If you gave each of my daughters seven dresses apiece, they would be happy.  Jeans prompt tears.  They finagle their way out of pants, unless they are leggings under skirts or dresses.  I sorted Ella’s clothes with her last week.  We moved all the clothes that were too small out of the drawers into the queue of boxes for Sophia and, then, Eva.  For the past two clothes switches, I have also been asking if she likes the piece of clothing before it goes into her drawer for the first time.  We have let go of what she tells me she doesn’t like.  This has made getting dressed easier for her.  As her independence continues to grow, she has taken more of an interest in matching her own outfits.  To make getting her dressed easier for her (and me) I wanted her to have a couple skirts she could put on as often as she wanted with as many different shirts as she wanted.   Sunny days. Sunny days she wishes were rainy days so she can use her new umbrella. Rainy days.  Everyday.

The skirt was made from Sugar City’s tutorial with an awesome thrift store find: 4 yards of uncut chambray.   I can make skirts ’til the cows come home.   She said she would like another one, in a different color, just in case this one is still in the laundry.

I started this dress last year when I found the spring and summer calico fabrics on sale at Joann’s.  Knowing it would be a great dress for Eva this spring, it was cut out bigger and I have slowly been working on it.

This dress makes me daydream of English cottages.  Moss covered rocks.  Teeny tiny little ferns emerging through last year’s discarded leaves.  Bluebell flowers on the path.  Red geraniums in pedestal urns.  A little babbling creek just the right depth to hike up one’s dress for a midday toe dip.   Acorns to make into acorn fairies.  Cream tea in pots. Farmer neighbors who have sheep to peek their head through our fence. And, laughter filling the walls of our home.

Eva will wear her dress.

In my real life, the moss is trying to peek up between the patio bricks.  I still have yet to buy the geraniums for this year.  I have to fill the plastic pool for a midday toe dip, and we have to drive to the sheep.  But, we have lots of laughter to fill our space.

And, Eva looks just as beautiful in her real life dress as she does in my wandering thoughts.

Happy Monday to all of you!  We had a great visit with my sister last week.  Among all of the things we did, one of the days we went to the Natural History Museum in D.C.  We brought a picnic and ate on The Mall.

The girls are pretty intrigued by dinosaurs.  Joel and I had taken the girls to the Natural History Museum earlier this year.  They didn’t know much about dinosaurs before we went. But, they now know a ton.  After getting books out of the library.  They have been asking me to take them back so they could investigate the dinosaurs bones.  Ella really wanted to make sure the T-Rex only had two fingers.  Sophie told us if she encountered a Pterodactyl; she would ride him.

The museum has this pretty cool outer space exhibit, as well.  There is a piece of Mars!  They thought that was pretty amazing, too.

I hope you all have a great week.  See you back here soon!  I have a finished dress to show you all this week!

]]> http://beautifulladybird.com/2012/04/16/oh-my-oh-my-dinosaurs/feed/ 1 theladybird IMG_0912 IMG_0910 IMG_0908 http://beautifulladybird.com/2012/04/06/this-moment-10/ http://beautifulladybird.com/2012/04/06/this-moment-10/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:29:36 +0000 the lady bird http://beautifulladybird.com/?p=1752 ]]>

joining in with Amanda for {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

For these moments:

• the dark stillness of the early morning when all is calm, and you have those blissful few minutes still snuggled in the warmth
• make believe games.  The girls woke up half and hour ago; they have not asked for breakfast, and they have not even come downstairs yet.  They made their way into the playroom, ushered in Eva, and began a bedtime for their dolls game.
• unpinning a blocking sweater and realizing (with delight) it blocked to a much larger size.  It will fit my Evie through spring, summer and fall.
• the squeals of the girls & their friends running in the back yard and hanging from the swing set trying to sneak in as much play before the twilight
• while the parents sit and linger over dessert and new friendships
• the chipmunk who has become our friend thanks to the bird feeder
• one upstairs and one downstairs closet completely cleaned out
• Lady reading her book to me earlier this week
• Eva creating a word to call Sophie.  It begins with an ‘S’ and sounds more like ‘sis’, but it most definitely for Sophie
• my sister coming for a spring visit
• the spot in the nook of your arm where you baby can snuggle her head at bedtime, rub your face, and say ‘ba ba ba’ (translate: sing me Ba BA Black Sheep)

For these moments, these pauses, the grace of God in the moment, I am so thankful.

What are you thankful for this morning?

I have been thinking a lot about progress.  More specifically, how we are all in progress, all the time. My thoughts have been focusing on how to enjoy the progress as much as the product.  I seem to be a person who wants to arrive at done once I notice.  So instead, I am trying to recalibrate my definition of ‘done’.  To find the beauty in the step by step and line upon line life we are called to live.  To see the grace in the daily living, in the mistakes, in the learning, in the readjusting, and in the progress.  And, most importantly, for me, to see the progress as the real living.

I have kept stumbling over the progress (big and small) throughout my day.

:: Ella read her first early reader phonics book to me yesterday.  I almost cried.  Cat/Hat/Pan/Fan/Bat/Mat.  I tried to add ‘Can’ to the mix.  She told me we were done for the day.

:: Learning to add a crocheted edge to the sweater I have had done for months and just haven’t had the motivation to learn how to add the border.

:: As I was cleaning up from lunch yesterday, the girls decided to clean up all of the morning’s toys without prompting.  The Lincoln Logs, the books, the crayons, and the spelling letters.  All of it.  My words of praise went so much farther than any reminder, or pleading, I have given previously.

:: Cleaning out closets, and books, and DVDs and continually reminding myself I don’t want it if it is not useful or beautiful to our family (Thank you, William Morris).

:: That even in my moments of frustration, in losing it, I am able to seek forgiveness and ask for grace so that next time I may extend grace.

:: Praying that God would help me love the progress.

My lady turned five last week.  I am so happy she is ours.

We celebrated all day, and she thought it was perfect.

Thank you to my first lady for reteaching me about love everyday: for rearranging my priorities; and with each passing day making me more and more thankful for everyday we have spent together.

You are a girl of details.  Always asking questions and two steps ahead.  Your dad and I think you are going to project manage something huge one day since you are already project managing me and you are only five.

You are a girl of wild imagination.  Lately, I have not even needed to suggest games for you to play.  You have been inventing and acting out elaborate play such as the dinosaurs that need to come to the hospital so you and Sophie can fix their bones.

You are a girl of trustworthiness.  And, this is the one I am most proud of!  You are kind and protective.  I count on you to do the right thing because you have proven you will time and time again.  Eva is desperate and determined to be outside with you and Sophie now that spring is here in all its glory.  Many times I have come outside to find you helping her up the slide and making sure she does not come within ten yards of the swing.  The best part is it is just who you are.

You are so loved!  Happy Birthday!

• Pattern: Wyatt
• Yarn:  Cascade Yarns Dolce
• Size: 3, with length added
• My Ravelry Notes: here

This is the second time I have knit this pattern.  The middle girl saw the sweater on the counter one day and asked for one for herself, “in blue, because blue is my favorite color”.   I would be happy to make you a sweater.

My children are happily digging in the empty potters around the patio looking for rocks with their digging supplies (read: hot pink shovels they convinced me they needed to “help” me with the garden) .  Before that, they were digging up dandelions, which they call sunflowers, and planting them in the vegetable garden.  Being occupied together is really good news to me because they were really, I mean really, loud this afternoon while playing doctor to the dinosaurs.  I believe stegosaurus hurt someone with his tail.

These are the days I am so happy we have together.

++ joining ginny for her weekly yarn along

• Pattern: Honey Cowl
• Yarn:  Tivoli (a silk and mohair combo)
• Size: In between the two sizes in the pattern.  I wanted it long enough to loop twice, but still sit fairly snug around the neck.
• My Ravelry Notes: here

The last of my Christmas knitting is finished and wouldn’t you know,  just in time to put the snap peas in the ground! I love the honey cowl pattern.  It just seems to move along the needles in a very soothing motion.  The stitches produce a waffle effect.  The first one I made, for myself, I used bamboo yarn, and since it stretches quite a bit it had quite a bit more drape than Lizzie’s cowl.  Dear Lizzie requested a rusty color.  I found this yarn on a trip to Charlottesville one day late this winter.  The yarn is silk and mohair so it knit up much denser than the bamboo, but equally luscious. I hope you still have a couple days in Pittsburgh when you need a little love around your neck.

This completes three of the knitting projects I wanted to get done this winter.  Not too shabby!

Projects done:

• 5th Ave Cowl
• Lucky Penny
• Sophie’s Wyatt (still need to show you)

In the basket:

• Eva’s Bluebell
• Eva’s Clara Dress – this one needs to be completely frogged and restarted.  I have set this one aside until I finished some quicker projects
• Sophia’s dress for the beach (a smocking project w. Joel’s mom)
• a quilt I have been s.l.o.w.l.y working on

Well, there it is.  The list.

If you feel so inclined, I would love to see your list so we can encourage each other.

After a not so great nap time Sunday afternoon, I found myself with a pocket of time and some quiet later that day while dinner was cooking.  I only had about twenty pages left in Wildwood.  I snuck up to my room, with the book, a cup of chai, and my planner.  I downloaded my thoughts and to-dos for the week onto paper while waiting for the tea to cool, and then I finished the book!  Half and hour later I stood up, pronounced those few unexpected and cherished moments to be heavenly and went downstairs ready for the rest of the evening.

:: Even with my best planning effort, the first two days of this week went by in a whirlwind.

On Monday night, Joel’s mom and sister came to visit, and we took with the girls to a Ballet Magnificat! performance.  Joel’s sister will be participating in their Summer Intensive Workshop and it was really great to see a performance.  The girls were captivated.  The touring company performed ‘Deliver Us’ (The Story of Moses) and ‘The Arrival’.  In true Ella fashion, she asked questions to understand every detail.  In the burning bush scene, the voice of God speaks over the music.  “Mom, who is that?” “God”, I whisper, hoping that answers all her questions for a few minutes.  ““The REAL God????????”, in utter wonderment!

As for Wildwood, I mentioned earlier I was not crazy about it. I picked it back up after a few weeks, and I enjoyed the end of the story more than I did to the slower start of the beginning.  The illustrations through out the book were wonderful, and there were a few full page, full color ones that were a rare treat.

Signs of spring all around.  Hope you have a wonderful day!