1st Grade

I can't quite believe it but today was the first day of 1st grade for my big girl. The summer went by much too fast but I have to say it was by far one of the most fun in recent memory. We kept incredibly busy and soaked up every moment of sunshine that we could.

I've never seen a little girl so incredibly excited to go back to school. She loved her summer but I think was very ready to return to a less hectic pace and "normal" routine. I had hoped to finish sewing a back to school dress for her but all I managed was to finish her pretty new backpack.

I used this awesome pattern by Made by Rae here. The original pattern is for a toddler sized backpack and was just too stinking cute that I had to try to adjust it to fit a bigger kid. As suggested I used a heavier weight canvas that I ordered from Superbuzzy.com. Miss Brodi herself picked it out and I love it, it's so cute. I chose the contrasting blue piping to really make the colors pop. I enlarged the pattern by 130% and that seems to be the perfect size for an older kid, plenty big enough for a few 8.5x11 folders and a few books. Because it's bigger it's not quite at sturdy as the smaller version and looks a little more droopy. If I were to do it again I may add a lining to add a little more stability, although I think it looks great as is! If you make this backpack in a larger size you'll need slightly more than the 1/2 yard suggested in the original pattern and two packages of pipping instead of one. I think I spent a little more to make this than actually buying one but she's got a unique bag that no one else will have and she was pretty proud of that! It's definitely a more advanced pattern but it was a lot of fun to make. I'm sure I'll be making many more from this pattern in all sorts of sizes! I think I'd like to try to figure out how to add a front pocket in the future....

I love these pictures of my girl. I'm finding this age incredibly challenging. She's willful, obstinate and so opinionated. There are so, so many frustrating moments when I just have to stop and breathe deeply to calm my nerves. But looking at these photos I'm reminded of the sweet moments, of how incredibly funny and full of life she is. Happy 1st grade sweets!