Silly Addie Pie and The House

Here's my Pumpkin Doll, Addie, riding a little bike that's supposed to be a decoration but she likes to take it for a spin every now and then. Here's a few things I want to remember about my two-year old Addie:

1. She likes gross stuff. She thinks stinky things are funny. Anything slimy, dirty, or icky she thinks is great entertainment. I guess Halloween will be right up her alley this year.

2. She still loves games and puzzles. She's already gotten a 26 piece alphabet puzzle (with no coordinating pictures underneath the puzzle piece) down flat. Right now she's into playing "Don't Eat Frank!" Which is a Halloween game you can find out more about right here: The Idea Room.

3. I used to be able to read books to her every night, but now she insists that she reads them all herself, meaning puts the book on her lap upside-down and flips through all the pages. She wants to do everything herself. She'll even get herself something to eat. The other day I walked into the kitchen and found her lying on her belly on the kitchen counter eating out of a bag of potato chips that was lying next to her. I wish I would've been quick enough to get a photo.

4. She says, "Woohoo!" a lot.

5. Her favorite song is, "Hooray it's my birthday!" which I found randomly here: Ohdeedoh. She knows the words to the chorus and likes to run around in circles while pumping her fists in the air and sing along with this song. It is a good one. The whole CD is pretty good, actually.

6. She's really into ice. She's not a band-aid kid when it comes to owies, she's an ice girl. She also just likes to have one of those ice bricks for coolers to carry around the house or go to sleep with. She asks for at least one every day, and every night I collect her ices and return them to the freezer for the next day. Since it's now cold I'm trying to convince her to switch to a warmed-up rice bag.

7. She loves to hide, and she's patient enough to hide for a really long time. Sometimes she'll ask to be covered up with a blanket and she lay there for a good ten minutes before she comes out. Whenever Jason comes home from work she hurries and hides and then says, "Da-dee! Come fine us!" Her favorite spots to hide are: behind a door, in the closet, or under a blanket. She also likes to hide from Jason whenever he leaves the room. He'll come in and say, "Where's Addie? Is she behind the door?" And Addie will say, "Nooope!" "Is she in this shoe?" "Nooope!" "Is she under the blanket?" "Yes! Boo! Boo! Boo!" Sometimes if she's feeling really sneaky she whispers all of her responses...except for the Boo's. Those are always "really big".

8. Her favorite color is white. I don't know why. She does tend to pick white things over other colors when she gets a choice, and if you ask her what her favorite color is she'll say, "Hite." She's just a funny kid.

9. She likes to play doctor on all her animals and me, and she gives everyone shots regardless of what they are being seen for. And they all have to go to bed, too.

10. She's been talking a lot lately, although not really saying the first part of words, which apparently is unusual for kids. She had her last speech therapy visit yesterday and now gets to be on tracking for a few more months to see how she progresses on her own. I think she's catching up pretty quick, especially since she said, "goat guts" the other day. That's progression, if you ask me. It's fun to hear her little voice and the silly things she says. This age is the most fun age so far.

And now for a tour of my year-long house project. I only hope that this house long outlives me and is enjoyed by generations of my posterity because I plan on never ever ever making another one. Not unless I am thrown into a block cell for a year with nothing but a sewing machine, all the necessary materials and a PVC pipe frame. Don't get me wrong, I love this house and I'm glad I made it but it was a good amount of work. Oh, and before we get started, let me credit my inspiration for the house: ikat bag. Also, my dad made the PVC pipe frame, which was really fantastic, and I owe the awesomeness of this house all to him. The frame breaks down into pieces for storage or transportation, which is pretty fabulous. I should've taken photos of the frame too to show the ingenuity of it all. If anyone is really interested I will set it up and take pictures of it. On with the tour:

Okay, there are two sides to this house: the house side...


and the restaurant/ shop side.

The ice cream cone on the sign has little sparkly yellow sprinkles on it. Just a detail that I love but isn't visible in the photos.

Each side wall has two windows, each with a little window box.

The window boxes have little slots for putting flowers in or, if you own a candy shoppe, lollipops or candy canes...basically anything with a stick.

Inside the house there are a total of eight pockets sewn onto the side walls for storage of toys, play food, play money, etc.

The service window on the restaurant sign has a curtain for when the place is closed, complete with a little "closed" sign. When the place is open for business the curtain tucks up inside behind a PVC pipe and orders can now be taken.

The house side has a little window with eyelet curtains that slide open and close and a mail slot for receiving party invitations.

Even though I just recently finished this house it has been played in for a year already (since I left it up in the front room for that long, haphazardly pinned together and hanging off the frame. Half of it was just a sheet for a long time) and it has been much loved. Addie likes to sit in it and do puzzles or make pretend cookies to hand out the window. It's big enough that all three of us can sit in it and almost tall enough for me to stand in it. Oh, I should mention for those of you feeling brave enough to attempt a project like this, I made it almost entirely from bedsheets purchased at the D.I. for $2 a sheet. There are bits of purchased fabrics from JoAnn's here and there and a bit of felt, but that's about it. Anyway, it's fun to have it finished and ready to play in. It's entirely handmade which is painfully obvious if you look close, but I think it will serve it's purpose well. Merry Christmas last year, Addie! Your present is finally done!