childhood memory.

Alexandra's almond shaped eyes sparkle at age 15.  Jenny's hair is different colors in some parts at age 14.  Eliza's large front teeth are prominent as she smiles at age 12. Lucy's outfits are always cute at age 6.

These girls are not my friends, but are the dolls I treasured more than anything as a child.

Alexandra is my first. She is Asian with jet black spiky hair. Her body is anatomically correct and the size of a regular newborn. Her plastic body allows for arm and leg movement perfect for posing. When I would go places, Alexandra was always in tow. People would ask if she was a real baby, and they weren't just asking to entertain me. The nurse at my ear, nose and throat doctor used to laugh every time I would come in and say that Alexandra looked just like my doctor (although he was a he, she did look like him)

Jenny is my second. She is brown in color with dark brown eyes. Her painted on hair is perfectly coiffed. She is small and soft but fits in tons of outfits. When Jenny came, Alexandra's place in the family was hindered a bit, but both were important. Although Jenny didnt look as real as Alexandra, she came on every vacation and went places. She had outfits for every holiday so she could participate. Her birthday has forever been June 6th.  Jenny's name spelling changed a few times when a cousin decided she needed to have the same baby with the same name...I was incredibly mad that she would steal my name. Jenny went to Jennie, but that isnt her.

Eliza is the third. She is different than the rest. Although she is 12 years old, she is *technically* the oldest at child age rather than baby. Her age: 11.  Her brown hair used to be long, but was cut to shoulder length and she always wished to have braces. Eliza is an excellent big sister, cousin and daughter. Eliza like her sisters had outfits for everything and she looked especially beautiful in her green velvet dress. Eliza didnt like the trips as much as her baby sisters and instead "chose" to stay home most of the time.

Luciana (Lucy) is the fourth. She was adopted later on in my life because of my desire for a red headed "child". Her eyes started at me and even though I was older, I knew she had to come home. Lucy's hair is long and gorgeous and her eyes bright. Her favorite outfit is a skirt with purple shoes and cream colored shirt. It looks incredibly cute on her. Lucy's age is 10, making her younger than Eliza but they are best friends.

It may seem unusual that I am describing dolls in this way, but there was so much time spent with each one that I know every detail of their lives.
Playing house was BY FAR my favorite thing to do as a child. Each doll was incredibly important to me and I treated them as though they were my real children. I would never do anything to hurt any of them.
I always had the desire to be a mother and playing house allowed me to do that. I knew from the beginning that I wanted children.
I remember my sister and I playing a game we made up entitled "Failure Parent". When playing this game, babies were expected to be treated with the utmost care. Anything that was not normal for a child would result in the parent becoming a failure.
I played house until I was almost 12. I dont think I even wanted to stop but I knew it was time.
When my cousin plays with her dolls, I still love to cuddle them and treat them as real babies. I love wrapping them and dressing them, putting them to sleep and playing with them.
I have considered getting a reborn doll to satisfy my love of babies/dolls. Something about them though--#1 the money, has kept me from purchasing one.
I hope that when I have actual children, they will love to play house as much as I did because I know that playing with dolls were some of the best times of my childhood.