A doll by any other name....

My mom gave the girls each a beautiful doll for Christmas this year. Since they have been opened, they have not been put down. The girls have loved them, cherished them and dressed them.



Each of these dolls has a name, specially chosen by each of their mothers, to suit them.


This is Judy Julie Cahoon. So named by Kaia Carling Cahoon. She received this name simply because these are Kaia's two most favorite names.

This is Jessica (Jessie) Beryl Cahoon. Kienna Beryl Cahoon named her after herself (and Great, Great Aunt Beryl). She originally named her Jessie, but after finding out that I had a doll named Jessica growing up, she switched and just called her Jessie.

This is - well, let me tell you the story first. Saryn had decided to name her doll "Flower". I thought this may not be the most beautiful name for a little doll, so I tried to show her the light by naming some flowers that she could use. Lily, Rose and the like were mentioned. Running out of options, I said Tulip and then laughed. After Kienna said that her favorite flower was Tulip, this one appealed to Saryn and so Tulip Cahoon has been named by Saryn Joyce Cahoon and will NOT be altered. Of course, there's nothing that 3 days can't do. Tonight as we read Little House on the Prairie, Tulips name gets changed to "Laura" no "Mary" no "Laura". We'll see what she calls her in the morning...

What would possibly trigger kids to play with dolls SO much more often than they ever have, even with a new doll? What you may not know is that my kids were also given many beautiful dresses, coats, hats, dresses, pajamas etc. this Christmas as well. These were given to them by my Gran and Aunty Beryl. They teamed up and made these incredible outfits for ALL of my Granny's great-granddaughters. I wish I could emphasize how perfect each item has been made. Each dress is lined. Every outfit measured perfectly to fit these dolls. The stitching is emaculate - especially with the seamstress being 82 years old. There are sweaters that are perfectly knitted (also by Granny) and each child has a touque (croqueted by Aunty Beryl) for her and her doll that match. Most of the materials used for these dresses were left over from the MULTIPLE dresses/skirts/costumes that my Granny has already made for us over the past many years. She has made SO many things for us and these doll clothes make it a kind of collection of memories. I will go into more detail later for those who are interested.

opening on Christmas morning

the entire collection
(for closer detail, see below)

The results have been an incredible arousal of motherly emotions. My kids are swaddling, feeding, rocking, loving and putting their dolls to bed around the clock. Each day I have to tell my kids that I'll take care of their dolls while they go to school. Kienna has tried to match her doll as much as possible:

I LOVE it when little girls play with dolls. There's just something SO perfect about it. It's who they are - right from the beginning. It has been really special for me to see what wonderful mothers they will be.



The clothes in detail (if there is no detail, they are new material):

These pajamas match those that Aunty Brooklyn made them for Christmas this year!

This is a hoodie made from a dress of Kimberly's (my sister)

This shawl matches what the girls wore at Hayley's wedding this year.

Shirts made from a material for a shirt for Brittany.

These are from "Shy" Kimberly's musical theatre solo dance costume.

Love this garden dress!

This was from a dress made for Brittany

This is from the "Shy" costume too!

The top of this one is from a skirt made for Hayley and the skirt and sleeves are from a graduation dress made for Kimberly.

No story, but I LOVE my Granny's knitting!
(above and below)

Aunty Beryl's Croqueted touques for the girls.
This one is Kiennas, the other two sets are still en route.

This is from "River" Kim's lyrical dance costume.

Skirts made for Mom, Alanna and Hayley!

I LOVE these hat & coat sets! I think I'd want one in my size.
The material is from a skirt for my mom and my girls all have jumper sets made out of this material too!

These are pants. I should've opened them up to see, but this shows how perfectly pressed each piece of clothing is. No joke, this whole wardrobe is perfectly flawless...

Pants and vest - also love!

I have a skirt (and I think Brittany does too) made exactly like this.
Same material, pattern and everything. I love the peasant edging!

This is from another dress made for one of my sisters....can't remember which.

I'm pretty sure this is my FAVORITE!
Bonnet, jacket and pant set....how could you go wrong?

These are from Hayley's grad dress that she wore in Grade 11.

Classic red jacket!

Hayley's Grade 12 grad dress. Also my FAVORITE!!

Now you tell me, do you kinda want to start playing with dolls again too?
Which outfit would you want to put on first?!?