A Baby and her Bear

In the last week, Kate has developed a very strong attachment to one of her stuffed animals.  Up until now, she's been rather indifferent to the many, many animals she owns, but this week a clear preference emerged.  Kate and her teddy bear have become inseparable.  The downside to determining a favorite is that now she throws fits when he isn't around, screams when he can't go with her to daycare, and we're constantly hunting for the bear.  On the plus side, it's a new instant way to soothe her, it seems clutching her best friend makes anything better.

So let's learn some more about this bear who won our baby's heart.

Name: Bear-Bear.  When Kate says it, it sounds like, "Bah-Bah"

Origin: He is a Steiff bear, which if you're not familiar with the brand you should Google it, their history is interesting and claim to fame is that they invented the teddy bear in 1902.  Growing up I owned lots of Steiff brand animals, but I did not have one of their bears.  This particular bear was a gift from my Onkel Gerhard and Tante Ursel, and since I know they read the blog I thought they'd like to see how attached Kate has become to this little guy.

The day they met

He's a fitting choice for favorite since he was one of her first toys and he's been her monthly photo prop since the beginning.

He is also a perfect companion for her because two of her nicknames from us have always been Baby Bear and Snuggle Bear.  The child owns a hippo, elephant, raccoon, camel, panda, clown fish, dog, tiger, zebra, and a host of others but she's always been our little Bear and now she has her own little bear.

Other animals she selected to join her in the crib have been tossed aside, her beloved Bear Bear is the one she holds at night

Fun fact: Did you know there's nothing this bear can't do?  He enjoys walks in the stroller, car rides, swinging, bike riding, and if we'd let him he'd enjoy dinnertime and bath too.

She rarely lets him go

 It's funny seeing Kate express such strong opinions and preferences for the first time.  It is also adorable to see her face light up when she sees Bear Bear and the way she hugs and holds him close as she drags him all over the house.  We'll see if they're friends forever or if this is just a short attachment phase, either way it's been a change around here and a cute new accessory!