Lene has never been a big doll fan. She's more a stuffed animal lover. So you can imagine our surprise when she asked for an American Girl doll for her 11th birtday! In an age where ipods and iphones seem to be at the top of the tween wish list, I wasn't disappointed to comply.
We picked a day when E was off work early and headed out to the Grove. The looks on the girls faces as they entered the multi-leveled store were priceless. They didn't seem to know where to even begin. We must have spent three hours in the place. Even E was contributing to doll discussion and data as Lene contemplated greatly which doll to bring home with her.
Lene finally left with Rebecca, who migrated here from Russia and was an aspiring actress. Nessa left with baby doll twins. We celebrated her birthday early since it will fall on Thanksgiving day this year.
I remember when all I wanted was a Cabbage Patch kid many moons ago. It was a difficult Christmas morning when I received a hand-made doll that wasn't really what I wanted. But I remember having to be thankful and appreciative because inside I knew it was the right thing to do. And she grew on me. But the next year when I got my real Willa Leann? I will always remember that feeling. That doll. I hope the same for my girls. They have their doll. I don't see this becoming any sort of tradition--it seems unnecessary to have multiple dolls that are similar. I want my girls, well Lene Bean, at least, to always remember the anticipation and excitement and the feelings this shopping day brought about.
Funny story: when we were checking out, one of the girls asked Nessa what the names of her baby were. She responded, "Bella and Jacob." The lady said, "Oh, how cute like in Twilight?" Nessa looked at her and said, "That movie is not appropriate." Everyone laughed but it's so true. She likes the names, not because she associates them with a movie. She's four-years-old for goodness sake!
Who needs the American Girl Cafe when you can eat at Chilis?
I sure hope they always remember this, because I know mom and dad sure will!
