Another Kind of Animal

Yesterday was a rather dreary day (by Phoenix standards) so we planned a much-anticipated trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop for Alexa.  Ever since the My Little Pony collection launched, I was pretty confident that Alexa would have one before the limited edition run ended.  She has amassed quite the collection of Build-A-Bear animals, ranging from a monkey in a bikini to a lobster (Boston) to a St. Louis Cardinals elephant.  However, she does not have a horse, so she was extremely excited when she heard about the plans to make a Rainbow Dash pony.  I knew it was going to be a good trip when she happily agreed to my purchase conditions - no shoes and any outfits would be funded from her piggy bank.

I always think of my dad when we get a new stuffed animal - - with four daughters, my dad always tagged stuffed animals as dust collectors.  Growing up, his ideal "display" for the ridiculous collection of stuffed animals owned by his four girls would have been a black trash bag :).  However, to Alexa's credit, she loves her stuffed animals and actively plays with all of them.  The pony was a welcome addition to the collection, and she made sure the introductions to the other animals took place as soon as we got home.

Everything went well at Build-A-Bear, although I realized we had reached the end of an era when we sat at the computer to print up the pony's birth certificate.  I think nearly half of Alexa's stuffed animals are named "Mommy", but that name wasn't even in the realm of consideration this time around.  I think the days of my namesakes are a thing of the past.   She settled for the obvious name - Rainbow Dash - and even typed the letters as I spelled the name.  Yep, she's definitely growing up quickly!

Tonight she settled into bed, sidling up to Mommy Bunny (at least she hasn't retro-actively changed any animals' names!) and clutching Rainbow Dash.....not a single speck of dust on them! :)

Having a blast making her new Rainbow Dash.