Bumbi bear is put to the test

I first read about the bumbi*bear on photojojo and thought it sounded awesome. It’s uglydoll meets talking photo cube — perfect for a toddler security object, right?

Well, I’m putting it to the test this weekend.

Milo and I are making a solo trip out East to see family and we’re leaving Holden and his daddy to fend for themselves. Of course I realize that it is very unlikely that he’ll actually forget me in the few days I’m gone, but I like to cover my bases.

Some assembly required
I am so very lucky that Milo decided to take a long nap while I struggle with getting a picture just the right size. I’ve been working almost 2 hours on the picture. I had to call in the big guns; Whitney is also sending me circular crops and resizes. If you actually have printouts of your favorite pictures, you may bypass this step.

It took me a few days to think of the right message — especially when I thought it would be two heads in the bear — but I settled on the simple, timeless: “I love you very much.”

The fun part: doing it over and over and over
I look forward to repurposing the doll over time. Maybe we can find different pictures and more creative messages, and surprise each other. The good folks at bumbi have made it easy for a parent to open and change (with a paperclip inserted into a teeny zipper) but very hard for a determined toddler.

Recording the message on the coin-sized micro-recorder was easy and fun. I did it in one take. Inserting the picture is also pretty cool, once its properly cut out to the right size.

Now for the test
Can Holden figure out how to use it? I’m sure he can.
Will he forget about me while I’m away? We’ll have to wait and see.

Win one for yourself!
On July 15th, we’ll have a random drawing of all our subscribers to give away another bumbi bear. Good luck!