Birthdays and babies...

Well here's a novelty - 4 posts in one month! So, not a whole lot going on here this week, which is actually a nice change. :)

Daisy's 3rd birthday is next Friday, so I've been sewing and crafting for that. Money is short right now, but fortunately she's too young to not still be impressed with handmade things. :) We did buy her a baby doll, this one to be exact:

I've been busy making her accessories to go with it, including a diaper bag, changing pad, bib, burp cloth, wipes case (complete with wipes cut from an old pillow case), extra diaper (just one so far, but I want to make more), and baby ring sling. None of it's really professional grade, but I think she'll like it all.

We also have her another doll. I almost hate to tell the story behind this one, but here goes. Several weeks ago there was this random dog that had the run of the neighborhood. Nobody knows where he came from, but he was pretty much a nuisance (and I'm not a person who minds dogs running loose just so long as they're well behaved). One day I happened to go outside and there was this dog in our yard with a naked Our Generation doll in his mouth. It's hard to be sure without the clothes, but I think it was this one. Anyway, I grabbed the doll and shooed him away, thinking I was rescuing it for some poor little neighbor girl.

The thing is, I've not been able to find who it belongs to. Morgan is friends with about all the girls in our subdivision, and none of them have claimed it. So it seems to be looking for a home. It was pretty much undamaged, just a barely split seam under the right arm, and no teeth marks at all, so I think he must have not had it for long when I found him. I ran it through the washing machine, then managed to get the hair straightened out using some of the girls' detangler (although pulling her in and out of the hall closet to show everybody but Daisy what I've done with her has been hell on the hair). Then I went to work on some clothes.

I had some sweet pink paisley corduroy that I'd been hoarding saving for something special, so I made Daisy and the doll matching skirts. I added some decorative stitching in black around the hem on each. Then I found black t-shirts on clearance for $2.50 at Wal-Mart. I grabbed 3 - one for Daisy, one for the doll, and an extra (because you can never have too many plain t-shirts for a little girl). I was quite proud of myself, because I managed to follow this pattern, and make a little black shirt for the doll to match Daisy's, even managing to reuse the trim on the neckline and sleeves (I promise the sleeves are even, but one was bunched up in the picture).

Then I followed this tutorial using one of a pair of Dollar Tree knee socks and made her an adorable pair of argyle tights. Now if only I could find some matching ones for Daisy! Wal-Mart has just come out with a new line of 18" dolls, and the accessories are really inexpensive, so for $1.99 I was able to finish the outfit off with a pair of black mary janes.

                                  (Please ignore my messy craft area)
I also made them both matching headbands in two different styles. One is a big ruffled flower on an elastic band, and the other is a pink and black woven headband. A few months ago I found blank plastic headbands to fit 18" dolls for $4.49/dozen here, and I'm really tickled with how they came out.

Anyway, that's the totally redneck story of what I'm affectionately calling "The Yard Doll", but I really do think she'll love it. Morgan has about 7 of these dolls, including two real live American Girl dolls (one from her Aunt Kate and one that she saved up for), and Daisy is always wanting to play with them. She has a cheap one of her own that I got on clearance at Wal-Mart a while back, but when one falls in my lap for free I can hardly turn it down.

Potty training is going abominably. Morgan was almost three when she potty trained, but she wasn't this close! The sad part is, I think she was ready last winter, but we wanted to wait till after Jack was born and she was used to having a new baby in the house before we tried. Then we knew we were going to Georgia at the end of July, and we didn't want to put a newly trained toddler through a nine hour car trip, so we waited again. At least I can take comfort in knowing that her cousin Maddox is 4 months older than her and still not 100% on it himself.

We keep expecting to get a call from Nick's sister Kelly any time now. Her due date is next Thursday. Her birthday is actually Saturday, so we're kind of thinking it might happen then, if only because it seems to run in the family. Her dad was born the day after his mom's birthday, and Morgan was born on Nick's birthday. For that matter, Daisy was due the day after my birthday, but she came a couple of weeks early.

Anyway, that's the randomness that's happening here. Hope you guys are having a great Autumn!