New stuffed animals!!

I felt like the kids needed new animals. Most of our stash are Quinn's, so he is the only one that can hold favorite playmates such as Snoopy, Neigh and Mr. Monkey. Max has shed many tears over this.

We went to Barnes & Noble and watched the kids pull every stuffed animal off the shelf. After just a few moments, Quinn made his choice. A cute, simple black and white puppy. He could not be swayed. OK, one down, 2 to go.


Mae was holding a very rigid Minnie Mouse (you know the stuffed animals that aren't soft?!) when Daddy spotted the sparkly clown fish. "Memo!" she cried. It was decided.
Mae + "Memo" = BFF.


Now, Max. It wasn't love at first sight. He held many, many animals before seeming to settle on two; a tan guinea pig and a gray wolf. He wanted them both. One for each hand! As we neared the check out counter, it was clear that a crying fit was about to happen when one of the animals was returned to the shelf. Mike decided to take him back to the area full of animals and managed to help him pick a whole new animal. So, with a panda bear under his arm, we got into line. Quinn had just thrown his dog onto the check-out counter, when we realized that Quinn's dog and Max's panda were the same colors. That simply would not do! Daddy and Max headed back to the stuffed animals to search one last time for the perfectly colored, perfectly shaped, perfectly perfect new animal. Could they do it? I was biting my nails. When father and son came into view, a darling red fox with black tipped ears was riding in Max's arms. Yes, that was it. The One. It was magic. And so finally, three smiling children and two beaming parents scanned our B & N gift-card and headed to the van.
Ahhhh, to buy the children new toys! That morning, I felt like an A+ Mama.