Photographer in the making

The girls love, love, love taking pictures with our digital camera. Most of the pictures are really goofy shots of their feet, the inside of our refrigerator, wicked close-ups of their own eyes (I'm surprised they haven't gone blind from the flash), that sort of thing. But every so often a great shot results.

Flopsy, wearing Morgan's glasses

(by Morgan, our living room, 9/14/05)

This is Morgan's newest and most-loved stuffed animal. August was the Month of Ick for three out of the four of us: Emma got sick with a horrible terrible bug and gave it to Morgan, and then Morgan gave it to me. Sadly, Morgan's time with the Ick happened to coincide with what would have been a long camping weekend with Uncle Matt and Auntie Mandy, and so she had to...sniffle...stay home while Emma went camping. Oh, the humanity!

But by that Sunday morning she was so clearly on the mend that, to try to make her feel better about missing all the camping fun, we took her to Build-A-Bear Workshop*, a place she'd been begging to go to for months. It's quite a process--and not for the faint of heart, as not only is it in the Mall of America (one of my least favorite places in the world) but it involves long lines, many small children, giant machines of fluff, more long lines, critter birth certificates, and racks and shelves of stuffed animal clothing, shoes, and accessories. But Morgan was thrilled with the entire process.

And thus was Flopsy born.

(And wow, was Emma's little nose out of joint when she got home and discovered that Morgan had gone to Build-A-Bear Workshop while she was having camping fun! But we're about to level that playing field, as this Sunday Morgan will be off at a birthday party for one of her school friends [the girls are in separate classes] and Emma and I will be off at Build-A-Bear, building a bear. Or maybe a kitty. Or something.)

*The name is something of a misnomer, as Morgan did not build a bear but a bunny. She has since declared that "Build-A-Bear Workshop" should be renamed "Build-A-Friend Workshop," as one's critter choices are a bewildering array of bears, bunnies, kitties, doggies, giraffes, hippos, elephants, and many, many other beasts.