Meet ♥ The ♥ Dolls

From L-R, Top to Bottom - Nanea, Kaleia, Bridget (Britta) and Samantha

Samantha Parkington
American Girl Historical 
Birthday - May 16th 
Fav. Color - Lilac/Lavender
Name Meaning/Origin: "God Heard" in Hebrew, "Listener" in Aramaic, and "Flower" in Greek
Personality: Used to be more tomboyish, now actually joys being dressed and dolled up. Cares deeply about her 'little sisters' and gets along with Kaleia pretty well since they are 'the older two'.

I got Samantha Parkington when I was about 8 (2004/2005) from my grandmother. She has 'Pleasant Hill Company' on the back of her neck, unlike Nanea. As a kid, I only had her meet outfit and not even her accessories. I had a couple other knock-off dolls, but I don't have them anymore and I don't remember really getting more outfits to dress Samantha up with. I've read some of her books and remember snippets of them while I love the movie. I liked Samantha's character - how she bravely saved Nellie from that awful orphanage, how resistant she was to change and how she kicked that neighbor's rude butt. She is the oldest of my dolls and has quite the problem with loose limbs. I play around with the idea of sending her to the hospital, but I don't want to pay that much and lose her fabric stringed head (American Girl has changed their doll's heads to be fastened on with a zip tie that isn't accessible unless you cut through the fabric of the torso...). I had her as a kid and actually played with her, kept her in a storage box for a couple years (oops!) and then re-found her a couple years ago which kickstarted my new love for dolls. She isn't in the best condition, as aforementioned, but now that I know the secrets of keeping doll's hair nice, so hopefully, no more damage can be done.

Kaleia 
My Life As Doll - Walmart Knockoff
Birthday - March 16th
Name Meaning/Origin: Hawaiian - "Flower Wreath", "Beloved"
Fav. Color - Red or Green (she can never decide!)
Personality: Tomboyish, courageous and likes to tease Samantha and Bridget. She likes to get in long hair contests with Nanea. She likes to pretend she is from the 1970s.

I got Kaleia after seeing some amazing pictures of My Life As Dolls on another blog. She has a more 'mature' face mold than American Girl with long eyelashes, closed lips and long hair. She's a redheaded baker doll, but her hair is actually more of a strawberry blonde-ish than a red. Some people complained about the dolls' hair getting frayed, frizzy and messy after a few play sessions, but I've treated her hair the same way as my AG's (water with every brushing) and I have aggressively braided her hair and Kaleia comes out fine. I pronounce Kaleia as KAY-leah, instead of the correct pronunciation of ka-lay-ah because I got her around the time of Carrie Fisher (the actress who portrayed Princess Leia in Star Wars)'s death. I don't regret buying her, and I really enjoy the fact she has a 'chest plate' (vinyl chest instead of normal fabric like American Girl). My only complaint is the lack of posing ability with her due to her lack of stringed limbs, but I make it work the best I can.

Nanea Mitchell
American Girl - Beforever
Birthday - April 11th
Name Meaning/Origin: Hawaiian - Delightful and Pleasant.
Fav. Color - Every color of the rainbow!
Personality: Nanea worries about the people she cares about most and tries to help them out the best she can. She's helping Bridget adjust to her new setting.

I got Nanea for Christmas (okay, so I got her a little before Christmas as an early present... so sue me). Ever since I saw a picture of her (here's a copy of it on Living A Doll's Life), I pined for her. I hardly ever desperately want things, but I desperately wanted Nanea. My grandmother (yes, the same one who got me Samantha) decided to buy it for me while my own mother bought the accessories and the holoku outfit for Christmas. I waited desperately though July (my birth month) because she wouldn't be out until August, then I decided to wait until Christmas to get her because y'know, that's a holiday for getting stuff. I watched Moana while waiting for Christmas to come and it only made me want Nanea even more. I spent a lot of my childhood watching Lilo and Stitch and I enjoyed the Hawaiian culture I saw there. Back to Nanea, I still love her after a few weeks of having her! For the first few days, I could barely believe I actually owned her as I would pick her up and carry her around, kept her on my desk and let her sit near me and watch TV. Her hair has auburn streaks in it and is long (thus the hair competitions she and Kaleia have) with curls near the bottom. She has a BEAUTIFUL face with BEAUTIFUL eyes!! She might be the last AG doll I'll get unless there happens to be another who catches my interest. If you think about buying her because you think she's beautiful, go for it and make sure you get her holoku dress (which pictures can't describe how good it looks on her plus the fabric and pattern is A-MAZE-ING) instead of her hula outfit (I don't trust AG to make a good grass skirt, I plan to make my own).

 Bridget (formerly Britta Larson)

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Birthday - June 8th
Name Meaning/Origin: "power, strength, vigor, virtue" or "exalted one"
Fav. Color - Pink!
Personality - a very bouncy, young girl, Bridget prefers to do things her way than to listen to others. She loves to bake and help out in the kitchen. She can be outspoken about the way she sees the world.

Bridget was Britta from Living a Doll's Life. I won her in a sweepstake/give away kind of deal. I really didn't think I'd win her, to be honest!! I have pictures of her that I need to give LADL, but I need to get them from my mom. I didn't like the name Britta (yes, I know she's supposed to be Kirsten Larson's little sister) so I changed it to Bridget (which is basically another form of Britta)... If I had kept Britta as her name I would have all my dolls with a name ending with an a. I've wanted a blonde-haired, blue-eyed AG-like doll for a little, and now I have that plus one better thing - a little sister for the rest of my dolls! I'm working on making more clothes for her. I don't know what brand Bridget is other than the fact she has TCA on the back of her neck.