monumental milestone

Exciting things going on here! My big girl got her very own library card!!!

She's been working on getting our last name just right (without help...it has 11 letters).

Then after she got it all down just perfect she had to practice writing it small enough to fit on the little rectangle on the back of the card. She could not and would not be stopped. She had a goal to reach and a reward to acquire.

Yes, not only can she now check out her own books by herself...she got a snazzy, new library bag to put them in. She'd been eyeing the purple one for a very long time. Now it is finally hers! There was a problem though...it wasn't nearly fancy enough and there was no place to store her card. No, she didn't want me to keep it in my purse. She wanted to be responsible for her card, her library bag, her books. Oh, what a big kid she is now. Growing, learning, maturing, becoming more responsible and independent. Is there a pause button for that? A simple fix for making the bag fancier...just add a pocket, without covering the pretty design or the words of course.

I had the perfect fabric in my stash! Who knew I'd have bright green with yellow and purple butterflies that would match the library bag perfectly?! Thanks Mama for adding that fabric to my stash! So I made a pocket and sewed it to the outside of the bag being careful not to cover anything important. And, thanks to Lola...again for teaching me how to incorporate magnetic snaps, I put that in there, too. I know...fancy, right?

Well, I couldn't just leave it that way, now could I? Because the material of the bag can be easily torn if too many books are crammed in there, I decided to line the bag as well. But, I wanted the fabric to come out over the edge so when the bag was closed it would be all cute and gathered.

It worked! It was super easy to line and it's so much sturdier now. I just love it...er...uh...I mean she absolutely loves it! Here's a peek at the inside. It's so bright and beautiful...just like the sweet girl that owns it.

Sometimes the simplest of things bring the greatest joy. And you know what made it even more special? The librarians. They oohed and aaahed over her new card then when she took her new bag in the next week they oohed and aaahed again. She was very happy that everyone was so excited for her. I was very happy that people like the fancied up version of the bag :o)

Now I have one highly motivated three-year-old (almost 4) on my hands. You know she wants a bag, too, right? Now if we could just tackle that 11 letter last name.