M is for Mr. Man and Major Bear

When Ashleigh was a toddler, Santa tucked a silly little doll into her stocking. He looked a little bit like a court jester with his purple top, green legs and big white collar. The tag attached said he was a Hotch Potch doll and included a little booklet with illustrations on how to bend the doll to form different letters. He was a big hit with Ashleigh and she promptly named him Mr. Man.

She snuggled with him at nap time and talked to him in her sweet little toddler babble. He was a constant companion. When Cyra was a toddler, Ashleigh allowed Cyra to play with him too. He went through a lot, Mr. Man did and when just before we moved, he was irreparably damaged, he found himself tossed (not without a ton of guilt and sadness) into the garbage. Although, Ashleigh loved Mr. Man, he wasn’t her primary snuggle (that’s for another day) and she begged for me to try to find a replacement.

I found this in my old photos, back from the days before digital cameras. That is an almost two year old Ashleigh with me and Mr. Man.

Cyra started off with a bunny snuggle, but her love for Princess changed when she met Major Bear. Major Bear is a Build-A-Bear bear she made four years ago at her Daisy End of year celebration. I was a little surprised that she chose a camouflaged bear over a kitty, puppy or another bunny (my goodness the girl loves bunnies!). But she pulled Major Bear out of the large bin of bears and said, “This one.” She didn’t know any military titles so she asked me to name some for her. I listed as many as I could and when I said Major, she cried out, “That’s it! He’s a Major Bear!”

Once he was stuffed, washed and dressed, Major Bear became Cyra’s go to snuggle. Major Bear never leaves her bed, unless she goes for a sleepover or on a camping trip and then he is snuggled right down into the sleeping bag. Major Bear is demanding. He does sit ups and jumping jacks while he waits for her to snuggle into her bed. He yells in his most drill sergeanty voice for Cyra to “snuggle him tighter, close her eyes and GO TO SLEEP RIGHT NOW!” 

Five year old Cyra with Major Bear.