The Windy City

As a young girl I loved my American Girl dolls. I distinctly remember that one Christmas when I opened up Molly, the dark haired American Girl with two braids and glasses. I read to her, held her, carried her around, and I still have her after all these years. Part of the joys of having a daughter is sharing all the "girly"things in life with her. Am I ever lucky to have a daughter who loves babies... emphasis on the word love. She says bay-bee all day long. Rounds up her handful of dolls and carries them all in her little arms. She kisses them, pats their backs, and hugs them on a regular basis. It's so cute I could just fall over.

Words cannot express my excitement when Joey and I brought Emma into the American Girl store in downtown Chicago. The 10 mile hike from Shedd's aquarium was totally worth it. Ask Joey, he'll say the same thing. Emma too little? Heck no. The girl loved it. She walked in to all of the dolls and babies and let out a huge gasp. She was in her glory yelling bay-bee, bay-bee, and grabbing at every doll she saw. I wish I had a picture of it, just one. I was too excited to remember that my camera was on my shoulder. People were staring, smiling, laughing at the cute little girl in all her glory surrounded by bay-beeees. One gentleman even said "hey mom, I hope you're buying the kid a doll." We did.. a bitty baby, just her size. She carries her everywhere and gives her kisses goodnight. I am overjoyed by her sweetness.

Oh yeah, our whole point of going to Chicago was to visit Shedd's Aquarium. It was crowded- way too crowded. Go to American Girl.