A Special Storytime

Mommy had received some great mail this week. The one thing was something they'd been waiting a long time for. It was the second book from The Doll's Storybook. All the dolls followed the blog. They were all big fans and were really excited about the new book. This one was about Emil and his brother.

Since the girls didn't have a brother, they were very interested to see how different the boys were from themselves. It being Saturday, the dolls knew it was story time. Whenever they gathered for story time, they would pick a girl to read. Today it was Aria's turn again. The second piece of mail, Mommy kept to herself. It was a suprise.

The girls all lined up to chose their story time Affirmation Pal.

Andi and Lily were in the front of the line, so they chose first. Andi chose Buttercup the Yak. Lily chose Rainbow Sprite. They carried them up Max's ramp to the bed.

Rainbow Sprite was bigger than Lily. She could barely carry her and you couldn't even see her underneith Rainbow Sprite's giant wings. Lily, was the littlest doll and also somewhat stubborn, so she wouldn't accept help. After the rest of the girls chose their Pal, they all gathered on the bed.

They sat in a group, with Sophie hanging over the pillow as always. She liked to peek over the reader's shoulder and see the pictures before anyone else. Aria pushed her glasses up on her head and put her reading glasses on. But before she could begin the book, a little face peeked over the side of the bed.

Ahem. I'm sorry to bother everyone, but I'm new and I was told to come here. I'm Piper.' All the dolls turned their heads in surprise.

Piper was here! A new sister! 'Welcome!' They all said. As Piper started to come up the ramp, Aria stopped her. 'Wait,' she said. We are having Story Time. Before you come up, you have to pick an Affirmation Pal. They are on the bottom shelf behind the dog's blankets.' 'Oh. Um. Ok,' replied Piper. She didn't know what an Affirmation Pal was, but she went anyway. There were two big ones and two little ones left. And an egg for some reason.

Not wanting to seem grabby, she chose the little yellow panda. She picked him up. He was very soft and she liked the way he fit in her arms.

She made her way to the top of the ramp, Pal in hand, and approached the group. She sat down and looked around shyly. A little voice next to her said, 'You picked Pan Pan. He likes you. I like you, too.'

And Lily put her tiny hand into Piper's. She smiled up at her and Piper felt loved and welcome. The other dolls smiled. 'Are we ready?' asked Aria. 'READY!' everyone replied.

Aria read. It was a great book. Aria intended to spread it out and read one story at a time, but she ended up reading all three at the insistance of the others.

Normally at the end of the stories they would discuss what they read and how it made them feel. But this was a super special day. There was a new doll!

Everyone returned their Affirmation Pals to the shelf and came back to their spots. Each one hugged Piper before she sat down again.

Lily stood next to her and touched her hair. 'You have such pretty hair!' she squeaked. 'Thank you,' Piper replied. The dolls asked her questions.

'Where did you come from?'

'The Doll Maker', Piper said.

'What's your favorite food?'

'I like to pretend to eat spaghetti,' said Piper, rubbing her tummy.

'Do you like dogs?' Piper hesitated. 'I don't know, I've never seen one.'

'You're in for a real treat!' Sonata exclaimed. 'There are 4 here!' That made Piper a little nervous but the dolls assured her that they were all friendly. They had a nice conversation and soon it was time to go back on the dresser. 'I think you need to come over to the dresser with us,' said Aria. 'Why?' asked Piper. 'Well, I think we all agree that you would make a great Therapy doll. Don't worry, we'll talk you through it.' Everyone nodded. They made their way across the bed, down the ramp and up the dresser.

Except for Lily who, while also a Therapy Doll, always wanted to stay with her best friend Rhapsody.

When the other dolls were back up on the dresser, Sophie, who had been very quiet, turned to Piper who was next to her, held out Madeline and said, 'Would you like to see my doll?' Piper blinked a couple times and said, 'Oh sure! She's so pretty!' Sophie smiled, gave Piper another little hug and turned to say something to Melody who was on her other side.

A soft voice sounded in Piper's ear. 'That means she likes you,' whispered Sonata. 'OH!' said Piper. 'Well I'm glad about that, thanks, Sonata.' She stood on dresser with her new sisters and thought about her first day. Affirmation Pals, Story Time, Dogs! She was happy to be here. And very excited to find out what a Therapy Doll does. Welcome, Piper!

Love Aria. 💘