Three

My Baby is now three (here she is at two).  What a joy she is for our family.  My nicknames for her are "dolly" or "monk" (short for monkey).
Baby is a sensitive soul and liberally bestows the balm of love and kisses on her family.  I have been the beneficiary of hearing "I nuff you, mom" daily.  Baby prances and dances through her day.  She loves to read and be read to, declaring every book her favorite.  She has discovered simple jigsaw puzzles, and enjoys coloring immensely.  She loves her baby dolls, and enjoys dressing and feeding her charges.  She is also our little drill sergeant.  She is quick to tell everyone what to do, and how to do it.  We're trying to discourage this tendency...but it is funny to hear a tiny voice encouraging me to speed up, slow down, or stop from the back seat as I drive around during errand day.

For her birthday I made both her and her dolly a new dress.

Using my Banded Peasant Blouse tutorial as a guide, I made a few changes to adapt it from tunic length to dress length.  I measured where I wanted the dress to go to, and when I cut out the bodice pieces, I added the additional length and added an inch to each side towards the bottom.  I also cut the back bodice pieces into two, and added an invisible zipper, following this tutorial.

I adjusted my seam allowance to 1/2" for the zipper, but kept to 1/4" for the rest of the dress.  I used some tiny pompom trim rather than piping around the neckband, vintage from my great-grandmother's stash.

Fun orange buttons finish off the dress.

For Baby's doll, I also adapted the banded peasant dress.  Rather than band the sleeves or legs, I used elastic thread shirring.

I used the ribbon hemming technique I learned from the Lazy Days Skirt.  I also used ribbon to make the button loop in the back band.

The dark blue fabric is the same chambray I used in Baby's skirt.  If there is interest, I can post the directions for adapting the banded peasant dress for a dolly dress.

Now that she is three, I think Baby is probably not the best nickname for my dolly here in cyberspace.  I am careful not to use my children's real names.  From now on, I'll refer to her as Dolly.  It suits her.

I can't forget to tell you, her favorite movie is "Tangled."  She loves to go through the lines of  "I love you more...I love you most" with me on a daily basis.  So fun.

Happy birthday, Dolly.  We're so grateful for the miracle of your life.