Big Sister Gift

The very last task for Sophie I wanted to complete before having baby boy was a gift to give her at the hospital when she first comes to meet her brother.  I think the "newness" will wear out quickly and she won't really be excited because she doesn't realize what she's experiencing exactly.  To give her something to be excited about, I wanted a Big Sister gift to give her there.  I gathered most of the items while I was gathering items for her busy boxes.  I had a few things left to get and put together once I finished the boxes, but I finally finished them!  I am so excited to see her open it! (Plus, that would mean I had baby boy and that's another thing I'd like to see happen.  All in God's time, though!) 

Instead of just a plain gift bag, I wanted to get her a bag that she could reuse and that would last.  This was the last thing I had to complete to finish the bag.  I found a plain canvas bag big enough for coloring books at Hobby Lobby while in Austin last weekend.  The side you cannot see in the pictures has 3 pockets on the front for her to put smaller items into.  I wasn't too fond of the plainness of the color, so I worked to dye it purple.  (This was a big deal for me to attempt!  Just ask my mom who spent 20 minutes with me on the phone listening to me read and reread directions off the bottle asking her how to do it!  Haha!)  I really did make it more difficult than necessary.  The bag came out ok.  There are some spots that are not completely dyed, but I know Sophie won't mind.  I just look at it like it already has a "used" look to it.  :)  The design on the bag, which is also on a shirt I made for her, were found on Etsy.  I ironed it on after dying the bag purple and giving it plenty of time to dry. 

Inside are several goodies!  I wanted to give her some of her favorite things, with some extras added in that she had never used before.  This picture shows all but one item on there because I picked it up after I took this picture.  Included are:

• 2 coloring books
• a package of stickers (which has 700 stickers in it!)
• a small box of crayons to use at the hospital when she opens the gift
• a book
• sunglasses
• bracelets
• 2 pairs of socks (she LOVES socks and will probably be wearing both pairs at the same time)
• her 2 favorite snacks: a Larabar and a fruit snack 
• bath crayons

The last item I picked up that is not shown is a Crayola Dry-Erase Activity Mat.  It is like a folder with a handle that came with a wipe, 4 crayons (which have their own pocket on the mat), and 12 coloring sheets that attach inside the folder.  I wrapped this and her bath crayons before placing them in the bag and forgot to take a picture of it.  If you want to see it, this page can tell you all about it.  I am so excited for her to play with this!

In order to really make her feel special, I made her a shirt she can wear to show off her new status as a big sister.  It was just a plain t-shirt from Walmart that I ironed on the design I ordered from Etsy.  I can see her now strutting through the hospital wearing it... 

I am so happy to have things ready for Sophie for her brother's arrival.  I hope she enjoys her gift and that the busy boxes and velcro busy book I put together are a great help.  I also have a folder of cheat sheets I put together for her food and diapers to help others who wish to help me (which will be a great blessing to me!).  The only thing left is to finish the freezer cooking I'm doing, which is almost complete.  (Of course, I'll blog about that soon and let you know what I've made!) Things are coming together as we expand and have big changes in store for our family!  (THAT I will elaborate more on this coming week.)