Party Princess and CAL Progress

 I can't believe my little girl is already 3 years old!  It doesn't seem possible, and yet it is.  I spent the week leading up to her birthday in part preparing, but mostly just watching her and marveling at how she has grown.
I can see how her features have changed over the past year; she no longer has that baby/toddler face.  She is a big girl, and mommy has mixed feelings on the matter.

She has grown to love all things "princess" over the past year, and I figured a princess party was in order.  Her favorite (as was mine as a child) seems to be Cinderella.  So I set out to make her a Cinderella-esque dress (I know, not a real word) for the party.

 I had no real plan for the dress or pattern to follow; I kind of just made it up as I went.  I had serious doubts on whether it would be finished in time.  We plan on this doubling as her Halloween costume this year, and I knew it would be done by then, but by her birthday?  

Stayed up till 2am the day of the party, ran out of both colors of yarn, but somehow made it work.  I had plans for a white puff sleeve, but went with sparkly silver tulle instead, and I am loving the end result!

 As you can see, she loves it too!

And that's what it's all about.

 A pattern will be coming shortly; I just have to get it written down (I know, I should write it down as I go, but I never learn).  It is for about a 4T, but I will explain how to make it to fit whatever the measurements may be.

 Her party was at her favorite park and spent with family and friends.  She had a wonderful time playing with her cousins, opening presents, eating cookies and cake, and just being 3!

 She finally braved the tunnel and the bridge at the playground (unable to do them at age two, she's a big girl now, and big girls do those things. Heehee)

 A very rare event: a family picture!

It's so hard to get a good pic of the three of us together, and I love this one!

 My big girl on the "big girl" swing, because in case you didn't know, she's 3 now, which means no more baby swing.  Posing with her cousins for a photo op.  She had a blast with these two on the playground.  It's so nice to have family around, though we don't see them often enough.

 In other news, I am still making progress on my CAL sweater, albeit not much this past week.  Now that customs and party planning are over, I should have time to focus on the Ladies Shrug/Cardigan Crochet along.

I am loving the yarn that I ordered online!  It's soft and the colors are perfect!  They are so me and so autumn!  Are any of you working on the sweater too?  I would love to see progress pics and hear how things are coming along.  Please feel free to comment below and on my facebook page.