American Girl!

Kalyn wanted to go to American Girl for her birthday this year instead of having a big party. We invited my mom and sister to go with us and we had a GREAT time! I got Kalyn out of school early on Friday and we met my mom at Schlotzsky's for lunch in Georgetown before meeting my sister. We got to Dallas around 5pm and got checked into the Westin Galleria. It was so nice and the best part about it was the "American Girl" package that we got with our reservation. It included a welcome card for Kalyn, a doll bed for Kalyn's doll along with milk and milk cupcakes! Kalyn loved it!! After we got settled in Kalyn wanted to go to the American Girl store to get her new doll, Lanie. Mom, Carie, and I were amazed with the store and I have to admit it was nice to feel like a little girl all over again. We browsed around the store for a little bit then went back to the Galleria to get some supper. Kalyn enjoyed watching people ice skating from our table in the restaurant. We did a little shopping at the mall before we went back to our room for the night. Kalyn played with Lanie for quite a while before we got under the covers to watch "The Princess Diaries" before falling asleep.

The next morning we had reservations for breakfast at the bistro in the American Girl store. I loved the way the bistro was decorated....it was so cute! The light fixtures and decor was so girly and I couldn't have asked for a better place to eat breakfast with three of my favorite girls in my life. Lanie even got her own chair and menu at our table! Our meal started out with mini strawberry muffins and butter...even for Lanie! It was really neat to see how all the waitresses really included the girls' dolls into the whole experience. The food was fabulous too. Kalyn and my mom had Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Carie and I had heart shaped blueberry pancakes with berries on the side as well. So YUMMY!!! After we finished our breakfast we went back downstairs to let Kalyn finish the rest of her shopping with the birthday money she got from several people. She had a hard time choosing what all she wanted with so many different things to look at!! She finally settled on a couple more outifts and accessories for Lanie as well as a matching set of pajamas for herself and Lanie. Lanie also got to visit the salon and had her hair put up in a pretty twisted ponytail. It was really fun to watch her sit in the doll chair and get her hair fixed by a stylist. We finally got out of the store and headed back to the hotel to pack up for our drive back home. We managed to stop in Hillsboro for a couple hours for lunch and did a little shopping too!

Kalyn thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip and hasn't stopped talking about everything we did. I hope it is something she will remember forever. Mom and Carie...thank you both so much for going with us and making this trip so special for Kalyn. I hope this is the start of many more "girls only" trips to come!! We love you!!