I remember it like it was yesterday the American Girl Doll books would come in the mail and my sister and I would look at them and dream. We had all of the books but never the dolls. I must admit I grew out of wanting one of the dolls, however, when my niece got her first American Girl Doll for Christmas, then had an American Girl Birthday Party I knew this was something I wanted to do for my own daughter. I wanted her to love babydolls and it be our thing together…since the guys have sports! We can play with dolls!
Every couple of months when we get the catalog in the mail, Emma looks through it for DAYS on End!!! So I knew our time was coming when we could share this experience together!
And finally we made our way to the American Girl Store together and it was everything I imagined! I think I was more excited than she was…and the fact that she had her cousin and aunt there with her meant EVERYTHING!!! Everyone was excited, to be in the store, to experience Emma getting her first doll, it was EXCITEMENT all around!
Honestly, when we arrived at the store I planned to get Emma some doll clothes for her 18″ Babydoll, that is not an American Girl Doll. Since I wanted to wait to get the doll for a special occasion like Christmas or her Birthday, however, once we stepped foot in the store I knew that we couldn’t leave without a babydoll. We walked around like a kid in a candy store, we didn’t know what we wanted.
We tried some of the toys out as you are encouraged to do by the sales associates! Emma was overwhelmed by everything that was going on…it was so much to see and try out!
Emma immediately picked up one of the dogs and said she wanted that. We began to play with some of the doll toys and finally picked Kendall, one of the Wellie Wisher Dolls. I encouraged Emma to go with a Wellie Wisher Doll because they are geared more towards Emma’s age group. Wellie Wishers came on the scene, in the Summer of 2016, and cater to girls ages 5 to 7, they are shorter than the original American Girl! Still in the American Girl family and aren’t too different than the original, you can purchase matching outfits for your daughter!
I didn’t get many pictures because I wanted to be “in the moment” however, I did capture Emma ringing the bell because she purchased her first doll!
When Emma rang the bell, everyone clapped and cheered for her, it was her first American Girl purchase! It was such a great experience and I love the fact that they celebrate the little girls! I also love that they encourage little girls to be “little girls”! We live in a world where EVERYTHING moves FAST, and standing inside the American Girl Store seeing all the girls running around, I loved that the girls were playing with baby dolls and playing with all of the displays!
Looking back at our pictures I am so glad that we had a chance to experience this together as Mother and Daughter! I think every couple of months or at least twice a year we will try to make it to the American Girl Store. We are located between two of their stores; Columbus and Pittsburgh! So maybe our next trip will be to the new Pittsburgh location that’s opening soon!
Emma’s new doll was in her bigger bag that I carried for her, however, when her Tauntie bought her doll an outfit she had to carry the smaller bag! She wouldn’t put it down!
If you follow my Instagram, you see that Emma takes Kendall and her Dog with us EVERYWHERE…even to church!
For Christmas, I plan to get her more outfits and a special bag to carry her babydolls in! Hopefully, I don’t go babydoll crazy!!!!
Going to the American Girl Store was an AMAZING experience and we loved it and can’t wait to go back! I think all Moms and their little girls should experience this store together or simply find something they can share together! For the moms, it will bring back childhood memories of playing with their baby dolls and for the girls, it creates memories that will last a lifetime with their Moms!
We also stayed at the Partner Hotel Location; Hilton Inn and Suites! The hotel was amazing, we booked too late so we didn’t have the opportunity to get the doll bed with our room (have to book 7 days in advance), but hopefully, when we plan our next trip we will plan in enough time to get the bed for their baby dolls!
