A Special Day for Clara

With our move date pushed back and the boys away at Nanny and Poppy's for the weekend, Saturday was declared at Clara's special day, a one on one outing with mommy.  When I asked her what she wanted to do for her special day all she could come up with was "buy some Calico Critters", or "go to Build a Bear".  I tried to explain to her that a special day was not about "buying" but doing.  She quickly responded with "okay, let's sew a princess dress". 

Clara's been eyeing a pile of sparkly pink fabric in my stash for months now.  I actually bought the fabric in 2009 with the intention of sewing some dress-ups for Christmas but was unable to hide it from the girls.  I'm glad I waited because I found it to be more fun to design and sew alongside a very excited girl.  

So just after breakfast Clara and I pulled out the fabric and she drew a little picture then wrapped the fabric around her to explain exactly how she wanted it.  I drafted the pattern right on the fabric with a black marker and Clara was off playing before it was even cut out.  She'd check in on me occasionally to make sure it was puffy enough and to play with the scraps at my feet.  She brought her baby doll down and convinced me to sew a matching dress. 

The two have been wearing their dresses ever since.  Clara's dress was intentionally made a little big, the back has adjustable snaps, but at this rate I'm not sure it will hold up for as long as it was intended to.

When she first put on the dress she was swept away into dreamland, she planted herself in front of the van bumper and sang and danced into her reflection.

I took her for a little outing, actually they were just regular errands but wearing her new dress made it special.  We first dropped off  some bags at Salvation Army and Clara requested we go in and look for some summery dresses for her.  I agreed and we quickly found a nice pile of barely used dresses (we have a fantastic thrift stores here)!  Next to the dresses Clara found a princess vanity set.  I'm sorry she couldn't convince me to bring it home but I did allow her some time to play with it.

That and of course all the other junky toys that were about.

Our next stop was Whole Foods.  In the parking lot a little girl pointed out Clara and said "I want a dress like that mommy".  Clara started skipping, but then she tripped so the dress met its first little tear.  But Clara pulled herself up, held the skirt up high and quickly trotted on.  Inside the store she walked about more slowly, soaking in every smile and compliment until she bumped into a stand of berries.  She kept on her best dimpled smile and created even more smiles along the way.

Our last stop was going to be for an ice cream cone with sprinkles but she fell asleep.  Here she is just before I carried her out of the van.

I still owe her a trip to the ice cream shop.  Until then, everyday feels special in a puffy pink princess dress.