When I was growing up, I loved to play with my dolls!
I was the only girl in our family and I think my parents probably spoiled me.
I had lots of dolls!
One baby I really loved was Tiny Tears.
She was able to shed tears from two tiny holes on either side of her eyes when you pressed her stomach after being filled with water from her baby bottle. She also closed her eyes when she was laid horizontally.
As you can see, I would get my younger brother to play dolls with me sometimes!
Of course, he made me play cars with him too. Here he is giving Tiny Tears an "onbu" (piggy back ride)
Another favorite doll I had was Baby Dear.
I found this picture of a similar doll to the one I had.
Baby Dear was designed by Eloise Wilkin.
She is my favorite author/illustrator of children's books!
Here is our family in 1963 getting ready to board the Brazil Maru freighter bound for Japan. We had spent 1 year in America and I acquired Baby Dear that year. The gray suitcase I am holding is filled with doll clothes for my baby doll that my Great Aunt Hulda lovingly sewed for me!
I had a Pebbles doll
a Cupie doll
Alan and Ricky
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Francis and Skipper
I would play "house" with them. My Barbie doll was married to my brother's GI Joe doll.
Here they are wearing some Japanese clothes that a friend sewed for them.
Then I had Tammy and Pepper dolls too.
When we came to America in 1971, my mother donated most of my dolls to the kindergarten that my parents ran. I did bring back my Barbies and also a few other Japanese "ningyo" dolls.
Kokeshi dolls - They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. The body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.
Daruma - one of the most popular dolls, the daruma are armless and legless. They are tumbling dolls, weighted on the bottom so they will always stand up, even when pushed.
I still love dolls and purchased this one because I thought it looked so much like my granddaughter!
My granddaughters also have dolls.
Emeri recently got Molly (American Girl) from her mom's cousin who had outgrown it.
Since Emeri's dog, Molly, had just died, she was excited for a new Molly to love.
They love having matching clothes with their dolls! We have found them at Dillards and Kohl's.
At the end of Sophia's bed is this doll bed. Different babies sleep in it.
Recently we got this doll cradle from a dear friend of mine (thank you, Carolyn!). She told me that her grandmother had given it to her when she was a little girl. Her children didn't want it so we got it for Claire to put by her bed. We will always think of you, Carolyn!
Claire is almost always holding on to a baby.
She loves to kiss them!
I'm glad they love dollies like I did (and still do!)
