The Anatomy of Mr. Bear
When Bean was first born, my sister brought a little teddy bear up to the hospital for him. Mr. Bear was the perfect teddy bear. He was soft and floppy and he had a little sound machine in the back of him that made white noise and ocean sounds. Bean listened to him all the time. It was the best soothing mechanism. When we left the hospital, Mr. Bear was still never far from Beaner.
In fact, Mr. Bear has become such a part of Bean Man’s life that when Jenn Hopkins did our family portraits, he came along for the ride.
When Bean was about four months old, he was able to fall asleep without the white noise from Mr. Bear so Chris took out the battery pack and Mr. Bear became even more soft and floppy.
Now, Bean carries Mr. Bear everywhere with him. He goes in the car with us (though I try to leave him in the car when we run errands so he doesn’t get dirty or lost). He takes naps with Bean. He goes night night with Bean. He goes to Sunday School with Bean. He plays with Bean. He’s just the perfect, constant companion.
Of course, this has subjected Mr. Bear to some natural wear and tear over the past fourteen months. Take his head, for example. See that dimple in the center of his forehead? That’s where Bean bites him. We don’t know why. He just likes to chomp down on that one spot. Sometimes he even carries Mr. Bear around in his mouth when he’s walking. It’s just Bean’s weird little thing.
And see those ears? The back of them has limited fuzz because Bean likes to rub them as he is going to sleep. Cutest. Thing. Ever.
And Mr. Bear’s long, floppy arms are just about to fall off because Bean drags him around by them all day long.
Yep, Mr. Bear is pretty worn. But that’s just because Bean loves him so much. Wear and tear on a teddy bear is a crown of glory.
34 Comments
Jenny J.
How cute!! I love the picture of him with his face stuck into the teddy bear, and he’s just so smiley!
lillies and lattes
just like the velveteen rabbit!
Katy @ MonsterProof
Aw, very cute item to carry around. Hope Mr. Bear survives for many years to come!
Nate's Mom
LOVE IT. Nate’s attached to wubbies – any soft blankie, sheet, or t-shirt will do. We tried to not get him attached to one specific thing lest it be lost, and so far it’s worked. Nate’s similarly enjoying crawling (in his case) with items in his mouth. The items include: his sippy cup, a blanket (small or large – does not matter), and random toys. And while it’s cute that Bean gives Mr. Bear love bites in the middle of his forehead, Nate’s taken to giving his mom and dad love bites in the exact same spot on each of our shoulders. I don’t know why. I don’t know what it means. I do know it hurts and that it’s not funny. I’m glad Mr. Bear is more tolerant of Bean’s love bites than we are of Nate’s. (PS The pics of Bean with Mr. Bear at the photo shoot are beyond priceless….)
Jessica
Buy another one! If Bean was to lose that bear, it will break his heart.
Very cute pics 😉
Tressa
I agree you have to get a back up Mr. Bear!
PREIOUS pictures of Beanie and Mr. Bear. Priceless!!
Isabel
Have you seen Toy Story 3 yet? Better treat Mr. Bear well…
Katy
I had a toy panda given to me when I was born – I loved him like Bean loves Mr Bear and dragged him all around the house with me for years. He travelled all over the world on family holidays – in fact I think the first trip he missed out on was a backpacking trip I made after college! He doesn’t travel any more but still sits in my bedroom looking pretty worn out. Well – I am 28 years old 🙂 I’m a home-owner now and have a lot of nice things – but panda is definitely my most treasured possession. I hope Mr Bear lasts as long as my panda has – and I bet he’ll look even better for age.
Katherine
I also am a late-20s homeowner and Teddy (I am so original, right? Just like Mr. Bear hah!) made it everywhere with me, and still sits (somewhat hidden) by my bedside table haha. He has SO many “age-spots” but makes him that much more squeezable!
PS Katie these are my favorite-FAVORITE pictures of Bean from all time, old and new! 🙂
Kristen
No kidding, I slept with my stuffed rabbit “Bunny” up until about 4 months ago! My boyfriend/fiance (now husband) was wondering if he would still be sharing our bed when I was 40! I decided I needed to wean myself off before the wedding, and now Bunny sleeps in my pajama drawer. Then I went to see Toy Story 3, and bawled my eyes out because it reminded me of him, and when we got home from the theater I gave him a big hug. We joke that someday Bunny will become friends with our future children.
Maren
“Wear and tear on a teddy bear is a crown of glory.” Amen.
Reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit. Fabulous book…I think I need a copy of that book for my ‘library’. (I put library in quotes because I don’t have a library, just a collection of books that I love…scattered randomly throughout the house.)
Love the pictures of Beanie and Mr Bear…too cute for words. :0)
Angie
This reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit . . . we had that section read at our wedding “Love makes you real” . . .”by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
So great!
Sarah H.
Angie, I haven’t read that book in ages! What a great excerpt!
Kendra
OH.MY.GOD! He is so stinking cute!
Heather in ND
This is ADORABLE!!
Maggie
Oh, this reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit, the part about being “Real.” It makes me cry every time. Bean’s Mr Bear is so precious!!
Sarah H.
Oh this post is just too cute! Bean likes to chomp on him,aww. Haha When I was small I had rabbit. Rabbit came everywhere and he was so worn that whenever my Mom went to wash him (he was white) I was so worried his ears were going to fall off! But they never did 🙂
kk
Where did Ginny get that bear? i’m now tempted to buy one for my nephew.
Megan (Best of Fates)
Adorable!
Also, those photos are fantastic. And now I want to go find a teddy bear and photograph it.
Only it’d be weird if I stole a child’s bear.
Or would it?
Yes?
Frick.
Megan
http://www.bestoffates.com
Peggy
My daughter (who turns 16 tomorrow) received a bunny in her first Easter basket. We named him Thumper. Thumper has been everywhere with us, even got left tangled in the sheets at a hotel while at a soccer tournament. Luckily the hotel staff foun dhim and sent him to us via UPS! Thumper has endured many washing and doesn’t sit up very straight anymoe but he is one loved bunny. Even our Border Collie, Spot, who as a puppy chewed everything, didn’t touch Thumper! He is one special bunny to my “little” girl!
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
So, so cute. Mine had blankets as their love objects which work just as well but aren’t nearly as cute!
Lois
My 16 year old daughter had “Dolly” a soft pink doll that she loved (and still loves) and we had to buy several of them to substitute if one needed to be washed and for the possibility of her getting lost. Sure enough the original was lost on a trip to Home Depot but by then she was three and could tell that the other one was “haircut Dolly” (her hair had matted down from washing her). I would suggest buying SEVERAL if you can and use them interchangeably so they are equally loved.
Nikki
He looks so darn cute in those pictures! I had a couple of special bears that my parents had kept for me up until very recently. I went to visit my parents and noticed my bears scattered around their house. Apparently they are the dog’s new favorite toys. Not cool.
Carrie T
Oh I loved this post. So sweet and those pictures of Bean and Mr. Bear are priceless!!!
Ann G-B
Awwww! My brother had Blue Bear! Fortunately we had a duplicate so when the dog went to town on Blue Bear, we had a substitute – but it was never the same. My step-mom used to sew a loop of ribbon where he had worn through the tag he used to carry him buy.
Jenn Hopkins Photography
Still, the cutest photos Ive ever taken of a child with his favorite toy. I dont think I will ever forget bean mans face when yall pulled out his favorite friend 🙂 priceless!!
Ella
Those newborn photos of bean are gorgous! Every little person needs a special teddy or similar. My little boy has a really cute brown puppy that goes everywhere with him. Just recently puppy went missing for a while. Thankfully we found him but there was lots of tears. Puppy had to be repaired just recently by Nanna 🙂
pamtastic
My 17 year old daughter still sleeps with “Bunny”. Bunny was given to me at a baby shower and when my little 4 lb premie was born, it was the one thing they’d let me take to NICU. She’s had it every since and it has been so “loved” that we have to wash it tied inside of a pillow case on the gentle cycle for fear for further damage to the poor thread-bare Bunny.
BTW..LOVE those pics of Bean, OMG…soooo cute!
Christina
So precious. You will be so glad you wrote this post one day…it’s magical. I love the picture of him with his face buried in the top of Mr. Bear’s head.
Kelly
As I read this post, I had the stuffed penguin that my uncle gave me when I was born tucked under my chin. After 24 years, he looks a lot different than he originally did too, but he’s wiped more tears and provided more comfort than you could imagine! It sounds like Mr. Bear could be a life long companion and a few bumps along the way just adds character 🙂
Diana
This is adorable! I, too, would like to know where your sister got this particular bear…he has such a cute face (Bean, too!).
Kristin
I would recommend getting a backup Mr. Bear, just in case.
I slept with my security blanket and bear until…well…I got married.
Fred the Bear now is living happily in our closet. (He and the dog had a falling out. I didn’t ask.) Blankie is still tucked into my pillowcase. (Please don’t judge.)
But yes, after seeing TS3, which I sobbed for the last 15 minutes, I hugged Fred like crazy and told all the “friends” that went onto other homes that I was sorry!
Allison P
That is the cutest thing EVER! My daughter has a blankie, and I started getting worried she would lose it (after my husband lost it…I found it), so I searched for a backup. Long story short, it was discontinued and $35 later on ebay, we had a backup.
You will treasure those pics someday when Mr. Bear is long forgotten.
Whitney
MR BEAR! Just like Stephanies on Full House. Well, not the same bear…but the same name. Yay!