Did I mention that my husband and I and ALL of the grandparents thought that this baby was a boy?  We chose not to find out the sex when we had our ultrasound, yet I, for one, was completely and totally convinced that we were having a boy.

We did not go so far as to actually go out and buy boy’s newborn clothing, but when I look at the little things we collected from friends and family, since we had passed all of Mira’s and Liev’s baby things to other babies, there is a clear slant toward the boy end of the spectrum.

Imagine our surprise when Miss Genevieve was born, I lifted the umbilical cord up, and found that we had a tiny daughter.  We LOVE a surprise!  And, even more than a surprise, I have to admit that I love a little trick on myself every once in a while.  This included dreams from the grandparents, from friends, and Sean’s and my own dreams always, without exception, foretelling a boy.  My mother-in-law, usually very intuitive about these things, was sure by the time she saw me last Christmas time that it was going to be a boy from the way I carrying.

We should have known that we knew nothing….

Because Baby G is indeed a girl, the most wonderful surprise ever, and such a chill baby, I have managed to work out some time to sew some things for her, starting with this little dress from Anna Maria Horner‘s book, Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby.  It was super simple to make, has blessedly few steps, and is very sweet looking.  I added a little red sash and a tiny red bow to further highlight the ladybug fabric my mom brought back from Tokyo a couple of years ago.

Speaking of my very sensible mother, she recommends leaving bows like this unattached from the dress you’re making and just safety pinning them on when the child wears the dress so that the garment can be easily laundered.  We found this to be a very good idea seeing as Genevieve spit up all over the shoulder about 15 seconds after having the dress on and then pooped 2 minutes later.  Such are the perils of sewing for a newborn!

Right now, the dress is swallowing Genevieve a bit.  Soon, though, she will chunk up and grow and will be wearing the dress instead of the dress wearing her… her first lesson in fashion.