Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Mollys take Chicago

On the day Molly was born, Cory and I were thrilled beyond belief, but also completely in the dark about what life with this little bundle of joy would entail. We did, however, know a couple things as certain as we knew the sky was blue.
1. We knew Molly was loved completely.
2. We knew she was the cutest baby ever born (natch).
And, 3. We knew that when she was old enough, Molly would be going on a trip to get an American Girl Doll with Cory's mom and sister.

This trip has been planned since her birth. I mean, we didn't have the plane tickets or anything, but we knew it would be happening. Aunt Amber and Mommom have been telling Molly for years that when she turned 5, she would get to go to get an American Girl Doll. Molly knew this would be happening. She was counting on it. And, the day finally arrived.

See, I'm a little old for American Girl Dolls. I read a couple of the books when I was younger, but I never had a doll, or any of the accouterments that go along with. But, Amber (though only a couple years younger than me) had a Samantha doll. And, she was very into the whole genre. So, Amber and Joan wanted to pass this along to the next generation of Lafferty girls.


I do realize at this time that almost all males reading this will have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about. Feel free to travel over to wikipedia to learn all about the phenomenon that is American Girl.


We hadn't really planned for the trip to take place exactly on Molly's birthday, but it just happened to work out with work schedules and vacations. On May 28th, Molly's actual 5th birthday, we all headed to the airport for a girls' trip to Chicago. Molly had been telling Cory ever since we planned it that she was going on a Girls' Trip, and that Girls' Trips were better than Boys' Trips. I guess she was trying to make him jealous, though I do happen to believe it is a true fact. It kind of broke my heart, though, when Charlotte brought out her own suitcase and thought she was going with us.

Molly's Gigi got her a new suitcase for the trip. The polka dots were actually quite helpful in always being able to find it. Plus, Molly thought she was hot stuff with her own suitcase that she could pull.

Molly and Mommy waiting to get on the airplane.

We tried all sorts of transportation on this trip. Waiting for the subway with Amber and Mommom.
The plane flight was uneventful, and with only a few minor hiccups, we made it from Midway, through the subway system, and walked to our hotel. Molly was a pretty good trouper about the travel part. I only had to carry her suitcase up and down the stairs, other than that, she pulled it.

We checked into the hotel, and what did we find? A bed for Molly's American Girl Doll. That sealed the schedule. We would have to go get the doll that day. We had considered waiting a day, since our scheduled tea party wasn't until Tuesday, but once Molly saw that bed, she was convinced that she needed her doll immediately.
Molly was amazed by the bed for her doll in the hotel room.

So, we hoofed it on over to the store. We tried to convince Molly that she could take her time and explore everything. That she could look at all the different outfits and dolls before making her decision. Yeah, that didn't happen. She is only 5 after all. She bee-lined it to the "Molly" doll case, picked up a doll, and that was that. I had tried to tell her that she didn't have to get the Molly doll just because it shared her name, but there was no changing her mind. She wanted Molly.
Happy, happy girl.
And, of course, you can't just get the doll. The doll needs different clothes, too. So, while Amber had promised Molly one outfit for her birthday present, she ended up getting three, and a matching shirt for Molly. She is one spoiled little girl.
One lucky, lucky little girl!

But, oh, how she loves Molly!
So, now that we had Molly in possession. It was time to explore the city. And, yes, Molly came along, too.
Mollys in the city. Yes, little Molly is wearing a K-State cheerleader outfit. Molly got it for her birthday before we even left for the trip. And, yes, I need to find a KU outfit asap.

Molly loved riding the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

With Aunt Amber at Navy Pier.

We played mini golf. This was photographic evidence of my 2nd hole-in-one!

Posing with Navy Pier in the background.
Next on the agenda, was the big birthday party tea party back at the American Girl Doll store. You make reservations, then get to go to a special tea room on the top floor of the store. They have seats and tea sets for your dolls. Molly was in heaven.
Molly and Molly all ready for tea.

Amber even brought her original doll, Samantha, along for the tea party.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Molly. I think the tea party is a popular place for little girls' birthdays. We heard at least eight renditions of the song while we were eating.

The whole crew.
Despite a massive fire that shut down the subway system during rush hour traffic, and some incorrect reading of maps and bus routes, we managed to get around the city fairly decently. Everywhere we went, Molly told anyone who showed the slightest interest in her or her doll, the whole entire story about coming to Chicago and getting the Molly American Girl Doll because her name was Molly, too. I'm not exaggerating. I think she told at least six different random strangers her life story. The long days and no naps did do a number on Molly, though. She crashed during a cab ride:

Our last day, we headed out to Shedd Aquarium. Of course, Molly came along. And, they wore matching clothes. Big Molly loved the dolphin show and seeing the penguins.
Trying to convince Molly to touch the sea creatures. It didn't work.
Getting ready to watch the dolphin and whale show.
The trip was a smashing success. Molly can't stop talking about it and is still carrying little Molly around everywhere. I am so happy to have been able to be a part of such a great trip full of so many fun memories for my little girl. I can't believe that she was just a tiny newborn (probably about the size of her new doll) five years ago. Now, she can maneuver subways, buses and airplanes with the best of them. She is truly growing up.

Only three more years, and we'll get to do it all over again for Charlotte ...

6 comments:

  1. What a wonderful experience for all of you!!!!! Hate She'd Aquarium is one of your Uncle Dwight's all time favorite places.....so glad you got to make it there!!!! What a grown up little traveler you have.........the big apple next???????

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  2. How fun! I'm not gonna lie, Felicity and I are a little jealous :-)

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    1. I can't believe they've discontinued Felicity. No more redheads in the American Girl Doll store makes this redhead sad :(

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  3. What a great trip! We are going to Chicago this summer too, but I think we'll wait another couple of years to get a doll. Itty Bitty baby still has scars from her run-in with the markers at nap time.

    Now Molly can get the catalog and circle all the fun accessories she wants...ahem...I mean educational books about Molly :)

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    1. Yeah, I'd definitely wait until she can treat it carefully, and if you're really lucky, you can get a grandma to get it for her ;)
      Next time you're in town, you can help Molly peruse the catalog for all those educational books ...

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