For Hannah’s birthday (well, a few days early), we surprised her (and her doll) with a trip to the American Girl Store here in Houston. She loves the American Girl books, and her doll…even if it isn’t a “real” American Girl.
She received a gift card to the American Girl Store/Catalog for Christmas, and has spent the past few months paging through the catalogs. (They “found” us about 2 years ago. Is there some unwritten law that says as soon as a girl turns 6 her home must be bombarded with American Girl catalogs? Well, she loved it.) She has spent months carefully counting the money she had saved, adding it to the gift card amount, and dreaming of what she could purchase. There are so many fun things in the catalog…but, over and over, she saying she wanted a bed for her doll.
So, for her birthday, instead of a tangible present, we decided to add a little money to her gift card, and let her pick out her Christmas/Birthday gift. Originally, we planned to just let her pick from the catalog, and order whatever she picked out. But, then, I discovered that there was an American Girl Store here in Houston…um…decision made! We were going shopping! Because it was a bit of a girly (no pun intended!) outing, Daddy and Titus opted to stay home, and Hannah and I (and her doll) met Grammy for a morning of shopping, and lunch.
We spent the morning looking around the store. The sheer magnitude of American Girl “stuff” is a bit overwhelming! (When I was Hannah’s age, I think there were only 3 or 4 dolls and their corresponding books and clothes! Now, along with the “historical characters,” you can purchase a doll to look exactly like you, plus any and all accessories you could possibly want or imagine!) She carefully considered all of her choices, including the possibility of purchasing a “real“ American Girl doll. But, after lots of looking, she eventually picked out a cute green, metal bed…For those of you that know American Girl, this is Kit’s bed. I kid you not, it was probably the heaviest item in the whole store! It came with a pink and green blanket, and a matching pillow. And then, friend sewed a sweet pair of pajamas for her doll as a birthday present. So, her doll has been sleeping quite well!
Before heading home, we all had lunch there at the store…they even had a special seat, and doll-sized cups and plates for her doll!
It was such a fun day, celebrating our sweet (almost) 8-year-old!