A girl and her doll

When Ashley was a little girl, I think it was on her second birthday, her Nanny (my Mom) gave her a Raggedy Ann doll. Oh how she loved that doll. At a very young age, Ashley started perfected her mothering skills. She toted that doll around, cuddled it, "fed" it, put it to bed, etc. She loved Raggedy Ann. She even wanted to be Raggedy Ann that Halloween. Lucky for us, we had a friend that had a HUGE Raggedy Ann and so we "borrowed" her clothes and Ashley made an adorable little Ann! She was so excited to be "matching" her favorite doll! Ashley grew up and Raggedy Ann got stuck in a box. Recently, when I was cleaning out some storage boxes, I came across her old doll. Oh boy, was she Raggedy! Her clothes were so dirty and her hair a bit wild. However, in my heart, I knew I had to fix her up for Emma.

Two Saturday's ago, I had a day at home to work so Raggedy Ann became my project. First of all, I gave her a good scrubbing! Once I got all her clothes off, I realized she wasn't in such bad shape, her hair was easily trimmed and several dirty spots quickly disappeared. After her bath, I realized her stuffing was in bad shape, so I opened her up, pulled out all the old stuffing and gave her a new fresh body. Then it was time to address those clothes! I decided to try to "save" the dress! The apron and pantaloons were too stained! However after a soaking the dress looked great! When I began to look through my white scrap box, I came across the eyelet ruffle that used to be Ashley's dust ruffle when she was a little girl. So...I cut out an apron and some panties for Miss Ann. It was such a fun day! I loved thinking about all the good times Ashley had with that doll and wondering if Emma might soon be dragging that doll around herself! Printed on Raggedy Ann's little chest is a red heart that says "I love you" so it was then that I decided it had to be Emma' Valentine present. Since Emma is a little young to understand, I had Raggedy Ann "write" a letter explaining who she was, who used to play with her and where she had been. Maybe Ashley can read that to Emma when she is a little older and can understand. I let Ashley open Emma's gift for her and I am pretty sure she was shocked! She of course recognized her Ann right away! It was a fun moment for me!

A funny side note: If you have ever been around Ashley and I, you know we share a brain! Ha. We often will say the same thing or have the exact same thought. A few hours before I gave Ashley the gift, she told me she had been to Target to return some toys that were duplicates from Christmas and had selected something new for Emma. She went on to say she was torn between a Fisher Price Vintage Toy and Raggedy Ann. She finally decided on the F.P. Toy for now, but would get her a Raggedy Ann later. It was ALL I could do to keep a straight face!