How to be a Baby by Me the Big Sister

I'm participating in Helping Little Hands Read-a-long.  This started March 1st and goes on all month...go check out Polly's blog for lots of fabulous books and activites to do with them.

We have three princesses, so now we have not one, but two big sisters!  We initially found this book when Katie was 3 at the library and laughed so hard that our bellies hurt.  What I loved about this book is the range of emotions that the big sister goes through...she talks about all the awesome things about being a big sister, all the things that she can do but the baby can't do, and as you get toward the end of the book the big sister talks about comforting the baby in the middle of the night and all the fun things that they will do together as the baby grows up. 

Well, that was 3 years ago and I knew the fines would get pretty steep once we did our three renewals, so I got it on Amazon...I actually think that it was my first Amazon purchase...

One thing I love is that the book really is an amazing reflection of the transition that Katie went through and now the one that Maggie is going through as a big sister.  I know when Mags was a baby Katie had moments of frustration, and now they play dress up together, built forts, and giggle with their sister secrets. 

Now, this may be a bit long for a smaller toddler who doesn't enjoy long story time but even at that age you can flip though...just don't skip the highchair page....that was one we would have to read over and over to Katie.  :)

So now you have it reserved at your library, right? 

So I wanted to share a really fun big sister activity.  I thought that it might be fun to have Katie (who is 6) make a book for Becky about what Becky was like as a baby.  We thought up some prompts, mainly from the book, for her to use to write and illustrate.

(We did have a minor problem with markers bleeding though so Katie wants to re-do the beginning of the book...maybe the printer paper wasn't the ideal choice....)

So here are a few pages that she made:

Here are some prompts that we used:

What does Becky wear all day? 

What kind of hair-do does Becky have?

What is Becky's favorite toys?

What song do you like to sing to Becky?

Does Becky have any nicknames?

Where does Becky sleep at night?

What can you do now that you can't wait to do with Becky?

What/How does Becky eat?

How do you make Becky smile?

Now that would be sweet enough to keep, but I told Katie after she finishes her book we will scan the pages and I'll wait for a free photobook offers that happen occassionally online and get it printed like a real book for her.  The other option would be to use pictures from that first year and have the big sibling "write" a story about the pictures.  We will probably end up with a mixture of both.

Nothing makes a big sister feel as grown up as being a published author, right?

Let me know if you do this and how it goes!

Becky's Dress for her Baptism

Ok, ok....so it isn't done yet...I made the fabric lining out of satin and I just need to sew it in.
Becky was in such a good mood tonight that I couldn't resist playing dress up with her, especially with the little bonnet that I sewed little white crocheted roses onto Sunday night. So, yes, it will fit nicer (mainly across the shoulders) once there are buttons on the back and her little toes won't get stuck in the skirt once the lining is put in.

I know I am the biased mommy, but isn't she absolutely adorable??? Maggie and Katie tell her so all the time and she will flash her pretty blue eyes at them.

I found this pattern on etsy...it is called the Tiny Olivia dress. There are patterns for larger dresses (so I could make one for Katie, but at the rate that I am going it would take a year, so don't tell her.)

I have a few other crafty things in the works...
when computer time permits, I will finish up the ruffle purse pattern...
my next sewing project will probably be the girls' Oliver + S dresses...
for now....getting caught up on laundry so I can ENJOY my crafty time.

Three Sweet Girls

Aren't they sweet? It is so rare that Maggie cooperates for a picture that I had to share.

Doesn't Becky have a look like "What are they doing???"

Puzzle Power

We got to visit Grandma this past weekend. We got to see Alice in Wonderland and see lots of family. As always, the time went WAY too fast. Aunt Glenda got the girls these super-sized Melissa and Doug puzzles that we spent this afternoon putting together. So much fun!

Family Visit

We had a wonderful time visiting...time just goes so fast!

(I'm sorry for the constant changing of the blog at the time being. Just trying to find a way to make it all work better!  I also started to make the purse pattern, so hopefully that will finish up this week, too.)