the american girl doll store

Thanks for your response to yesterday's post. Those that have gone before us in this - your encouragement is priceless!

Somehow I forgot to share about Audrey's 5th birthday at the American Girl Doll Store. Me! The over-sharer!

I assume you haven't lost sleep over this. But, in the spirit of documenting life events and lessons on this blog, it's practically required. Hello - it's my first trip to my THE American Girl Doll Store.

Any semblance of maturity will be switched off for the remainder of this post.

After juggling some family schedules, the opportunity arose to meet Molly, Brandon, and the girls in Atlanta to celebrate Audrey's fifth birthday with her BFF Maddie and Maddie's family. So I came to "see Audrey on her birthday" and to "help Molly with Anna." I won't tell you that I considered getting Mom to send me Felicity so I could take her to lunch. Or that I couldn't sleep the night before.

These are [slight] exaggerations.

We are an American Girl family. And not just that, but the historical girls. Audrey chose Molly [all on her own] for her first doll which brings the family roster to Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Molly, and Kit.

Like if it was a history-filled girls basketball team roster. Oooh, or gymnastics. Also, I was almost too old to get Kit. Or not almost.

Being an American Girl family, we have spent many an afternoon dissecting the latest catalog. This is where my dreams of going to the store began. Remember when the first one opened in Chicago? I think it was around the same time they tried out that totally cool line of tiny rooms you could collect but ironically didn't have any dolls to go with them. Remember those? Anyway, visiting the store seemed nearly unachievable for a small town girl. A hair salon? A restaurant? A THEATER?! 

I guess, since then, my world has gotten smaller. And a store visit has been achieved!

I'm pretty much just kind of kidding about all of this. But it was exciting.

We had a blast! The store was all things pink and girly and a playground for those who appreciate the little details. The highlights?
-The hair salon and spa
-The big dude by the door who was dressed in all black with the "American Girl Security" name tag
-The assumed fifteen-year-old dressed in an identical Kit outfit taking pictures of everything on her phone [to whom I wanted to say, "Hey! I don't even have an iPhone!"]
-The bistro birthday party!

Lunch was certainly the best part. Except for walking in for the first time [pretty much just kind of kidding]. Miraculously, we fit five adults, three girls, five dolls, and a sleeping baby [a real one] around that table. There were doll chairs, menus, party hats, and goody bags flying in every single direction. It was bliss. My personal highlight: eating their surprisingly delish food with Anna asleep on my shoulder.

I was absolutely exhausted the next day. Physically and emotionally. Ok, just physically. Totally worth it!

Dreams do come true, y'all.