Throwing a child’s birthday party is like torture to me. For real. Don’t get me wrong, I love to entertain. Adults. Family. Girlfriends. Not small kids. So every time one of my own kids’ birthdays approaches, I get the nauseating feeling that he/she will want a party. And I thought I was going to have to give in and throw one for Charlotte this year. She practically had it all planned out herself. But then she mentioned really wanting to go to Build-A-Bear one day and I jumped on her whispered declaration. “YOU DO?” I practically screamed. “Well…mommy and daddy would LOVE to take you there INSTEAD of having a birthday party this year. But…it is YOUR choice.” I waited anxiously as her eyes lit up and she went into deep thought. Build-A-Bear won…and selfishly so did I.

But I didn’t realize just how much I really had won. Yesterday Andy and Charlotte had a Valentine’s Day date to the Xavier game. However, when they arrived for the 3:00 game, he discovered it had changed to a 12:30 game and they missed the whole thing! Charlotte was devastated. Andy apparently wasn’t thinking straight because he offered to take her for ice cream and then to the mall. On Valentine’s Day.

She loved the ice cream and check out the cup divider! How long have those been around? Very cool. I told Andy that if he was already at the mall, feel free to head on down to Build-A-Bear to save us a trip on her birthday. And so he did.

He wins “Dad of the Year”. Apparently Valentine’s Day is the BUSIEST day of the year for Build-A-Bear and they stood in line outside of the store in the mall to wait to get in…with many other couples. Andy was shocked at how many people were there on a date…not with a kid. And once Charlotte finally got inside the thought of a bear was quickly thrown out. She spotted her true love…a giraffe and just couldn’t resist. The whole experience took over 2 hours. Andy looked destroyed when he returned home.

So now we are happy owners of ANOTHER giraffe…our first from Build-A-BEAR. Her room is filled with giraffes. At least she’s been loyal. This one is Abby. And, of course, Abby had to have not just one, but TWO pairs of sparkle shoes to cover all four feet.

 Happy Birthday Charlotte!