Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ni-Ni Baby

Now that my daughter Kyrstin has a house I am able to start giving her the many "things" that have been stored here at home. This week I ran across a box containing all of her dolls. After being stored for some 20 years now, they looked a little rough so I decided to clean them up before giving them back to her.

I scrubbed up their faces nice and clean, washed their clothing, mended any rips and tears, combed their hair and tied new ribbons in their hair where the old ones had disappeared years ago. Thank goodness Kinsey helped me as it turned into an all day job!
The most significant change concerned Kyr's "Ni-Ni" baby. She got this her first Christmas when she was 9 months old, and from that point on it- along with her "ni-ni "blanket, was tucked under her arm at bedtime and carried around during the day when she needed it. Needless to say, this little soft stuffed, pink, terry cloth dolly saw it's share of the washing machine and the wear and tear of being loved to death! By the time Kyrstin started finding other things to occupy her time, Ni-Ni Baby was without her glued on blue eyes, painted nose, stitched mouth and yellow yarn hair. Her pink body was faded, pilled, irregular in shape with her head flopping loosely from the stuffing being packed down. She had been repaired so many times I was at a loss of what else I could do to save her, so she was quietly, gently and loving tucked away with the rest of her fellow sister dolls; Blue Baby, Marlena, Delta, Sibyl, Edwin, Amanda and Leonora.

Well, this week Ni-Ni Baby became a challenge, but we got her to looking almost like her "ole self! Kinsey painted on new eyes, mouth and nose, and I worked on her hair and body; washing, stitching and stuffing her.
When all was done, I sat down and wrote Kyrstin a letter on behalf of the baby doll that was her faithful friend all of those years ago.
Here is the letter Kyrstin received today when we presented her the dolly that has been waiting to be loved again:)

Well, her I am,
all washed, stitched and clean.
Your mom and sis helped me
become as I use to be!

You loved me to pieces
till hair and face was gone;
But never did I mind;
'Cuz your arms had held me long.
With new hair in place,
my bib is trimmed too;
a smile and a nose,
blue eyes to see you...
The years have gone by,
past your childhood life.
But I stayed the same
as you became a wife!

But now it is time
to join you again.
A family you have,
it will be like "back when"...

Your chubby arms held me,
we were playmates, best friends.
You, me and Ni-Ni,
snuggling till nights end.

Except now I am fragile-
Perhaps I should sit
safe by your pillow
so you won't forget..
.
How special our time was...
Those precious years gone.
Now again I am with you,
Where I truly belong...
Your best friend, "Ni-Ni Baby"






6 comments:

Kyrstin said...

Thank you so much for my "new" Ni Ni Baby. I was in such a rush today to really soak in the letter. I re-read it a couple of times tonight and got teary eyed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I really appreciate all of your hardwork in cleaning up my baby dolls. You are always full of surprises :) Love You!!!

Anonymous said...

Awww, too cute. man those dolls bring back tons of fun memories.

Robyn Jones said...

Awwww....that was too sweet...You brought tears to my eyes! So precious that you went to all that work to fix up the dolls... My girls all had favorites...My middle girl has a box of Elmos all tucked away that we had started collecting when she was a baby... My second one has a baby that is life size who she named Suzy...I think she just took her the other day.... It's funny how most of us have a special toy we remember....

Lizzy said...

Aww, so sweet! You're a wonderful mother and a great writer! Im sure Ni Ni is in good hands and will probbably get played with again.

Rose said...

hi! still catching up on reading posts. thanks for your comment on mine re cats. this is so sweet. i'm a firm believer that our children should have a toy or something from their childhhood this was great. my husband thought his dau. would have no interest in her old dolls. he wanted to get rid of them. i refused. when she and her husband was expecting a baby, i pulled out the dolls and sent them to her for the baby's room. take care. rose

Rose said...

jumping back re spring cleaning. i know what you mean. i helped 2 friends with problems. stopped the house, now still have to finish. oeople are more important. rose