Chinese American AG Doll: Ivy

On September 10, American Girl is unveiling a historical Chinese American doll, Ivy. Ivy is the best friend of the first new historical doll to be released in five years, Julie, who is of course blond. Julie and Ivy's stories are set in the 1970s in San Francisco, and Julie's books are written by Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody books that Doodle loved back in second grade. I remember hearing that Megan McDonald has a niece adopted from China, so perhaps we have her to thank for introducing the Chinese American character and for AG's decision to create a doll. Ivy appears to be a main character in at least several of Julie's books, and there is one Ivy book, written by Lisa Yee.

The China adoption community has been asking AG for a Chinese American historical doll for years. I'm not sure that a sidekick is what the beseachers had in mind, but it is better than nothing. I called the New York store and ordered a Ivy doll for each girl as Christmas presents. Wouldn't it be interesting if Ivy's sales surpassed Julie's? To learn more about the new dolls, go here and there.

Family FotoFun Friday Challenge: BFFs

Both Doodle and Tootle make friends easily and have a lot of friends. Tonight at the back-to-school picnic, Tootle had the chance to play with both of her best friends: her preschool best friend (top photo) and her neighborhood best friend (bottom photo). Over the first few days of school, she has even convinced them that they can all play together at recess so tonight they climbed and ran and jumped as a threesome.

The neighborhood best friend spent six weeks in Turkey (her mom's homeland) this summer. Tootle kept asking when we were going to Turkey so she could have a playdate with her friend, whom she missed a lot. I explained over and over again that if we were going to endure such a long flight, our destination would be China.

I should have included a photo of photo of Tootle and Doodle together in this collage because they often proclaim themselves to be best friends, and I hope that they continue to feel that way as they grow up. To see more BFFs, go here .

Fifty Five Pounds

Until her mom and her sister, Doodle struggles to put on weight. Being elbowed by her or having her chin rest on you is a painful experience because she has so little fat. Tonight I looked at her and noticed that her face looked fuller, so I asked her to step on the scale. Drum roll please: Doodle now weighs 55 pounds, 3 more pounds than she weighed just a month ago and 7 more pounds than Tootle. While the girls are four years apart, Tootle only weighed 4 pounds less than Doodle when she came home two years ago. The gap is now the largest that it has ever been. My girl is still skinny but at least she now has a bit more meat on her bones.

Another First

Before traveling to bring Tootle home, one of my biggest concerns about adopting an almost three year old was that I would miss out on a lot of the firsts: first tooth, first steps, first words, etc. But I quickly realized that there were still firsts to celebrate; they were just different. Today we marked one of the traditional milestones: Tootle's first day of kindergarten. Tootle's first words when she woke up this morning were: "Today's the first day of school." And she leaped right into it, without a tear and with her usual tenacity. She sang one of the songs she learned for us tonight and reported that her big problem of the day was that a preschool friend and a neighborhood friend, neither of whom is in her class, both wanted to play with her at recess, and they didn't want to play as a threesome because they didn't know each other. I gave her advice, but I'm sure she will smooth out this problem, and before long, she will be playing with new friends from her class as well.

Doodle had a terrific first day of fourth grade as well. Doodle begged for several weeks to see the movie "Hairspray," and over the weekend, we all went to see it. The girls loved the music so much that we bought the soundtrack. Last night, the girls were bopping to "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now." I quickly grabbed the camcorder and recorded Tootle's interpretive dance to symbolize that she's a big girl now. So she is.

A Conversation That Made Me Smile

I had to take Doodle for an emergency orthodontist appointment early this morning because one of her wires broke. On the way home, Doodle called Tootle, who wasn't awake yet when we left, and this is what I heard:

I love you. Let's pretend we're hugging each other over the phone.

Pause.

I said let's pretend we're hugging each other.

Pause.

Oh alright. What are you having for breakfast?

Pause.

Do you like the Frosted Flakes at home better or the ones at the hotel?

Pause.

You like the hotel ones because they come in a little box? I love you. Bye.

Doodle reported to me that Tootle told her that she loved her too, but she didn't like the idea of the virtual hug. Ten minutes later, when we got home, they had a real hug.

One More Swimming Photo to Mark the Approaching End of Summer

Phrase of the Month

The girls have a new phrase to describe their misery over the heat: "I'm hotter than a hot chicken mama." I'm not sure I fully understand it, but it is unique.