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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

American Girl.

Even a mention of the American Girl dolls to women my age, and you either hear "Oh, I wanted one of those when I was growing up and never got one!" or, you hear, "I loved my American Girl doll", or "I had all the books and wanted a doll so badly!" etc.

It's true.  I've done an in-depth study of this in the past few weeks via facebook.  This study is rock solid.

Girls love American Girl.

Boys don't get it.

It's so a girl thing.

I was in the large, large pool of bright-eyed little girls who eagerly waited for the Christmas-time American Girl catalog to arrive so I could memorize every page and dream of getting one, and I'd leave the catalog out on the table just in case the hint got dropped- but I never got one.  And there was no chance I would.  And I knew it.

If you get a chance to re-live your childhood the "right" way via your child's childhood, then, why not?  Right??

Here's the deal- my three little ladies squeal over American Girl stuff.  They are 100% girly, and mature enough to treat their American Girl doll right.  Really, really right.  And they'll love the books.

The American Girl Era has begun at our house, and with three little American Girls, I don't see why we shouldn't just live it up.  I know we won't regret it.

Grace and Patience each picked out an American Girl Doll as a reward for being able to recite every Awana Memory Verse from their Sparks book word perfect by the end of the year.  We have a stack of well-worn note cards to prove it.  It was a big task to keep them in their hearts throughout the year.  They really do have them down- the other night someone asked Patie some of her verses when she was all hyped-up on sugar and crazed out and she was still able to throw down a few- though not all- I gotta give her a break- that was a tough task- being asked to focus when you're all sugar-fried.

And so, Grace and Patie's dolls arrived.  After waiting and waiting for them.  And talking about them.  A lot.  We opened the delivery box, and Lily, who is not yet in Sparks, and hasn't earned a big reward, looked at me straight and serious as a heart attack and said definitively, "I want an American Girl Doll."  (I knew she'd secretly been dying for one all along, but was keeping face around her sisters.)

After a little discussion on the cost (she had plenty of her own money for it, if she really wanted it- because I rarely encourage them to waste it) and a brief online search which ended in the perfect one, we ordered her.  She's on her way.  Lily is thrilled.  And yes, she knows how much money that is- and this means a lot to her.

We're taking a special trip to the American Girl Store in the Mall of America next month.  We'll be there for about, four hours.  We'll eat at the Bistro.  We will touch everything.  The dolls will have a blast.  We'll take lots of pictures, including a special photo shoot in the city, each girl with her doll.

And because delayed gratification is always rewarding, the American Girls will stay in their boxes until the day we leave for our trip.  Obviously they are super, super excited.  They've been busy making necklaces for their girls, and other little gifts, and we're even going to get fabric and make tiny pillows and blankets so we can convert the doll boxes into little beds.

We aren't frivolous people.  But this is worth it.  This is a big deal to them.  And every little girl loves the idea of a very special doll- who looks just like them.

If you're a boy, get over it.  You just don't understand.  My ladies out there- you get it.  I know you do. 

Here are their American Girls- Click the links to see them larger.  And yes,  they already named them.  On their own. 


Daisy Lanie
Grace's is a perfect match- everything is exact right down to her sparkly hazel green eyes.



Emily Rose
Patie's is adorable-with a huge head of strawberry blond curls just like hers.



Charlotte Lola
Lily's- let me tell you.  The moment I sat Lily on the counter after her haircut for these pictures, I thought, "She looks just like an American Girl doll."  No really- like an alive American Girl doll.  And then, later when the dolls came and Lily decided she wanted to get her own and we looked and we found this one- with the same haircut, and perfect green eyes AND freckles?!  It was too good to be true.  Lily is the only one of our kids who has freckles like mine.  The other girls have some freckles, but not across the bridge of their nose like I did as a girl, like Lily does now.  It was perfect.

  Lily was smitten, and it made my heart happy.

Look at me.  Just look at me.  I strive to write simple, pointed posts without all kinds of extra content, but, obviously, American Girl-talk gets me all disoriented and I went and wrote a ridiculously long post. 

It's just a girl thing.

5 comments:

Rachel said...

Amen, sister!

Anonymous said...

I wholeheartedly get it! Being my name is Samantha, my mom bought me the Samantha doll when I was in elementary school. I read the books and fell in love with them. I even got the American Girl "baby doll" and its accessories. I always awaited the catalog as well!

My mom also got a beautiful print of the Samantha doll and framed it for my bedroom.

I LOVE American Girls! This is a great reminder to me that I want to pass on the little legacy to my soon to be born, daughter. It's so fun that you are in this stage with your girls.

Here in Dallas, we also have the big store with the bistro. :)

Great post!

anne said...

it is SOOOO a girl thing... LOVE the names and dolls the girls picked out.

and for the record, I find PW and Nester boring too... Great gals, I am sure :)

Blair said...

Can't wait to see the photos of that fun day! We are big AG fans around here! My girls got them for Christmas when they were 5 and 3, and since then the older one got a 2nd doll, a retired one bought off Craigslist. I've found lots of the books in thrift stores!

We went to the AG Place in April:
http://blairandsteven.blogspot.com/2010/04/american-girl-place.html

And the girls actually hosted a birthday party for one of their dolls in Feb:
http://blairandsteven.blogspot.com/2010/03/delightful-day.html

So much fun to be had with these great dolls! Can't wait to see your girls with theirs!

My only worry this year is that my older daughter wants Lanie's camper for Christmas ($300!); not sure I'll be able to find that on clearance, LOL!

Kiki said...

It is a girl thing! I wanted one all growing up. Then American Girl sent me an email saying that Kirsten, the doll I always wanted was going to be retired. I thought I was so smart and prudent not to order her. I even wrote a post about it and everyone encouraged me to get her anyway. Even my husband. So I did. I sucked it up and ordered her. And now, she is sitting in her box waiting for the perfect time to come out and play with my soon to be born daughter. I love it. I think Annika might be able to convince her daddy that she needs another one too someday!