My baby's in a big girl's bed!

The time had to come eventually I guess. I just didn't expect it to be so soon.

Putting Elizabeth down of an evening is actually much easier now she's in with big sister. We used to read stories in Louisa's room, and then go into Lizzie's room for round two. Now she'll draw and chat with big sis before calling mum in for a final breastfeed for the day. We've temporarily got a swag mattress on either side of the bed to avoid nasty bumps. So far she's only fallen of bed once. She called out, I went to see what was the matter and she'd fallen back to sleep curled up on the floor. She hardly woke when I put her back in bed. That was over a week ago now and no falls since.

I just realised since I uploaded the photo that I haven't blogged the quilt I made for Louisa. That's partly because it's still not technically finished. I still have some sewing to do, and manage another row every now and then.

I am so very pleased with it, not because it's a great work of quilting (far from that) but because it is much loved by it's recipient. Louisa loves it, and it is often dragged downstairs to snuggle up in while watching TV, or as part of one of her games. It has been a mermaid tail, a river and, of course, a picnic blanket for her soft toys. She loves the colours in it, and has added red to pink and purple as her favourite colours. I really love how it looks in her room too. So it definitely is a success despite a bit of wonky stitching here and there.

Elizabeth's other great 'growing up' thing is her drawing ability. All of a sudden her scribbles have become faces complete with eyebrows, round open mouths - and in most cases a mermaid's tail! Don't tell anyone, but she's a far better drawer than her sister at the same age, and actually isn't far off Louisa's basic drawings. I'll have to scan some to show off.

Louisa's Christmas Dress

Today's the 25th so officially 2 months until Christmas! My Christmas sewing is getting there, but slower than I'd like. Not enough hours in the day, and certainly not enough when I'm feeling fresh and productive. Still, I managed to get this very red dress finished for Louisa:A very simple looking dress, and just a plain red drill, so it definitely needed some kind of decoration. I contemplated an even more Christmassy green trim, but compromised on this pretty green ribbon.On another note, these guys have decided that our pool is a great place to have their morning dip. Why they've chosen ours, we're not sure - pools aren't exactly a rarity in our part of South East Queensland. We're not happy for them to be using it as a toilet, so we shoo them off as soon as we see them. I felt a bit guilty the other morning when one of them flew into a glass fence we have out the back, but thankfully he recovered and flew off before I had to put my CPR skills into effect.

My sister's new skirt

My sister needed a new skirt so I offered to make her one. This is quite a simple skirt, but I think the ruffle makes it quite pretty. It has an elastic waistband, but I also added a drawstring so that she could tighten it up if she needed to.
(Photography courtesy of Louisa)

What a busy weekend we had! It began with our usual weekend morning coffee and a dip in the pool, then in the afternoon the girls and I headed to the kindy for their 50th anniversay celebrations - a mad hatters tea party. Loads of fun, the highlihght being the traditional Punch and Judy show. My girls were so gorgeous sitting side by side and looking at each other and laughing at al the good bits. They are sisters, I know, but I love how they really enjoy each other's company.

On Sunday morning, following the coffee ritual, we stumbled upon a vintage car rally, officially The Great Gatsby Picnic, with loads of vintage cars, reproduction wooden boats, camels rides, bagpipes, the works!

In the afternoon, with my dear husband happy to stay home in front of the TV to watch Bathurst, I took the opportunity to leave the girls at home and begin Christmas shopping. I headed to the larger shopping centre we have, and did the whole bit. The best bit was being able to get to the Myer Christmas trim shop in its first day of opening.

My grandma used to have some lovely glass bird ornaments. Each year, Dad would risk life and limb on the local railway tracks to get a tree for both her and us and we would help dress her tree. Clipping those beautiful birds onto the tree was my favourite thing. Over the years the delicate birdds have lost bits of beak or feather, so although Mum still has them, they're not really usable anymore. I've often seen similar birds advertised in catalogues, but everytime they've been sold out before I've got to store, but not this year! I bought several, mostly in more subtle golds and browns, but couldn't resist this colourful one. I knew the girls would love it! As I mentioned in my last post, I finished Lizzie's apple dress (yes, I've decided they really are apples). It's a little big for my 'Thin Lizzie' and she didn't show much appreciation for all my efforts. I'll put it aside until it fits better and hopefully by then she'll be happy to wear something other than souvenir Tshirts.

Christmas will be here before we know it!

I headed to Spotlight again last week to get some ribbon for Lizzie's new dress. No photos of that as yet, as the camera has gone walkabout (in my husband's car?). I'm very pleased with it, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see a pic.

But here is the fabric I bought on the same trip. A bit of a red theme. The top fabric is for another dress for Lizzie, to wear to any pre Christmas festivities and maybe christmas day. We're hosting this year (first time ever), so I also bought some goodies for table decoration and presents.