Clothing the world's smallest bottom

This summer I ventured (forced by nature, chlorine, and cheapness) into a new domain in sewing: swim suits. Midway through the summer, Olivia's swimming suit died - one day the lycra just decided it had had enough, and we walked away from the pool with Olivia's swim shirt drooping past her knees.

At that point, I could have bought her a new swimming suit, but everything in stores needs to be altered anyway to fit her 4T length and 18 month girth (no, that is not an exaggeration). I've heard there are stores that carry slim sizes, but I didn't have time to order and have it get here before the end of the summer, and I didn't want to pay that much.

Instead I went, armed with a 50% off coupon, to Joann's. Their selection of swimsuit fabric wasn't great (I'll buy online next time), but they did have pink, which is always satisfactory to Olivia. A couple of hours later, I had a suit that actually fit my daughter and with which we were both pleased. I based the pattern on Carmen's swim bottoms (made slightly smaller) and one of Olivia's nightgowns. I love that she's covered on top for modesty and sun-safety, but it still looks like a swimsuit (and it's a two-piece, so she can put it on and go to the bathroom by herself!) And I love that the bottoms actually fit her!

Altogether, I probably spent $6 and 3 hours on the suit (shopping included). Will I do it again? Absolutely. (But maybe not next year, because I already found some next-year clearance suits for $4.)

Little Big Girl

Because Olivia:

• Has 2 younger siblings
• Speaks very well, and constantly
• Acts old and not kid-spazzy
• Looks long and lanky rather than pudgy,

I often forget she is only four years old. And that she's a cute little girl. I guess it's easy to have your cuteness overlooked when you've got a new baby and a roly-poly toddler to compete with. But, in addition to being intelligent and creative and beautiful and helpful and thoughtful and talkative (oh, yes, always talkative)...Olivia really is very cute.

Here are some things she loves to do:

• Make things out of fabric scraps
• Talk about her owies
• Color and cut paper
• Read books
• Write letters
• Throw birthday parties for White Kitty
• Play mommy to numerous babies and kitties
• Help me do things
• "Help" me do things
• Go to preschool
• Have piano lessons
• Go to Primary
• Sing songs
• Paint
• Hear songs and stories
• Play on the iPad
• Look for confetti and small plastic objects at the park
• Tell Carmen what to do

I'll post a recent picture later (Damon just woke up). But this afternoon was nice - Damon and Carmen napped, and Olivia and I sewed things. It was nice to just hang out with my first baby, who isn't such a baby any more (but is still a little kid).

Guidelines

How horrible of a parent would I be if I were to use permanent marker to draw a line down Olivia's scalp in order to make straight pigtails?

Yeah...that's what I thought. Oh, well.

Grab bag

Olivia just said, "Mommy, you are so nice." It made me feel great.

I ordered a new car seat for Carmen on Amazon at 2:00 pm on Friday, and it arrived at around 9:00 on Saturday. Now THAT's service! (And this was with the free shipping option!) The car seat is purple. We have 2 girls, and I'm through with buying unisex stuff for them (at least for now).

My poor little Carmen is having a rough time with her last few molars. She didn't sleep much last night and, after exhausting other appropriate means of inflicting unconsciousness, I finally had to let her cry herself to sleep this afternoon. She was just so tired and so uncomfortable with her runny nose. I'm glad she's finally getting some rest.

We just read "The Communist Manifesto" for book group, and I loved reading it. No one should ever attempt to discuss government, especially communism, without having read it (this means you, former Amber).

Tropical Storm season is fun for me.

Last week, in honor of Independence Day, I decided to start learning the official Armed Forces songs. They're fun. My favorite line comes from "Anchors Aweigh":

and sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

Crazy Navy.

Boo.

Potty training makes me want to pout. That's all.

Philately will get you nowhere

A couple of months ago we decided to officially turn our first child into a nerd: we helped her start a stamp collection. She LOVES it.

I bought a little purple photo album from the dollar store, made a cover (shown above), and loaded the album with a bunch of blank white cards. Every time we get a letter with a new stamp on it, Olivia and I cut the stamp off and glue it onto one of the cards. December has been a great time to do it, since people send so many different Christmas stamps. We also recently had a friend move overseas, and they obligingly sent Olivia a postcard with a nice English stamp.

So, if any of you are getting an urge to make a 2-year-old girl very happy for a few cents, please feel free to send us your stamps!

* Olivia also sounds very cute saying "stamp collegshun."