Ahhhh, Saturday! My favorite day of the week. And a fall Saturday, on top of that. Today was one for the books. We had a lovely celebratory lunch at Pi Pizza, enjoyed our annual neighborhood Fall Picnic, and most importantly, we expanded our family by one. This new family member just so happened to jump into the cart at Costco, which Mike happened to be pushing while Caroline and I were in the Ladies Room. We came in to Costco to get chicken salad for the Fall Picnic. We left with oh so much more. Which is how it usually goes at Costco, but this time, instead of picking up something lame like vats of soup or 16 boxes of Kleenex, we decided to Go Big or Go Home.

Meet Baloo:

Baloo is 53 inches of plush softness who immediately became the infatuation of our daughter. Fellow shoppers stopped in their tracks, witnessing this lovefest. All unanimously agreed that $25 was a small price to pay for this sort of genuine (mutual?) adoration. She cooed. She grabbed. She threw her tiny self on to his soft bear chest. For those who say money can’t buy happiness, they haven’t seen a seven month old unite with a giant stuffed Teddy bear in the Christmas decorations aisle at Costco.

And then, sensing that I was ultimately the one to decide this bear’s future, she shot me this look:

I dare you to not say yes to that face. So that’s how that happened. We pushed him out to the car and strapped him in, like a person, next to Caroline. Never mind the fact that he blocked my rear view mirror line of vision. Mike christened him Baloo after I threatened to name him Costco. Home we went.

The lovefest continued at home, where Caroline climbed all over her very own Baloo jungle gym during bedtime stories and snuggled next to his gigantic, protective bear paws.

As for Baloo, he looked exactly how Mike & I felt after a long day–exhausted and in need of a stiff cocktail.

Welcome to the family, Baloo. I think you’re going to fit in just fine around here.