs, Dada Bear took a ride, because Parker dropped the box down and it slid all the way to the bottom, with Parker cracking up the whole time.



Loving on Dada Bear