And so it begins . . .

Ella and Lily both got American Girl dolls for Christmas. Lily's is a real baby doll with lots of clothing in a trunk. Ella's is a bigger girl, and she looks a bit like Ella - dark brown eyes, brown hair. Lily likes her baby well enough, but Ella is in love with her doll.

Her name is Hermione (what else could it be?) and she goes everywhere with Ella - to playtime at Matilda's, to playtime at Lisa's. Ella also has to sleep with Hermione in bed with her. Every morning Ella changes Hermione's clothes and brushes her hair.

Ella's never really been into baby dolls, so I'm a bit surprised by her reaction to Hermione. My mom pointed out that maybe this doll is different because she's a girl, not a baby. I suppose that could be it.

I have to admit that I think the dolls are really cool. When I was little I played with my mom's Mindy doll, who had a trunk full of clothes. I'd change her clothes and pretend she was going to different events. I think I've been looking at the American Girl catalog just as much as Ella has been. And I get frustrated with Lily because she won't let me change her baby's clothes - what's the point of having a trunk full of clothes if the doll doesn't wear them?

I overheard Ella talking to Matilda about her doll's wardrobe - she was lamenting her doll's lack of a nightgown. Ella doesn't like that Hermione has to sleep in clothing every night. I started thinking that a nightgown wasn't an unreasonable request from Ella - besides she hadn't really asked me for it. So this morning I gave her the catalog and told her she could pick out one nightgown or set of pjs for her doll. She was just thrilled.

I see this as the start of a bad trend on my part. Because I think the dolls and outfits are cool, I could very easily fall into the habit of buying Ella clothes for her doll just because I can. I had said that she would only get clothes for birthdays and Christmases, but it seems unfair to make her wait that long for new clothes. I'll have to come up with a system to keep myself under control and to keep Ella from expecting new clothes for Hermione on a regular basis.

Maybe I should just buy my own doll . . .