I Built a Bear! Meet Andrew.

I know what you're thinking: this is something an 8-year-old does, not a 26-year-old.  Unfortunately, I did not know about this place until I was in high school.  I wanted to go and make my own bear then, but I never got around to it.  Today, I was finally able to get around to it.  Meet Andrew, my newest furry friend!

Creating Andrew was a bit different than I thought it would be.  I thought I would be able to skip some of the aspects of the process that excite and please the younger kids.

I was wrong.

To begin with, my friend Jessica (who kindly came with me to document this) and I were the only adults in the store actually buying a bear without a child.  The other people in line were all under five feet tall and were shrieking loudly as they created their stuffed animals.  I wasn't quite on their level.  The employees looked almost excited as I walked up because they could give their high-pitched voices a break.  After Andrew was stuffed, I had to go through the heart ceremony and rub a fabric heart various places and make a wish before Andrew was finally completed.

I had to register Andrew before I could leave the store.  The first step involved entering my birthday.  I'd be willing to bet that I was one of very few customers today that had to scroll back to the 1980s to complete this part.  Next, it asked for my parent's email address.  Luckily I'm old enough to have my own, so that wasn't a problem.  

Finally, I had to look through several clothing options for Andrew.  For an indecisive person like me, this was not an easy thing to do.  Who wants their bear to look under dressed and awkward?  Not me.  I finally decided on a formal look, that way he looks appropriate for every occasion.  He will soon have a Colts uniform to wear, though.  I saw it online and couldn't resist.    

Last but not least, I purchased Andrew, picked up his birth certificate, and can now cross this item off of my list!  I can guarantee you that I will not be playing with my new fuzzy pal online, though.  That was not part of this task.  

Items completed: three!  Taking this picture out in the mall could've been a task in itself.  I got a few stares, I'm not going to lie. Thanks again Jessica for coming with me and taking these awesome pictures!