What is a new birthday dress for?

Showing me how big of a step she can take in her dress









For C, a new birthday dress is for going out on secret adventures with Mama in uncharted areas of cloudy, wet, and rainy Milwaukie, OR (Dogwood park to be exact, for the locals)...













and for splashing and jumping in mud puddles before eating a birthday lunch at Bob's Red Mill. (After being rear ended driving there. Everything was fine but this was my children's first car accident so they were a bit frightened by the whole thing. A birthday to remember for them, huh?)













After all of that, a cold and very wet birthday dress is for changing out of to move on to presents, cake, and rainbow bridge stories! C's received a very big present this year: a bed of her very own from her Nana and Grandpa, Grandma and us. More on that to come!
K decorated the cake herself as a gift to C. Baby L very seriously studied how C blew out her candles and then spent a few minutes imitating her. So cute to watch!





Our rainbow cake wasn't as bright as the one posted in the tutorial. I am not sure why. Maybe the fruit needs to be in season? C had a good time making the dyes with me and watching them change the cake batter into fun colors. I used our homemade whipped cream to frost it, but the cake itself has a little bit of sugar in it. Next time I make it I will change out the sugar with maple syrup. It was a bit dense so I'll need to figure that out as well. All in all, it tasted yummy and the girls both loved that it was a rainbow.





C baby made it to the other side after her 'spa treatment'. Thank you, again, to my talented friend Yvonne for making her wig. I didn't finish all of C's gifts - like her doll papoose(she is using K's in the pictures above) or her pinafore but they will come soon enough. K stayed up with me until midnight (nearly 6 hours past bedtime) the night before C's birthday sewing like crazy. She was so excited she couldn't sleep and I truly enjoyed her company. I finished up a simple new outfit for C baby just in time while K sat finger knitting her a scarf and then sewing her a little pillow. Lots of love went into her birthday gifts, let me tell you. I have to admit that I fell fast asleep after her birthday celebration at 6:30pm on the dot with C and Baby L (who had a fever the whole day). I was exhausted but it was all worth it, as always.

After her big day yesterday, my birthday girl woke up a different child this morning. Completely out of her shell and ready to take on the world - this is what the new age of four means to C. I look forward to seeing what else she has in store for me. Happy birthday my baby girl!

p.s - In case you were wondering, C's birthday dress was made with one of my favorite 'stand-by' patterns the Claire by Portabellopixie. I made the peasant dress instead of my usual apron dress this time around. To me, it's the apron dress meets the smocked sundress (from Weekend Sewing). When I make this dress again (and I will!), I might not do the shirring around the waist to help stop it from puffing out. Linking up with Elizabeth, again.

What is a new birthday dress for?