I couldn't wait for Hope to get her first dolly and this is the one she got! It is from The Early Learning Centre and in my opinion is a very good first doll for any little girl or boy. Hope is now four and still loves this dolly a lot so think it was a good choice of ours just over 3 years ago before she turned 1.

The Early Learning Centre make so many different toys and games that our house is slowly being taken over by them! one of their brands is called Cupcake and it is a collection of dollies and accessories. Some of the dolls are large, some medium and some tiny so there should be something for everyone. We chose this medium sized doll as it looked just perfect for a nearly one year old.

I think it is perfect for a nearly 1 year old because it is part hard and part soft- it has a soft tummy so is quite cuddly and flexible but has plastic hands, feet and head. This makes it seem a step up from the all soft dolls that you can get from newborn but not quite as grown up as an all plastic one! The dolly comes either wearing blue or pink and either with white skin or black. The dolly that Hope has is white with pink clothing. The clothes are a little vest which is white with pink teddies on and a little pink and spotty sleep suit over the top. The dolly is wearing a hat and this hat matches the sleepsuit and actually stays attached to the sleep suit which is very useful! Saves us from losing it.

Hope loves playing with this dolly. We have progressed from her just carrying her around and giving her cuddles to her playing imaginative games with her where she is pretending to be the mummy and she is busy bossing the baby around! We have got some of the accessories that go with this dolly so that makes playing with her even more fun as she has a highchair, a bouncer chair and a pushchair too.

Hope likes to take the clothes off this dolly but she can't get them on herself yet. She is now at an age where she tries to and gets a bit frustrated that she can't but between us we do it and she helps me do it which I think makes her feel like a big girl!

This dolly has been well loved over the last 3 years and I can see it being a firm favourite for a while longer yet.

In my opinion it is a very good quality dolly as it has withstood Hope's heavy handedness and is still in very good condition. The clothes are a little worn looking now but aside from that the dolly doesn't look very battered or anything despite being played with on a daily basis for three years! This makes a lovely first doll and the accessories that you can get with it are great. It doesn't do anything it is for your children to use their imaginations with this and I think that is fine, I don't always want a doll that can cry and sing and wee and everything so this is perfect for young children to play with and use their imaginations with.