Amazing friends have I

For those of you not hip to the ways of the elementary crowd, please know that American Girl Dolls are a Big Deal. They're well-made dolls that are 18" high and can stand independently. They are girls, not babies, and their hair does not crap out on you like most doll hair is wont to do. Each doll is from a different time and place in American history and has a book (or books) to go with it. There are also custom dolls available.

They are also crazy expensive and the expense of the doll itself pales in comparison to the cost of the accessories. It would be easy to blow a few hundred dollars in their catalog or store. Part of the idea is that you buy a doll that looks like you, then get matching outfits.

Fortunately, Target has a knockoff version called Our Generation. And fortunately for Melody, they were on clearance in mid-January. Even better, they have a horseback-rider faux-AG doll named Lily Anna for $17.44.

Happy Birthday, Mel! She even looks a little like you!




And her house is 75% off! less than $15! (The stock photo is tiny. The house is about two feet tall, three feet wide and two feet deep. It's big enough for Lilly Anna to stand in and we have a little bed for her in there.)



Melody opened them up and went cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

Now, part of having like-twins is having like-wants and like-needs and you can't go overboard on one girl's birthday present like that, especially since nearly every toy in our house is a Sharing Toy and Lilly Anna is distinctly NOT a Sharing Toy. Normally I spend about $15 on a kid for a birthday and this, at full price, would have been closer to a hundred dollars. And Dixie's August birthday is a long ways away.

As Melody is opening this up, Dixie is trying to figure out how to react. I take her aside and explain that I have already planned to get her a doll, but will need her help picking it. I can see her still struggling with jealousy and anger, but she pulls it together well.

So, the next afternoon, we go to Target to find a very empty shelf. We go online to find two dolls that look rather like Dixie and appeal to her. Out of Stock.

So I mention on facebook that Dixie would like one of these two dolls, but that we cannot find them anywhere. Does anyone have one? Several friends respond that their Targets claim to have them in stock, and would I like them to go look.

My friend April in Idaho is the first to respond and I am in awe of her kindness as I take her up on the offer. Within a day, Victoria Marie is headed our way.



But that's not the best part. The best part is the little book that was taped to the box. See, Victoria Marie was not in the full accessorized set like Lily Anna was, and has no book to tell her story.

So April MADE one for her. She took her out of the box, took pictures of her on the couch in this family full of boys and out in the Idaho snow and made them into this sweet little story book. In the tale, she's looking for someplace warmer and less boy-trapped, so she decides to hop into a box and go live with the most perfect little girl . . . Dixie!

Pure awesomeness that only another mommy could ever understand . . . I have amazing friends!