~ seven! ~

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My baby is seven!!!

A quick, blurry picture of Lela before she goes in to see her birthday table.

~ the last day she's six ~

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Tomorrow my big girl turns seven!

We spent the day at the Catawba Science Center,

checking out some amazing art installations,

petting skates and rays

and even enjoying sushi for lunch.

I didn't take my camera in with me, 

and it's just as well, because I was too busy having fun to use it.

So I snapped a few pictures of the birthday girl after supper,

looking exhausted yet happy.

Tomorrow we'll enjoy opening gifts and a leisurely breakfast.

We sure do love this girl.

~carrie~

~ waldorf-style dolls for baby ~

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***Thank you to my sister, Rebecca T. Jones, for photographing the dolls!***

For my cousin's first birthday, 

I decided that she simply must have her very own Waldorf-style baby.

And when Lela caught wind of my plans,

she wanted to make one of her very own to give as well.

~ copyright Rebecca T. Jones ~

Lela's doll is mostly handsewn by her.

She sewed two squares of linen, wrong-sides together,

then turned and stuffed with poly-fil.

(The linen was a destashing gift from my friend Julie!)

She formed the head out of more poly-fil inside an old baby sock.

I sewed a tube of organic cotton knit "skin"

(from A Child's Dream Come True)

and then she fitted the head inside and sewed it onto the body.

With her blessing, I made invisible stitches around the neck,

then reinforced with more invisible stitches on all her seams.

(We were backing each other up - we discussed the importance of safety around babies!)

*I chose poly-fil because it was easier for her to stuff and pack tightly than the wool.*

~ copyright Rebecca T. Jones ~

Lela was present for the sewing of the face,

though I made the actual stitches. 

She helped with eye and mouth placement,

and securing knots in the back of the head.

From her vision, I sewed a tiny gnome hat for her baby.

Lela gathered the sides to form arms and a puckered dress,

and went over her doll to look for any places that needed more attention.

Then I stitched on this tiny heart,

and she came back to oversee the blushing of cheeks.

~ copyright Rebecca T. Jones ~

I couldn't be more proud of her effort with her first doll!

And that it was a gift for her baby cousin......

I know she'll always remember this.

My doll is made from a pair of corduroy pants that belonged to me as a young child.

The heart is denim, made from the hemmed remnants of my Papa's jean overalls.

I thought it would be special to give my baby cousin something 

made with the fabric from her great-grandfather and her cousin.

~ copyright Rebecca T. Jones ~

I am so pleased with how this simple baby turned out.

The corduroy is soft yet durable, and her body is like a warm little pillow.

As I was working on her, my mother and I kept passing her back and forth for snuggles.

I do believe she wants one of her very own. 

~ copyright Rebecca T. Jones ~

 The dolls were so satisfying to work on.

 I need to make some more!

~carrie~


p.s. I just shared this post with Linda over at Natural Suburbia for her Creative Friday.
p.p.s. I also shared this with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for her Crafting On.

~ fun with friends ~

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 ~ celebrating the 2nd birthday of a special little girl ~

 ~ visiting with kittens ~

~ mommas laughing ~ 

 ~ faery fireman ~

 ~ noticing my noise-sensitive daughter ~

  

 ~ birthday girl ~

 ~ boys entertaining the crowd ~

 ~ chocolate cupcakes with homemade vanilla icing ~

  

  

  ~ outside for slippery fun ~

 

 ~ the girls came back inside for rest and relaxing ~

 

It looks like kitten adoption is become more likely.

I have never seen girls so smitten!

~ carrie ~

~ happy birthday lela ~

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Lela Rebecca is 6 years old!

She made us parents,

and changed out lives forever.

Born at only 4 pounds and 15 ounces,

and just under 17" long,

we struggled to get her to gain weight,

but after hard work and support,

breastfeeding was a success.

A picture of Lela's first bath, at 3 weeks old, for size reference.

She wore preemie clothes until she was 6 weeks old!

But she grew quickly!

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday 

(you can see what we didn't have many good pictures that year!)

3 years old

4th Birthday

FIVE!

picture by Rebecca T. Jones 

AKA Aunt Bec

___________________________________________________________

We had a sweet and simple birthday table.

Laurel and Liv each gave her a beautiful African violet.

Daddy picked 6 daffodils,

and told her how the daffodils bloomed the week she was born.

I made her a new birthday crown,

and gave her a necklace with two charms,

one a little girl, the other a heart that said "Big Sis",

and a needle-felted little doll.

But why would we give her a carrot for her birthday??

We surprised Lela, and her sisters, 

with a trip to the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center.

Lela riding Roney!

Lela was so excited!  

What little girl doesn't love a horse?

Of course, Lela's little sisters got to ride too.

Laurel rode this sweet little girl, Lucy.

Liv rode Roney as well.  

I love how excited her is in this picture.

After the pony rides,

we took our bag of carrots to the pasture.

These huge draft horse came galloping across the field.

It was thrilling, and a little scary, to see them thundering over the knoll.

This one was a bit of a bully!

So I kept him enticed with a carrot, 

just out of his reach,

while the girls got to feed this shy horse.

Happy, Happy Birthday Lela!

May your next trip around the Sun

be even more wonderful!

~ carrie ~