Easter Hunt, 2017

Easter weekend - phew! We are still recovering. Easter egg hunts, brunches, neighborhood events, birthday parties, and soccer matches. There was a lot going on, and Mr. Jones was recovering from a terrible stomach flu. Still, the weather was great, we saw good friends, the girls had a blast, and Lulu tolerated the rabbit. She told us beforehand that she only liked "smaller rabbits" and when I tried to put her down next to him she wailed, "Nooooo". So we all got a photo with the Easter Bunny! Then we had donuts and got our arms painted, and went home for a nap, with enough chocolate for coming weeks. I think we ate sweets the entire day. Maybe that's what Easter is for.

PS. Penny's sweater pattern is "Pompom Rabbit", Ravelry link here. Lulu's sweater pattern is called "Sweet William", Ravelry link here. Lulu is wearing a Geranium Dress and Penny is wearing a skirt (no pattern used) in a fabric called "Garden Delights" by Gray Sky Studios.
PPS. Last year's trip to this Easter Egg Hunt is here.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

We went to the tulip festival, despite the weather being absolutely awful lately. Everyone is saying that spring in the Pacific Northwest is a month behind. It's barely been close to 60 degrees. The girls were so excited to wear their spring dresses and I hate to disappoint them ;), so they wore leggings and long sleeve shirts underneath, with double layers of pants and tights. Still, we could still hardly stand to take off our coats. It kind of felt like this past fall at the pumpkin patch. Bounce houses and horsey rides always make things a little bit better.  They're predicting no rain for Easter weekend. We can only hope.

PS. Lulu's dress details are here. Penny's dress details are here. Last year at the tulip farm is here.

Penny is 5

Penny Jones is five years old! She's a girl now. I can feel it. She talks a lot of sense, she knows a lot of things, and she's still the sweetest person I have ever known. I really have never seen anything like it. In all her days, she has not had one tantrum. She loves her family and her friends so fiercely, and when she does them wrong she's quick to apologize. She praises people, she listens intently, she thinks of ways to make people feel good, she's sentimental and optimistic. Her birthday party is on Saturday, but on her actual birthday day, she wanted to skip preschool and go Roller Skating with her friends. She had a really great time.

 

Clara brought her a balloon. When we returned our skates, the woman at the rental counter sang "Happy Birthday" to Penny, complete with sign language. There is so much magic at Oaks Park Roller Rink. It lives in a time where I want to reside, forever, and where I want to raise my kids. At the end of the song, Estella explained to the woman that this was her friend Penny, and that she was 5, and that finally they were the same age again. I almost started bawling.

P.S. I made Penny's dress. The pattern is Geranium Dress by MadebyRae. The fabric is from Black and White by Melody Miller for Cotton + Steel.

January's Inside Out

January is almost over, and I don't quite know what to make of it. We had an epic snowstorm and we were inside for almost two weeks straight. For someone who doesn't like to stay home (with kids, that is, alone I can stay home for hours and hours) it was a struggle. Somehow with sleds and shovels and tons of art supplies and dress-up clothes, we got through it. I started a new job, we got a new President, and who knows what lies in store for all of us. One thing I know is that if life continues to be as sweet as it has been with these two ladies, we're going to be okay.

I've also been working on a New Year's Resolution to print and archive family photos. I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but it's important to me to have printed photos the girls can look through them without a device being turned on. So in January I've lived in 2017, and 2012 and 2013 simultaneously. I'm working my way to present day, and it's truly been a walk down memory lane. To look at the photos above, and think everyone is talking now, everyone is drinking from cups, and there are no diapers in this house anymore! It's truly mind blowing. We are growing UP around here, ya'll!

PS. Lulu's dress pattern is McCalls 8635 (from 1966) in vintage polyester bought at an estate sale. Penny's hat is Big Top Animal Hats by me! Details of Penny's sweater are HERE and Lulu's coat are HERE.

Alice in OMSI-land

I made Penny an Alice in Wonderland dress.  A friend gifted us the pattern (Simplicity 2330, already cut to a size 5) and Penny begged me for it as soon as she saw it, telling Lulu that the last homemade dress I made was for Lulu's birthday so it was her turn for one. Penny likes the book of Alice, and loves the dress. She's been asking me about my sewing progress for a month, and finally, this past weekend, it was finished. I made it from a cheap calico and white muslin from Jo-ann Fabric. She wore it to OMSI, the Portland science museum, and told everyone that gave her a second glance that her mom made her dress.  This girl is the best thing a crafty mom could ask for.

Meanwhile, there are a few things, including the spinning trick above, that Lulu has mastered at the museum. She goes right over to this whirring machine and starts balancing these wheels on a turntable, attracting 8 and 10 year-old kids, in amazement. Lulu, uninterested in their compliments, is continually fascinated by the machine.  We have a science Prodigy, don't you know? ;)