Saturday, January 31, 2009

Friends Forever

For those that have ever been around Samantha more than once has met her best friend Bear. He is EVERYTHING to Samantha. He fixes cuts and bruises, he protects from "monsters" he cuddles, he tickles, he helped with potty training (even had a pair of big boy pants) he does it ALL. He really is a member of the family. I don't think my mom had any idea what the cute little stuffed bear would be to Samantha. When Samantha was born as hard as I tried (and believe me I did try EVERYTHING) she would not take a binki. She was a very fussy baby so a binki would have been nice. Being the brilliant mother that she is- my mom thought that Samantha would need something that would provide comfort for her- since she was NOT going to do the binki. So she went looking for the "perfect" stuffed animal. Lo and behold she found this bear at Babies R Us in the clearance section.Every chance I got I would give Bear to Samantha- his name was "Buffles" at the time- (GUND names all their stuffed animals) and wouldn't ya know it- it worked! Samantha actually started sucking on Bears nose when she needed that comfort. As soon as we noticed that this was going to work- being the worrier that she is - my mom thought that we needed to go and find some replacements- just in case. She went back to Babies R Us and they didn't have anymore. We looked EVERYWHERE- but with no luck. Then one day she and I were up in Bountiful in a cute boutique called Brats and lo and behold- there sat Bear! They had I think 5-6 at the time so my mom bought them out! Well needless to say- Bears nose started getting just gross- he had a lot of love and showed!



So my mom thought that "just in case" something was to happen to Bear then we would need the back-up to look and feel like the original- because there was an obvious difference! So I started washing the back-up and trying to wear it out- everything short of sucking on the nose myself!


Well and wouldn't you know it- one day (I think she was 2) we went to the mall and Samantha had sat Bear down somewhere and I am sure someone had to have picked it up- and thought "oh yuck" and threw it away (obviously it wasn't a mom because a mom would have seen how "loved" Bear was and would have known he belonged to some little kid and would have turned him in) . We looked EVERYWHERE and I even went to security and told them to keep an eye out- I checked lost and founds- EVERYTHING. I was a wreck- even more than Samantha I hate to admit. So I pulled out the "back-up" and explained to Samantha what happened, it took just a few short days of re-explaining and that was it!


Bear now sports a sweater (it is very cold in Missouri)- he currently has 2 band aids on for sores that I am unsure of how he got them. He likes to wait and watch in the window sill for Samantha to come home from preschool. Luckily Samantha understands that there are places that Bear cannot go (ie school and primary) so that once Kindergarten starts there won't be an issue.


I am personally SO grateful for Bear- he does the things that I as a mother can't always do!


9 comments:

Amy Jenks said...

Good idea! I wish I could have come up w/ something like that for Kayla. She was very fussy and would not take a binki. Apparently, we survived...but I think a bear would have been wonderful.
Cute collage. It's fun to see Samantha as a baby and toddler. She had so much gorgeous hair at such a young age! Any mother's dream!

Jena said...

I love bear! He is snuck over to our house a few times...he is a very good guest!

SummerV said...

That is so sweet. It will be such a fun keepsake for her to have when she is older.

Melissa said...

That's awesome! Griffin has a Gund bear also, but I don't know his name. He rips the tags off bears as fast as he can. (dangit) Anyway, he started sleeping with it at a pretty young age, but I didn't realize how attached he was until I washed it one day and it was too late to dry it before he went to bed. Needless to say after a straight hour of screaming hysterically I figured out that he quite likes "bluey" as he is called. I have often thought about looking for a replacement, but haven't yet and he's so gross.(bluey that is)

Tasha said...

Yes, bear is very LOVED! We love that he gets to come to the park with us & many other places! Samantha is so cute with bear! I love the collage!

chapstick said...

Yes, i feel like I have five grandkids, not four, because what an important part of the family bear is. If you doubt that, you ought to see the panic on my face if bear comes up missing on an outing, or the joy on my face if I actually run across and outfit small enough for bear!
It is touching to witness the relationship Samantha has with bear. Kudos to you Amberlee for keeping such good track of him! We still have backups after 4 years!!

Angela and Dave said...

How sweet! I love all the photos of her and Buffles together. What a history they have!

Our Little Family said...

That is a cute post, I love seeing all the pictures of Samantha it is so crazy to think back to when it was just her when I first came around, I seriously thought she was my niece way before she ever was... So cute!

Saysha said...

Oh my gosh Amberlee! I had to zoom in on the collage...I don't think I've seen a baby picture of Samantha before...she had so much beautiful hair!!! That picture of her sitting up on the couch is so adorable I could just die! And of course she is cuter than words now too. :o)