Anyways, after Lia got her first doll (a look-alike one) from her Aunt Austin and Uncle Robbie, we started receiving the catalogues in the mail. Lia immediately fell in love with Caroline Abbott--the historical doll from 1812. Although Lia swooned over her on a regular basis, I told her that she would never get another American Girl Doll since they are just too expensive. I reminded Lia on a regular basis that she was lucky to just have one! However, through a series of fortunate events, we were able to actually buy Caroline Abbot a little over a year later and give it to Lia for her sixth birthday. At that point, I really started to get into American Girl Dolls with Lia. We drooled over every catalogue that came in the mail, started trying to figure out how we could collect all of the outfits in her collection, and began reading Caroline Abbott's entire series of six books. We grew to love everything about this doll--her beautiful blond, curly hair and blue eyes, her clothes, her boat, her gorgeous bed and furniture, and her stories. Every time we visited the American Girl Doll store in Lynnwood, Caroline Abbott's display was always our first stop in the entire store. We loved looking at all of the clothing and pieces that Lia did not have. Caroline was hand's down our favorite American Girl Doll and I was just so grateful that Lia could call this doll her own.
And so my jaw absolutely dropped last week when I opened up the email from American Girl Doll announcing that Caroline is going to be retired soon. What?! She has only been out for three years which made no sense since all of the other historical doll have been out longer than her! It was pretty heartbreaking to share this news with Lia when she got home from school that day and, several days later, it still makes the two of us so sad. Although we already had a visit to the store planned for the end of July when Lola is in town, I had a hunch that I should call the company to find out if they are still making Caroline Abbott dolls and accessories since there are a few pieces that Lia still wants to add to her collection. I finally got around to making this call Friday morning and, to my surprise, learned that all production on this doll and her collection has already stopped. Yes, that's right. American Girl Doll is done making all things Caroline and there is no guarantee that anything will even be in the store when we visit in July.
So, before I knew it, I was planning an impromptu run to the store with Lia for Saturday evening after what was already going to be a very busy day of working in our rental property's yard for several hours! Talk about a nice mom. After breaking this happy news to Lia Friday when she got home from school, we planned on making the long drive up to the store after Ron and I were done with this big clean-up project in our old yard. But after Ron, my parents, and I started working Saturday morning, I quickly realized that we had bit off more than we could chew due to how much work needed to be done. So, although I would be home by Saturday afternoon (since our babysitter needed to go home), Ron would not....which meant that I would now be taking ALL three children up to the American Girl Doll store. Not a very fun idea since it meant that I would now be juggling a very active baby and a very temperamental toddler during our time in the store, the restaurant, and the two long car rides.
After getting everyone ready and loaded in the car after Logan's and Ella's afternoon naps, we headed up to Lynnwood for what would be an absolutely perfect evening. It was unbelievable! Logan was an absolute angel and didn't throw a single tantrum the entire four hours we were gone. Ella did great in the car both directions and happily stayed in her stroller the entire two hours we were in the store and in the restaurant. Lia and Logan happily played with all of the amazing displays in the store while I did my secret shopping and purchasing. They were so well behaved and so cute together! Like I had suspected, Logan especially loved Julie's amazing, VW Bug and spent many minutes playing with it. I was so grateful for how well he behaved which truly was a miracle considering how much time we were in the store, how late we ate dinner, and how many transitions we made between activities which is something that always sets him off. We were also able to slip over to the salon and take advantage of the promotion ending the next day which was to get Caroline's ears pierced for free! We even finished off the evening with a quick stop at the amazing Lego store before heading back to the car at 8 p.m. Although Logan kept on asking for ice cream, I managed to get him all the way out to the car and buckled into his car seat before breaking the news that we would not be going Cold Stone like he thought. However, a promised bowl of ice cream at home actually prevented him from a full blown breakdown which was a total miracle. So, after an hour drive back to Puyallup, I breathed a sigh of relief after we made it home safe and sound with our final Caroline Abbott purchases, a happy Lia, and some very tired babies. Thank heavens.
The large picture of Caroline that hangs above her display.
Lia standing with Caroline and Ink Pot next to our favorite display. This may be the last time we ever get to see it. Sniff.
Both Lia and Logan loved looking at Grace's fancy display and playing with her amazing bakery. Here is Lia posing with Grace in front of the faux bakery.
Logan immediately wanted to have his picture taken and jumped at the photo opportunity.
Here is Logan working hard at stirring the cupcakes in the bowl that he stole from Grace's bakery. Don't worry--he returned them at my request...without a tantrum. Also amazing.
I decided that eating in the bistro would be the quickest and easiest place to eat since I knew that we would be in the store during dinnertime. Our reservations were for 6:45 and we had our food on the table by 7 p.m. which was a relief since the kids were starving. Lia and Logan split a grilled cheese sandwich and fries and loved drinking the pink lemonade. Here is Lia with Caroline and Ink Pot.
Once again, Logan insisted on having his picture taken after I took Lia's. Here is my funny boy and his funny, picture smile.
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