Happy Birthday, Zoey!

I have not fallen off the face of the Earth, I promise!  I was going to write this post last Tuesday after the other, but as most of you who watch the news know, we had a terrible tragedy here in Knoxville involving 2 school buses and I just didn't feel that a post of celebration at that time would be appropriate. The next day I fell prey to the goop the kids like to pass around school, finally, I am feeling human and ready to type once again!

So the Summer between Kindergarten and First Grade, Zoey discovered the amazing world of American Girl dolls.  Our lives have never quite been the same since.  She has sold all her Barbie dolls, saved up all her allowance and bought several dolls on her own.  With her birthday and Hanukkah falling somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is hard for Poppop to be here for all holidays, so a new tradition was begun.  For the past 2 years, we have traveled to Atlanta on Thanksgiving weekend where Poppop treats Zoey to a shopping spree at the American Girl Doll store. Don't worry, Kman gets some fun in at the Lego Store while we are there as well!  If you have never been, it is dolly wonderland for anyone who plays with dolls, used to play with dolls, even those who had sisters that used to play with dolls!

Zoey decided to bring Mia along for the trip, she is the Girl of the Year from 2008.  I had found the matching sweater at a local thrift shop for $2.99 and lucked out on the of the buy/sell/trade groups on the skirt for around $10 with shipping, the Converse were a lucky coincidence.

This year, the Girl of the Year is Isabelle, she attends a special school for the performing arts, she is a ballerina, and much like Zoey, she loves to sew!

We booked an appointment with our favorite personal shopper, Cindy.  It is a free service offered by American Girl.  They show you around the store, teach you the history of each of the dolls, show you what is new, and they hold all your items while you shop so you don't need to walk around a crowded store with everything.  They also have their own register, so no lines at check out, and you get a free gift, usually a poster, a book and a small accessory related to the current Girl of the Year.

Zoey decided on the new Corgi dog, the new horse and some outfits.  Kieran also picked the new Himilayian cat and the holiday outfits for his Bitty Twins.

After we shopped until we dropped, we headed back to the hotel.  We stayed at the Residence Inn Atlanta North Point, right across the parking lot from the mall.  Poppop surprised Zoey with the American Girl suite which came with pink linens and a fold out bed for her doll that we got to keep!

Other cute extras included milk and cookies in the room, plus 2 American Girl movies featured nightly!  We opted for the 7:00 showing of Isabelle, Saige was at 9:00 and it had already been a super big day. There are tables set up for the adults, but the main part of the room is a sea of pink bean bag chairs of various sizes, and complimentary popcorn and pink lemonaid are served.

Zoey has managed to save up enough so we will be taking a (long) day trip on January first to be there for the reveal of the 2015 Girl of the Year.  She is rumored to be named Grace and supposedly travels to Paris on Summer vacation to visit her cousin and opens a cupcake stand.  Since Zoey dreams of Paris and LOVES to cook and bake, this one is a must have for our collection!