Teddy Bears Help Decorate the Christmas Tree

There is so much to get ready for a big family Christmas celebration.  It was coming up soon, and Grandma Jenny still had a lot to do, so Grandpa Bob and Uncle Edwin went outside and cut a tree and got it put in the stand.  The little bears were very excited that they would have a tree to climb inside the house.

Grandpa Bob set them straight about that right away, and told them they BETTER NOT!  It's bad enough having kittens climb it, and bears are a lot bigger.  He told them it was inside because he was going to decorate it.  Of course, they wanted to know all about that and started pawing through all the breakable ornaments as soon as he opened the first box.

Grandma came in to the living room and told the bears that she had very special ornaments for them to hang on the tree.  Each bear got it's own ornament with name (letter and number, actually) and the year 2011 painted on it.  She told them that when they got adopted, they would get to take their ornament with them as a reminder of their first Christmas and the year they got adopted.

The bears were so cute, stretching to try and reach the branches.  There were a few incidents of the domino effect, when one would lose it's balance, and the whole row of bears would topple over!
Starting from the left with the red bear, this photo is of T5, T7, T6, T3, T4, T11, and T9 in the back on the stool.

The photo on the left is of T10 on the top step of the ladder, T2 on the bottom step, T8, T1 (mostly hidden behind T8), and T5 again.
T1 is in the photo at right.

Just as a warning to anyone thinking about letting bears help decorate, Grandma Jenny says they do all right with the ornaments, as long as they are plastic.  Keep them away from the fragile glass ones, though, and don't let them help with the garland!  As you can see in the picture below, these little bears managed to get completely tangled with it!

T10

T8

T1

T7

T2

T3

T11

T4

T9

T5

T6

It was fun doing this shoot with the bears.  They all looked so adorable under the tree, and each one of them has such a different personality, that really came out in the photos.  I think they are all perfect matches for each grandchild.

In my next post, they get adopted and named.

T8 is Finished and T9 Joins the Group

T8 was finally finished last night as I watched  Sense and Sensibility.  He feels much better with a mouth and permanently attached ears!  Shortly afterward, T9 joined the family. It was late when I got both of them finished, so I let them sleep with me, so they wouldn't wake the other babies.  They really liked the cozy flannel sheets and big fluffy pillow.

There was a lot of excitement this morning when the bears found out they had a new sister, and then, when they looked outside and saw the ground all white, they couldn't get the sled outside fast enough!  They didn't know that it wasn't snow, and only frost.  Poor babies.  They were a bit disappointed when I told them it was going to melt as soon as the sun hit it.  I told them we could have some other kind of fun later, once the ground was dry.

Front row: T1, T6, T4, T9  Back row: T2, T3, T7, T5, T8.  T8 feels so much better now, since I gave him a mouth and permanently attached his ears.  He looks a bit skinny.  I think he needs a good brushing to fluff up his mohair.

 

I let T8 and T9 get on the old swing in the front yard.  They thought that was fun!  Then they got to go out to the orchard and I let them climb one of the pear trees.  They climbed just like pros!  

Now, I better get going and finish the fabric for T11.  I feel bad that T10 and T11 are missing out on all the fun.  Stay tuned for them to join the family!

Teddy Bears' Picnic

These cute little bears, T2, T4, and T3 were promised a special treat with five other bears, so here is the picture story of what they all got to do. 

The song words are to one of my favorite songs as a child, The Teddy Bears' Picnic, and here is a link to the music:

Teddy Bears' Picnic played by Henry Hall and His Orchestra 

Song words are by Jimmy Kennedy

I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do. 

If you go out in the woods today

You're sure of a big surprise.

If you go out in the woods today

You'd better go in disguise.

For every bear that ever there was

Will gather there for certain, because

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Chorus

Picnic time for teddy bears,

The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today.

Watch them, catch them unawares,

And see them picnic on their holiday.

See them gaily dance about.

They love to play and shout.

And never have any cares.

At six o'clock their mommies and daddies

Will take them home to bed

Because they're tired little teddy bears.

If you go out in the woods today,

You'd better not go alone.

It's lovely out in the woods today,

But safer to stay at home.

For every bear that ever there was

Will gather there for certain, because

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic

CHORUS

Every teddy bear, that's been good

Is sure of a treat today

There's lots of wonderful things to eat

And wonderful games to play

Beneath the trees, where nobody sees

They'll hide and seek as long as they please

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic

CHORUS

 Patiently waiting for tea.

 My granddaughter Emily poured.

Twenty-five year old Mist Er Bear was excited, because he got to come along, too.  He is my oldest daughter Becky's bear, and lives at Emily's house.  He is sitting at the picnic with T2.

T1 and T7 enjoying tea made by their great grandma Rosemarie.

T5 is giving T7 the apple challenge.  Let's see how he does with it!

 

Very good, T7!  You are pretty awesome at balancing that big heavy apple on your tummy!

T6, T3 and T1.  T3 thinks he is pretty good at balancing a candy pumpkin on his toe!

Hungry bears, T4 and T6, love great grandma Dort's molassas cookies.  They polished them off quickly.

T8 hid by Mist Er Bear because he didn't feel very good yet.  He had pins in his ears and it hurt.  Kind of like getting pierced ears.

After their picnic tea, they all had so much fun playing.  They had the most fun climbing the trees.

T1 on the left.

T2 on the right.

T3 on the left.

T4 on the right.

T5 on the left.
T6 on the right

T7

 T8 

After lots of playing, Grandma made all the bears take a nap before going to Emily's house to do something else that I promised would be just as fun as their picnic.  They whined a little, but they were tired little Teddy bears, and went to sleep after just a little bit of wrestling with each other.

Yea!! We got the pumpkins all ready for Halloween.  From left to right: T1, T3, T7, T6 in back, T2, T5, T8, and T4.

Scary pumpkin

Emily and all the bears.

The bears were definitely up past their bedtime.  I got them into the car, and they were all asleep by the time I got five minutes down the road!  Emily and I had such a great time with them, and I'm sure we will have some more fun times before they get adopted at Christmas.

My thumb has been hurting all day, so I didn't sew on T8's ears, or finish T9.  I will get back to them in a few days.  Keep posted!