Kid You Not

"I saw these babies and I knew that I wanted to do that," she says. "I told my husband that I was going to start making them. I put a high value on new life, I think it's so beautiful."

At the time, she was making Santa Claus dolls, but she had to get out of the St. Nick game. Too crowded, too many parts, too big, and all the people making them were really good. So she figured if she could master the art of making lifelike infants, she might be onto something.

"My first doll was terrible," she says. "I found out that it was not easy to capture what a newborn looks like."

"It took her about six months to make one that didn't look like a little man," says Tom, 62.

So far this year she has sold about 25 dolls, plus another half-dozen this weekend.

But this convention isn't just about the world of the infants; there are one-of-a-kind dolls dressed in everything from tweed suits to kimonos. And you haven't seen teddy bears till you have been to this expo. Of course, there are the conventional plain brown teddy bears. The rest can be separated into three categories: Bears Wearing (military uniforms seem to be big), Bears Doing (fill in just about any activity here) and Bears Sitting On or In (bears seem to like cars, motorcycles and, believe it or not, shoes).

Hall is ready to leave now with her new baby.

She has been holding Amiryal since she got him and now she wants to put him down in the stroller, but there isn't any room because Martin and DeShawn aren't budging.

"I can put him up front," Woodson says, and Hall hands her Amiryal. Woodson tries to squeeze him in the front of the stroller, but Hall leans in with a horrified look.

"Don't squeeze my baby's legs like that," she says.

They agree to rest the baby on top of the other two's heads.

"Girl, you know we are not supposed to put a baby in here like this," Hall frets.

And they stroll out of the expo and into the lobby, Woodson, Hall and five little precious bundles of silicone.