Kimochis

A huge hit with the girls this Christmas was the toys my mom found for them -- Kimochis, tagline "toys with feelings inside."  Each doll has a story that describes its personality and characteristics, and each has a pocket in which to tuck little "feelings" pillows.  One pillow is happy, another cranky, proud, brave, etc.  The girls decided the feelings were a little limited, and want to make their own feelings pillows to tuck into the pockets. 

Each doll also comes with a book with tips for parents on talking feelings with their children, games to play to encourage communications, etc.  There's nothing adoption-specific about these dolls, but communicating about feelings in general is really helpful with adoption talk.  And I think it's quite doable to make adoption-specific feelings pillows if you want.

There are five Kimochis -- we have four:  Lovey Dove, Cat, Bug & Cloud.  We'll probably be getting the Huggtopus, too (Huggtopus seems tailor-made for a child with boundary problems, and that isn't a big one for my kids), just because it's so cute! 

Like Maya, Lovey Dove loves to cuddle, but sometimes has a problem in wanting to make everyone happy. And like Maya, Cat asks for exactly wants she wants, but can be a bit bossy.  Like Zoe, Cloud is a little moody and has a hard time controlling his emotions, but is very loveable.  And like Zoe, Bug can overthink things and become a bit paralyzed, but that's because they're both smart and thoughtful.

As you can see, the girls love the Kimochis!  They've made little beds for each one out of the boxes they came in, and Maya won't leave the house without Lovey Dove!  Big hit -- thanks, Mimi!