My first born........

I did a quick scan at my blog posts and realized I have not yet had one dedicated to my first born (well, not this year at least!). So, here's a little bit about my Hayley.

Hayley made me a mother and that is the single best thing in my life so for that, I thank her. She was a great first baby - a gift, really. She was happy, chubby, cute, and pleasant. And in the blink of an eye, she grew up.  How did my little baby girl go from this:

a sweet little Raggedy Ann (the outfit was made by my sister Monica and she used my actual Raggedy Ann doll's dress as a pattern) to this:

A grown-up girl, in a relationship, living on her own, working full-time, and generally being an adult? 

It's preposterous, is what it is. One day I was propping her chubby little form in a baby walker (you know, the dangerous kind with WHEELS before they invented the Exersaucer), and the next, this:

She's her own person, my Hayley. Always has been, always will be. When she was nine years old, she sat her dad and I down at the dining room table (the kitchen table was not formal enough) and calmly laid out a list of pros and cons as to why she should get her own room. 

She's always been a free spirit - outspoken, loud, trying new things and making new friends. She was very social as a child but now prefers more solitary pursuits, like binge-watching Netflix and playing with her cat. She begged for a cat from age two, so it's no surprise she's ended up a crazy cat lady! 

Hayley has never been one to shy away from the spotlight, and she maintains many friendships and "fanships" in her online world. 

She loves her family deeply...........

She will be a wonderful mother one day, but has recently been questioning her desire to parent a teenager. Ha! She's so good with babies...........

She's strikingly beautiful. Even though she came over last weekend wearing a Micky Mouse sweatshirt, fuzzy fleece pajama pants, hair flat and limp and wearing her glasses. I said "did you just get up?" and she informed me she had just run an errand. Gah!

She's always been comfortable on stage, so it was no surprise that she was a drama kid in high school!

She's my first born. I love her! 

Things we hold dear........

I have a Raggedy Ann doll that is old as dirt. I think I was four or five when I got her. I don't remember the occasion, but my sister got a MUCH bigger Raggedy Ann at the same time which I have never understood. But her giant Raggedy Ann suffered an unspeakable tragedy when my younger brother drew a cross in green magic marker on her head because it was Ash Wednesday and he wanted to bless the doll. That green magic marker remains on the doll's head to this day. MY Raggedy Ann doll was unscathed in the magic marker Ash Wednesday debacle, but she has suffered some of her own trials and tribulations over the years (haven't we all?). For instance, one time her leg was falling off. I have NO idea how that might have happened, unless I was having a tug-of-war with her, trying to save her from some cruel older sibling who might have been trying to steal her from me. Someone sewed the leg back on tightly and all was well. Until I was eight or nine and I had my doll with me at my grandparent's cottage in the woods of southeastern Ohio. My evil cousins decided to have their own assault on my doll and ended up ripping her arm nearly off. I was devastated, and I still remember finding needle and thread and attempting to "sew" her arm back on with giant stitches, because I knew nothing about sewing. Still, bad sewing job and all, she survived and spent most of the rest of my childhood in a small wooden rocking chair in my room. Now, she resides in a trunk in my bedroom and never sees the light of day. Sad, sad Raggedy Ann. But, like an old woman, her "skin" is thinning, and she doesn't have as much fluff in her body so she can't sit upright very well. Her hair is sparse and her head hangs forward at an odd angle. WAIT! I must get her to look at her once again. Whew, that took a while. She was buried under so much junk. But it did give me a chance to take these photos:

 My sweet Raggedy Ann doll.....

 Leg damage! Obviously this sewing job was done by an adult........

 Her heart says "I love you"! 

 Arm damage. Sewing job done by me at age 8. 

 Giant stitches.....no clue what I was doing! :)

 Her stringy hair!

 Stuffing coming out all over..........

But I love her! 

Over the years, my own kids have added some of their own special relics. Hayley has a bear she calls "Angelina" given to her by her dad when she broke her arm. It's a white bear with angel wings and it went to college with her. Hannah has "Lamby", a floppy stuffed lamb we brought her from Victoria, B.C., that she carried around everywhere. Lamby has lost both of his eyes (and I've sewed them back in many times!), and is a little skinny in the areas where she kept her toddler grip on him. Lamby still sleeps with her. Arlie has "teddy", a small stuffed bear that looks more like a potato than a bear. She lost him on the Dumbo ride at Disneyland and by some miracle, someone saved him and put him aside for her and she got him back! His "fur" is more like burlap and he's been squeezed a few too many times. Harrison has "Candy Cane Man", a cheap stuffed toy his dad "won" for him in one of those claw games at a restaurant. Candy Cane Man is a toy soldier holding a candy cane like a staff. He went with us on every road trip and still resides in Harrison's room.

What do you hold dear? Do you have a favorite stuffed animal or doll that you've kept from your childhood?