Free Shipping Goodies (including a Doll Comparison)

So, my evil influence has spread like wildfire.  My mom succumbed to the free shipping offer from American Girl and bought her first brand-new AG doll! :D  After debating for a while, she decided on Ruthie, because Ruthie's coloring is very similar to mine and my mom's.

Mom's package got here today, and she was sweet enough to come over to my house so I could share the excitement of opening Ruthie's box!  Also, as an added bonus, I decided to order the mini holiday Samantha doll for Tess since my mom was spending enough to get free shipping! :)  So, an already great day got even more fun! :)

So here are some pics of the exciting event:

THE BOX!!

First view...another AG catalog.

Our first glimpse of Ruthie!!

The loot:  Ruthie, a new hairbrush (my mom's old doll brush is completely falling apart!), and my mini Sam.

Ruthie out of the box.  Such a beauty! :)

Here's my mini Samantha! Tess will be so excited! :D

My mom loves her new doll!  Here are a few close-ups of lovely Ruthie: 

I've been curious for a while to compare Ruthie and Emma (my My AG #41) next to each other to see the differences.  Since Ruthie was over for a visit, I figured I'd seize the opportunity and take a few pics of the girls together. :)

Please excuse the messy curls!!  I didn't have much of a chance to work on Emma's hair before this photo shoot, and I was too paranoid to do anything with Ruthie's, as she was brand new! :}

Two beautiful girls. :)

As you can see, there are several differences between them. Emma (on the right) has feathered eyebrows, while Ruthie's (on the left) are a single line. Emma's eyes are green and small; Ruthie's eyes are grey and wider (I think it gives her more of a "Disney" look). ;) Ruthie's face seems to be a little rounder than Emma's, too. I should probably add here that my Emma's eyebrows are unique in that they are painted higher than the eyebrows on most AG dolls. It doesn't bother me...I think it adds to her unique personality. I just wanted to point this out. Not all #41s have eyebrows like this. And yes, I realize that in the pics below Ruthie's pic is a little closer than Emma's...I'm not perfect, you know. ;)

Here's a pic showing the difference in their parts.  Their parts are exactly opposite from one another.

In these pics, you can see the difference in hair color.  Ruthie (on the left) has more of a reddish brown color, while Emma (on the right) has hair that is almost black.  She does have faint reddish highlights, but they don't even seem to show up next to Ruthie.

More random pics: 

I found it fascinating seeing these two side by side.  While I LOVE my Emma doll, I have to admit that Ruthie is very stunning, too.  I think they'd make great sisters!  Ruthie will probably end up being Emma and Charlie's cousin that lives at my mom's house. :) 

So, what do you think?  Which one do you like better?

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I also wanted to take a few close-up shots of my cute mini Samantha.  She is so adorable!  I would highly recommend her to those of you still debating whether to go for the holiday minis. ;)

Hope you enjoyed the pics!  Did anyone else give in and buy something with the free shipping code?