American Girl

I had a fantastic time with Reagan today.  Last night I told Reagan we were going to do something special today, but I didn't give her any details.  She begged and pleaded, but I kept it a secret.  Even today, when I told her to bring her doll (she brought McKenna) she didn't guess that we were going to American Girl.  This store is in the Natick Mall, and when we were in the parking lot, she spotted the store and screamed, "I know where we are going!!!".  She was SO excited!

We arrived around 1:00 and walked around the store for a bit.  Reagan saw a lot of things she liked, but she settled on matching sweatshirts for her and her doll and a book.


We had a 2:00 reservation for lunch at the American Girl Bistro.  This was our first time there; Reagan didn't even know there was a place to eat in the store.  We went up the escalator to the bistro and found more items for sale upstairs.  The whole time we were downstairs, Reagan was looking for the dog, Honey, but we didn't see it until we got upstairs.  She has been asking for this dog for over a year, so I knew we were buying it,  but I told her we would get it after lunch.

The bistro is very pretty and very pink.  Everyone was very friendly, and Reagan was given royal treatment.

When our names were called, Reagan grabbed a seat for her doll and we went to our table.

You can see the book that Reagan bought in this picture; it's a geography puzzle book.  I was so excited that she chose it, and I promise I had absolutely nothing to do with her choice!!!!!!

The waitress gave us conversation starters, and Reagan was very into the game.  We asked each other the questions until the waitress came to take our order.

I purchased a birthday package, so Reagan got a crown for her and a crown for her doll, a birthday tee shirt for her doll, a balloon for her doll, a book,

and we also got two appetizers, our beverages, entrees, a cake, and ice cream.  It was a great package!

For appetizers, Reagan had chicken noodle soup and I had warm pretzel bites.  Reagan also ate spaghetti and meatballs, and I had a salad.

After we ate, the staff arrived with Reagan's cake and sang Happy Birthday to her.

I think the expression on Reagan's face in the above photo is funny because she doesn't like cake and I can see her thinking that she has no intentions of eating it!  She enjoyed the ice cream though, and we brought the cake home for everyone else to enjoy (I had a piece at the bistro; I felt obligated!!!).

While we were eating lunch, Reagan pointed out a yellow car on Route 9 that she thought looked funny; it was a VW Beetle, so I told her about Punch Buggy.  A little later, she spotted a white one and ran over to punch me on the arm.  She is laughing in this picture because she thought the whole thing was just so funny.  I LOVE this picture; it's just HONEST CHILDHOOD FUN and I love to see that and be able to capture it!!

Reagan could not wait to leave the bistro.  Don't get me wrong, she was having a GREAT TIME, but she really wanted to go buy Honey and she was very concerned they would sell out!!  So, we bought Honey.  Then, as we were leaving, she spotted Honey's bed.  She didn't even ask, but I saw it on her face and I couldn't leave the store without the bed.

Here she is, as we were leaving, with McKenna and Honey.

It was a great time, and Reagan told me she had a lot of fun.  When I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she said, "buying Honey"!  I hope she remembers this day for a long time; I know I will!  I loved spending time alone with her, we need to do that more often!