I was looking through Phoebe’s closet the other day, and I had a revelation.

That poor kid has a lot of really ugly clothes.

She has a pair of red and white checkered bloomers trimmed in 2 inch thick lace. The lace itself is bigger than her thigh.

She has this crazy ugly green and white dress, that looks like it was the first dress the Pilgrims made, after the Native Americans invited them to The First Thanksgiving.

She has this ridiculous bonnet/sombrero with massive red and white bows on it, that I’m sure if the wind hit it just right, would blow up like a hot air balloon and carry my baby to some far off land.

How could this be?

She’s the fourth of four girls. Her clothes should be cute. I have no intention of dressing my child like she lives in a little house. . . .On the Prairie.

After that sickening feeling left my gut, I wiped the tears off my cheeks, and pulled myself up by the bra straps. “I’m gonna turn my frown upside down,” I thought.  “I’m gonna fry this egg, sunny side up. I’m gonna make this mountain into a mole hill.”

And I did.

I decided to relate it somehow to Halloween. Because that’s what crazy ladies do in October.

And that’s how I came up with Sweet Phoebe’s Costume. A Rag Doll. So cheap. And so cute.

Now I’m thanking my stars for Pilgrims, Prairie Girls, and Big Booty Bloomers.

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Unfortunately, Sweet Phoebe is not so keen on the costume. She cried during the majority of the dry rehearsal.

She even decided she would take this opportunity to take her first steps. So she could get the heck away from me.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxxh_hwHZ_0

Oh. Such sweet memories.

Baby Rag Doll Costume

This is what you need:

White Bonnet or Hat
Red Yarn
Scissors
Ribbon (to tie around the ends of the pony tails)
Ugly/Old Fashioned Dress (the more raggedy the better)
Bloomers
Patterned Stockings or Long Patterned Socks
Black Shiny Shoes (because everybody needs a pair of dress shoes with an ugly dress)

Begin by making two ponytails. Cut the red yarn into long 10″strands. Once you have enough yarn that collectively has diameter of 1″, you have enough to make one ponytail. Tie the top off with a rubber band, braid, and tie the bottom off with another rubber band.

Tack the ponytails onto the hat, to determine the optimal position. Remove the top rubber band, and sew the ponytails onto the hat. Tie ribbons around the ends of the braids for accent.

Assemble remaining costume with stockings, bloomers, dress, and hat.

For Make-Up You Need:

Black Eye Pencil or Liquid Liner
Red Lip Liner or Red Cake Make-up
Light Pink Blush

Draw four black lines below the eyes.

Draw a small red triangle on the child’s nose.

Finish with a hearty dose of Aunt Maybelline’s pink blush on the cheeks.