Where it really all began

Last Wednesday, my 48th birthday was a very special day.

On my birthday day, I shared with you the freshly painted Sophie Faber when I should have shared this little girl:

 

This very special baby, Kara Ann, was the first official doll bought for my collection. 

My youngest step-daughter, Jillian, bought her for me for my 38th birthday, 10 years ago in 2002.  She paid around $20 for this 20 inch Berenguer LaBaby doll and could not WAIT to give her to me.

Oh we had SO much fun with Kara Ann!  She lived in a small crib in the living room.  I would dress her  and pose her...sometimes scaring the family as Kara Ann was posed climbing out of the crib.  They would rush over and "save" her.

We put her on the sofa when company was expected and they thought there was a real baby just sitting there unattended.

WE even thought she looked so incredibly real but to look at her now~Wow!  Compared to the life-like dolls of today she does not hold a candle but I still love her greatly and respect her for where she has brought me.

You see, my birthday is in October so come Christmas time that same year, I desired to have a baby boy to add to the collection.  It was then, as my husband shopped on eBay, that we discovered "Reborn" baby dolls!

At first, I really didn't get it!  I thought that Kara was SO real looking I simply could not understand WHY ladies were taking dolls like her apart and "redoing" them.  

But I was mesmerized none-the-less and I continued to watch the progression of the reborn art over the next 2 1/2 yrs.  

I started to "get it" as the art developed.  I had no intention of reborning a baby doll but I sure loved looking at them and learning...for whatever reason drove me to learn...all about them.

So on the day that I did decide to give it a try~I was well educated.  That was the biggest asset I could have given myself.  I was self-taught and didn't even realize it!  

In February of 2005, They Never Grow Up Nursery was "born" and at the end of March 2005, I completed my first reborn, Abby!

She really was a much nicer color than what is seen here~thank God for new cameras and a better area of the home to take pictures. 

So last Wednesday night, after a nice dinner out, I sat in my rocking chair and held Kara Ann during the viewing of a movie.  It just felt like the right thing to do.

Thank you Jillian and thank you Kara Ann.  

I am delighted by your presence in my life and what you both helped me accomplish.

XXOO