Officially a Big Girl

No more diapers (except for nighttime, of course)--my baby is officially a big girl. And in our house, that is a Big Deal. More so, probably, because we never really did toilet training with a capital T--potty chairs kind of make me retch a little, and so each time a little girl first began the big climb up to the big toilet consistently, it's just seemed really amazing how kids can pick things up all by themselves.

So today was all about our Big Girl.

First, the Big Girl Present. I'd mentioned before that I thought Syd would really like a dollhouse, so this afternoon, after some phone calls and Web searching, we trooped over to Learning Treasures, a local, independent toy shop, and purchased the Ryan's Room Home is Where the Heart is dollhouse:It was about 25 bucks more than online, but local and independent are important, and as a celebratory gift for a two-year-old, it's certainly more powerful to go look at it and buy it and have it right then than to have it just sort of magically appear a few days after the Important Day. What can I say--I like myself some ceremony.

The dollhouse came unfurnished, of course, and Will, especially, was a little befuddled that I wasn't going for any of the thousands of dollars worth of accessories and people and pets and two-car garages also on offer at the store, so I was all, "Listen, Kid. It's just like the real world--you spend all your money on the house, and you can't afford any furniture. You think your dad and I sit around on an old purple dorm couch because we LIKE it?"

Besides, why do you need dollhouse people when you have dinosaurs?
And you certainly don't need dollhouse furniture when you have Legos:Other important parts of the celebration: The Purchasing of Big Girl Underpants (yeah, I just made Will a ton, but it was such a pain altering the pattern for her that I can't even contemplate yet cutting down the pattern again for Syd, so yes, we went to Gymboree) and The Baking of a Treat:

And I am now officially in the market for ideas about making dollhouse furniture. I'm thinking back to these paper-folding patterns, and again, I'm really, really tempted by these wooden people, only I have to contact the company to ask about the provenance of the wood. Other ideas for classy-looking DIY dollhouse projects?

P.S. Check out my tutorial for felted sweater stockings over at Crafting a Green World.