"We thought 'we won't have that many to sell and we'll be done,'" said her mother, Michele Pace. "Then people were coming back, knocking on the door wanting more."
For every bear they sold, they made another to give away to the children. In all, they have made a total of about 600 bears.
Taylor got the idea for the project, which she calls TayTay Buddy Bears, from her favorite television personality, Lee Cruse of channel WLEX 18. She wakes up every day at 5:30 a.m. to watch his morning show and one day saw him broadcasting live from a place similar to Build-A-Bear.
"When she saw the thing Lee Cruise did that morning, she said, 'That's what I want to do, I want to make them a bear!'" said her mother. "We just didn't realize it would turn into 600 bears!"
Last year, on Taylor's ninth birthday, her mother sent Lee Cruse an e-mail, asking him to announce her special day on the air, and telling him about Taylor's father being overseas. Cruse shared the message with Steve Collier, a photojournalist for the station, who is a former Guardsman.
Collier invited Taylor to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky in Lexington, where he volunteers, giving tours on Sunday afternoons. Now, they're friends, and Taylor spends every Sunday at the museum.
"I haven't been able to pull her away from him since," Michele said, laughing. Collier has piqued her interest in airplanes, and someday she wants to get a pilot's license. Taylor donated the extra $163 dollars that she earned selling the bears to the museum.
Collier said he is proud of what Taylor is doing because he remembers watching his son press his face up against the back window of his mother-in-law's truck, watching him before he left for his last deployment to Bosnia.
"There's not a whole lot of people who have had to deal with that kind of separation and anxiety," he said. "I think it's awesome just having someone else who understands.
"She's a hero whether she knows it or not."
Thursday will be the third time that Henry Pace has been deployed. He went to Iraq in 2004, and Taylor had a rough time coping with the absence of her father, Michele said.
"She had a really hard time the last time, but I think she's matured a lot this time," she said. "I think she's going to do a lot better. Most of the children she gave the bears to were younger than her. A lot of them were just tiny babies that aren't going to realize what's even happening."
When mother and daughter went to Carrollton for four days with Henry Pace before family day, Taylor spent the first day and a half in their hotel room, finishing the bears. She wanted to make sure she had enough, Michele said.
"I think it's incredible," she said. "I've always known that she's got a good heart and even though she had such a rough time with it herself, I think she just wanted to make it easier on little kids that she doesn't even know."
Each bear had a letter attached, telling the children about Taylor and why she wanted to give them a bear.
"Whenever you get really sad and missing your dad, hug your Buddy Bear really tight cause everybody needs a buddy! And be proud not sad, 'cause your dad is a hero too!" the letter says.
The TayTay Buddy Bears have already reached around the world. A few of the bears Taylor's great aunt sold will be sent to Belgium and Germany. The Kentucky Military Museum in Frankfort wants to put one on display. And, you can bet that there will also be one tucked away in a duffel bag belonging to Henry Pace when he leaves for Afghanistan on Oct. 12.
"I'm very proud of her," he said. "When we went to Iraq, they didn't really do anything for the kids. I think it's a marvelous thing for her to do.
"I think that the kids will have something that they can look at that will remind them that their parents are OK."
Taylor plans to adopt another unit to give away the additional bears. She also still has them for sale. For more information, send an e-mail to taytaypace@bellsouth.net.
