Pigtails

When you have a baby who is sick, most of the typical "hopes and dreams" for your child fade into the background for awhile.  All you want is for your baby to live, to be healthy, to be out of pain....  But all those typical "I hopes..." are still floating around back there.  You know what I mean? "I hope it's a girl" (yes!), "I hope she has blue eyes" (yes!), "I hope she gets my teeth and not Robert's" (verdict's still out on that one...)

Well one of my ridiculously silly and not important hopes has been "I hope she has enough hair for pigtails by her first birthday."  In case you haven't noticed, I have a thing for hairbows.  And the only thing that's cuter than one hairbow, is two hairbows.  I'm not really sure there's quite going to be enough hair for curly little pigtails by her first birthday, but we're starting to work on it.  Wanna see her first attempt at little piggies?  Of course you do.

Okay, so it's more bow than hair, but still, I think it's pretty cute.

And so does her daddy.

And more importantly, so does Rufus:

Come on hair!  Grow!!  You've got two months!

Mama Wore That: Pink Smocked Dress, Handmade Sweater

This is the last of our first round of photos... guess that means it's time for me to have another fashion show and take some more!  Here's Clara in a sweet pink, smocked dress:

So, this is one of those dresses that's really a bit too small, now.  As evidenced by its length when she stands up:

But it's got a super long hem in it, so if I can get around to taking that out, she can certainly wear it through the spring and summer. Which we will certainly want to be doing, 'cause check out this detail:

 Even Clara is impressed.

Even though we didn't venture out of the house, this clearly isn't a winter dress.  So, I thought we should pair it with this precious handmade sweater.

Not just handmade by anyone, either.  Handmade for me, by Clara's "Grandma Doris" (who you can see here and here).  Pretty special to have a piece like this. 

Not only did Doris make the sweater, but she also made this beautiful quilt that Clara is sitting on.  Perfect.

Thanks for being my model, Clara!

Mama Wore That: Lace Nightgown

This is another little treasure from mama's collection.  A simple white lace nightgown with peach ribbon and little handmade flowers.  What's special is that it was given to me by dear family friends (Hey John and Carol!) who are getting to watch Clara grow up too.  Thanks, Danforths!  Thirty years later, it's getting another round.  Here are some closeups:

It seems to me they just don't make things like this anymore.  Or maybe just not for sale at Target.  Hmmm...

You may remember this cradle from the birth announcements. It was handmade by my paternal grandfather (so Clara's great grandfather), Pop, for my brother and me.  We slept in it as infants and then it spent many many years in my room filled with cabbage patch kids, stuffed animals and other baby dolls.  By the time Clara came home from the hospital, she was too big to sleep in it, but now I get to play baby dolls with a real live baby.  If, God-willing, Clara has a sibling someday, he or she will sleep in this cradle during the itty bitty infant stage.  

At almost ten months old, Clara is way too big for sleeping in this cradle now, but something about this lace nightgown calls for a vintage bed, too.  Her polka dotted crib just doesn't quite fit.  

 So during yesterday's afternoon nap, I placed Clara into the cradle and snuck some of those sweet sleeping baby photos that we missed out on in her early days.  Better late than never, right?

I simply can't get enough of this:

 
Or these:

Sleep sweetly, my little one.  I love you.

Two Peas

In a pod.

Rufus and Clara are becoming fast friends.  I didn't have a chance to pull together the photos I wanted for the blog tonight, so just thought I'd throw a couple quick shots of babe and pup together:

Looking longingly out the window and wanting to go play....

Mama Wore That: White Slips

There were quite a few of these little white slips in the box.  They're meant to be worn under other fancy dresses, I'm sure, but they're just so sweet on their own, I couldn't resist.

That cross-stitched quilt has been in the family a long time, too.  We think that it might have been made by my great grandmother (Clara's great great grandmother!), "Boo", but we're not completely sure...  Regardless, it's beautiful and old and I love it.

 This teddy bear was given to me when I was born.

stay tuned for more...