2.12.09

My early Christmas present...



All week I've been walking around with a general air of excitement without really knowing why.  I tried to guess- is it the Pitchfork's Christmas concert this Friday, in which I get to see my cute husband sing while wearing a tux?  Nope- love the Pitchforks, and my cute husband, but this event- several hundred people packed into Duke's Gothic reading room- not a single one of them with a small child on his or her lap, let alone THREE, is always more stressful than it is fun.  Last year Brigham fell asleep in his chair next to an elderly woman in a fur coat and peed himself in such quantity that I, sitting two seats away, had to stop breathing through my nose for the rest of the concert.  

No, not that then.  The Economics department Christmas party at the country club?  Um, no.  Last year we arrived a few minutes late to find that every single chair at every single table in the club was taken, so we got our dinners and sat in the chilly lobby, where I proceeded to have to nurse my two-month-old in front of the entering parade of stuffy professors and their fur-coat-and-pearl-earringed wives.  I'm sorry, stuffy professors.  I do thank you for your efforts at educating my husband, but I'm just not looking forward to spending my Saturday evening with you.  Let's see then........

Ahhhh, YES.  This Friday night, before the concert, is the annual parent's night out at the elementary school.  The idea is that we get to leave our kids at the school to watch movies and eat pizza while we moms and dads get a chance to do some Christmas shopping without them in tow.  Since Eric will be doing vocal warm-ups and stuffing his pockets full of ding-dongs (don't ask) at that time, I'll have to do my shopping all by myself.  And there's only one person on my list.  Would you like to guess what I'm going to buy?  A BABY DOLL!

Finally, I get to buy a present for my offspring that doesn't have a scowling mechanical face or the potential to be aimed and fired at my butt while I'm cooking dinner!  It has to be the best baby doll in the whole world.  And I want accessory bottles, one with milk and one with orange juice- the kind you can turn upside down and it looks like they're draining.  And if they still make dolls that poop and pee into a little fake diaper, my daughter will have one!  No, of course my mother didn't deprive me of just such a baby doll under the pretense that it was "tacky."  Why would you think that?

Anyway, needless to say, I am very, very excited for my Friday night.  Even though I have a small suspicion that Marley may at this point be more interested in stuffing the baby in the toilet, or down an air vent than she will be at feeding it a bottle. But we must start them young!  All you moms of girls- any tips on where to find the best baby doll in the whole world?

8 comments:

E B said...

Fun! My only recommendation is to pick one whose accessories (bottles, utensils...) are not so small as to become choking hazards. Unless Marley doesn't put things down her throat. Let's just say we've thrown away lots of accessories.

Melissa E Photography said...

This is a big deal! No wonder you're excited. It would be like Aaron buying Parker his first gun. I think my boys will be shedding tears of joy and I'll be crying tears of terror if that day ever comes!

And by the way, I had the OJ/milk draining bottles, and I thought they were the bomb.

Laura Oler said...

Finding the perfect doll. Just so you know, the perfect baby doll will be set aside, and some ratty baby doll (or in our case a $2 stuffed green bunny) will become the baby of choice. :) But the bottles are great, and can be bought separately. I think TJ Max sometimes has good baby dolls, but most of my toys come from Target, so I wouldn't say I'm the expert on finding the perfect one!

Briana said...

Unfortunately, I can't help you with that one!!

s g said...

you are so cute katie, and I love marley in the rocking chair. my M-in-law got char a 'bitty baby' from American Girl dolls last year, you can get a kit to go with, but my sister got char this baby bag from wal-mart, just an accessory bag, BOTH of those bottles, toys, blocks, bibs, brushes...you name it for about $10. She also had a $5 wal-mart mommy and me doll and she prefers that one over her expensive bitty baby...

but hey, have a FABULOUS time an warning m there are a lot of creepy looking baby dolls out there :) I know you will find the perfect one!

The Kimber Crew said...

I'm not sure where or which doll is the best. But I must say that Lydia has become quite the little mother to her dollies since Russell was born. She burps, nurses, wraps, diapers, and everything else. So cute!! Hopefully Marley's motherly instincts will kick in and she'll love her dolls too.

laura allen said...

Do you remember when we talked grandmom into getting us the little baby dolls with the life like genitalia? I must confess though, the one i really wanted was baby uh-oh. If i remember correctly, she even got diaper rash! How cool is that. If only all kids could be 80's kids!

Cailean said...

I don't think there is much more gratifying of a gift for a mother to buy than a doll for her own little alive doll! My only advice is to either take her and buy the one she likes and is drawn to OR go without her and buy the one you are intuitively drawn to. Soft material is good for cuddling but also will tear/rip easily too. Washable is good but will you ever really wash it? So don't worry too much about the details and just buy with your instincts!