It doesn't seem possible...How can she be turning 3...already...

This is a sentiment shared by all parents, grandparents, friends, and family members as they anticipate approaching birthdays.

It was just the other day...we were all at the hospital waiting to greet this little princess.

I had made scones and prepared a lovely picnic basket. It held pretty pink forks, pink toile napkins, a thermos of hot tea, jam and freshly whipped creme for the vanilla scones.
I wore my pink coat and painted my nails a complimentary shade...

We would celebrate the birth of a princess...our very own princess...

December 8, 2010...she made her entrance.
Sophia Abigail Ray...perfect in every way.

Last December...at her 2nd birthday....

We had no idea she would soon be coming to live with us.

This darling little doll would shake up our world on January 29, 2013..

Blessing us...

Challenging us...

Snatching us up out of our simple routine...

Making us better human beings...

All that, from one little girl.

And yesterday...she was 3...How did that happen...where did the time go....
It marches on...

Saturday...
What do I gift her with? What does she need that she doesn't have?
What does she want that she doesn't need...something frivolous...and tiny...that will fit her 3 year old little hands....
That's it! Something she doesn't need but would love.

I pull out the Make-a-Lilly wooden doll pieces I had recently ordered from Natalie Jo at Piccalilli Patchwork, and began painting, sewing, stitching french knots, ...

A Phia Dolly.. She was our little Phia Doll... so here's one for her...

With tiny french knots and lazy daisy petals and flower...

..and a pretty little lace lining to peek from under the re-purposed fabric dress (made from a very loved set of pajamas gifted me, from our Tia ...grandson Xavier's mommy)...

I added the tiny heart...as I always loved those old raggedy ann dolls with the red heart on their chest...as this little dolly was from my heart...

It is finished..

I hand her the Phia dolly....she draws her up to her lips...and gently kisses the round little face.

I melt.

Sunday...
We prepare for the party, the celebration of an eventful year. I choose her Laura Ashley dress, in the palest pink, because it compliments her peaches and cream complexion and bright blue eyes. The soft pink angora sweater, ivory tights, and pink ballet slippers complete the ensemble.
She resembles a creme puff...
and we are on our way... with Phia Dolly in one hand and Old Bear in the other...blankie to the side...

A big Happy Birthday Phia smile...

We arrive at Nana and Gran's (Husband Tim's parents) and there is her daddy. She adores him and he adores her. They work on which fingers to hold up...

"I'm 3"

Auntie Tia has arrived bearing gifts...a birthday crown, fit for a princess...and a big pink basket filled with treasures.

Oh, it is just so hard to wait...must take a peek...

and wearing a crown can get awfully tiring...must take a break...

Auntie Tia scoops her up and loves on her.... Phia and Tia...

Do you see now why Sophia loves hats? I mean...really really loves hats...of all kinds....?
Her Auntie Tia loves them...
and Tia's momma, Nancy (Sophia's grandmother, who resides in heaven) loved them....
Sophia will know these things. One day.

Make a wish, our darling Phia doll...

I tuck her into bed. We lie there in silence as she sips on her milk...and then she whispers,
"Atsa bess ... birfday... efver."
And I melt...again.

She enters her deep sleep, and a little giggle slips out, as she dreams.
I am a puddle...

I slip out of her bedroom and quietly close the door.
Husband greets me in the hall...me with tears in my eyes..
"Did you hang that there?"
I answer "Phia asked for tape earlier and said something about hanging her poster..."
Hmmmm....we ponder...she has grown up just a bit more, today...

This morning....

It is gray outside ....

Phia is enjoying her birthday presents ....

...so I build a fire, as it is chilly in the high-ceilinged living room..

And I make my way to the kitchen to prepare our breakfast...

...adding a bit of butter...

...and dishing out a portion for Phia...

I re-enter the living room, and with the Roger Williams Christmas CD playing and the fire crackling,
I find Sophia in repose ...and all is well..

She later enters the room with a basket of Goldilocks story blocks...and it occurs to me...I gifted my Matthew with these, on HIS very special birthday.... It doesn't seem possible...wasn't he just 3?..

.....and I know...time marches on...

******************

I have completed 2 more felt ornaments (thank you Alicia Paulson for your adorable ornament kits)...

...and continue work on #4.... the Gingerbread Girl...

And so go the days at Rose Water Cottage, as we prepare for the celebration of the most wonderful birthday of all...a Prince ....our very own Prince ...of Peace.

May you feel the warmth and magic and joy of this Christmas season....

Blessings friends...

********

Eliza Visits Martha's Vineyard has now been scanned and will travel to the printers on January 15, 2014...My parents' 60th Wedding Anniversary...a perfect day, indeed.

God is so very good.

When this most darling movie appeared in my mailbox one day...knowing full well it had come from one of my dearest friends and blog follower (Our Mary) ...

I was enchanted ...

in an instant.

In that instant I was transported back to my childhood, playing on a creek bank and building little log houses with sticks...

Fast forward..ummmm.... several several years.... (as I will be forever 10, those other numbers don't really matter, do they?)

Sophia is shown a Photo that my friend Debs in Wales (a dear twitter SB girlfriend) had on her pinterest board.. a fairy garden in a teacup.

I was oohing and ahhing, and Phia was deciding we should make it...Right Now!

I'm so happy she thinks like I do. Why wait...why think we must pencil it into our schedule...why not just drop everything, right now, and go make that fairy garden...did I mention..RIGHT NOW?

...and this is how excited she is to get to be in charge of the tea cup...

She has dressed herself, after choosing what she'd like to wear to do some gardening...and you shall see that, in a bit more detail...but insists on having a gardening apron, as I have just tied the back of mine.

Off we go...

down the path to the backyard...

and there you can see...Pajama pants with her former Sunday shoes. Yes, we're girly girls.

We must find moss...

This was pretty...even though we didn't need a mossy rock..

And this Lichen covered stick was really interesting...even though we didn't need a Lichen covered stick...

So Phia looks and looks...

She gets a bit side-tracked...which can happen with us little girls set out into an inviting haven of moss and wild strawberry plants and lichen covered sticks...and old pots of the dried up spring geraniums...

'Let's pull them ALL out'...Phia thinks to herself...

But then Grammy lures her away..."Let's dig, Phia."

And she is given charge of a trowel...

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Commence digging...

It just feels good to dig! Even grown up girls need to dig in the dirt sometimes. Momma always said, "You need dirt." Oh boy, was she right...digging will relieve stress like nothing else.

Dig, little girl, dig.

We have inspected the entire yard and found a goodly patch....Phia, can you fetch the trowel (it was left at the lovely digging site)

Here, Grammy...she calls, as she makes haste towards me...

She takes the role as partner very seriously, for she is not just helper in this stage of the project.

We leave the tea cup and saucer next to the plot of moss..

...along with the trowel...and head back to the path to fetch a handful of tiny rocks...

Just the right amount to place in the bottom of the teacup. They will help in water drainage, as there is no hole in the cup...

Now it is time to dig the patch of moss and place in the cup. ..

Pat it down, gently...

Now to find a tiny strawberry plant for our tiny container...you know about container gardening, don't you...(and by the way.. you're going to love the container we have chosen)

Teensy Tiny plant is found, carefully uprooted, and laid onto the saucer..

....and we make our way to the back porch (just as the rain decides to come again) ...

Along the way, Phia picks up sticks and stuffs them in my apron pocket...

We will use these to fashion a clothesline, using a tiny bit of twine and itty bitty clothes pins (these are in the "itty bitty things" section of the craft store...

Now for the strawberry plant to go in the cutest little container, with a handy little shovel propped, alongside...

I told you it was cute, and I know you just love it! Thimbles can be used for so many things! Eliza, the mouse that lives here at Grammy's house, knows all about thimbles and their many uses..

Phia takes the other tiny sticks and begins designing the tiny chair...for she has her own thoughts on what it should look like....

So with a wheelbarrow of wood...

...we set up a work station..

This old can holds food for the Bunny Bunn and sits beside the outlet...perfect for plugging in the hot glue gun. (Oh, if only there had been such a thing when I was 10 ..for the 1st time... I would have made ....oh...I would have made anything and everything!

While I glue, Phia plays behind the porch swing...(hot glue guns should be called "the thing that will burn the fire out of your finger if you touch it" gun!)

Building trains with this Brio train set has been a family tradition, beginning with my son, the first grandchild for my parents...and this was what mother wanted every year, for Christmas. As we approach this Christmas, 30 years later, I'm so glad she started this collection.

And we have a chair...thanks to that ridiculously hot glue...