A few weeks ago, Garrett was miserable. He had a runny nose, terrible cough, and (after a quick doctor’s visit) we discovered that he had an ear infection in his right ear. He was not happy! GWE and I did the best we could to handle the situation, but a cold is a cold and at some point there is not much a parent can do but simply hold your ailing child and wait for the medicine to “kick in.” Justin knew that his brother wasn’t feeling well, so he decided to stay away.

In an effort to give Justin his own time, I decided to pick up him up from school one afternoon and take him out to dinner – just the two of us. We found ourselves at the mall. While wandering around looking for a place to eat, we found ourselves in front of a “Build-A-Bear” store. I was expecting Justin to turn towards me and ask if he could have a toy. To my surprise (and shock), Justin did turn to me, but instead he said “We need to make Garrett a teddy bear so he’ll feel better.” I could not argue with that logic.

Justin took it upon himself to create the perfect teddy bear for his brother. I just sat back and watched. He chose the style (a rabbit), the type of “heart” that went inside, the clothes, and a pair of sunglasses. Finally, when he was ready to stuff the bear, the attendant asked him if he wanted anything else put inside. She then showed him a recorder that would allow him to record his own voice. All Garrett would have to do is push the rabbit’s paw and Justin’s voice would play. He loved the idea and recorded: “Hi Garrett. It’s me – Justin! I hope you enjoy this bunny rabbit! I hope you love it! Bye!”

And then, the final decision needed to be made. What do we name him? After careful consideration, debate, and the flip of a coin – Justin chose “Snuggle McMugglepants.”

The following morning, Justin presented Garrett with his new gift. Garrett looked at it for a moment and then tackled it out of excitement. Then, Justin activated the recorder and Garrett froze when he heard Justin’s voice coming from the rabbit. He wasn’t sure what to think. After the recording ended, Garrett resumed his “attack” of the rabbit and tried to eat its face!

I suppose that means he liked it!