Two birthdays

Big brother turned three. He blew out his candles all by himself and gobbled his birthday cupcake in about a minute and a half.
Baby brother turned one a couple of months earlier. I could hardly keep that crown on his head, but he ate his birthday cupcake with a fork (how dainty!) and took an hour about it.

I'm loving both of these ages so much. Especially loving the co-play, and the way the baby looks up to his brother with adoring eyes. Also when Big Brother does something "gentle-ly" for Baby. Which isn't so often, but I choose to focus on the positive. Happy birthdays boys!

Summer uniform

I love these little playsuits. Such a classic look on a little child. These are from the Oliver + S tea party playsuit pattern. I skipped the contrasting piping because I think it makes them look more classic, but I did manage to get the snap tape into the crotch of the seersucker version! These are the three to six month size-- they'll be outgrown in another month.

H has worn these almost constantly, though, with a long-sleeved onesie and booties on cooler days and solo on days like yesterday, which was hot and humid. They're nice and washable, and don't require ironing since they're so small. The twill pony-print one was a lot easier to make than the seersucker; it was easier to line that curved bodice seam up with the stiffer hand of the twill. These taught me that I need to work a little on my buttonholes. Even with the "automatic" feature on the machine, it's easy to make them too big. I need to learn how to make bound buttonholes-- I think they'd make these that much nicer. (Also, from Mom, useful information on how big to make the buttonholes. Apparently the rule is to add the diameter of the button to its thickness to determine the size for the hole. Good information to know.)

I already have fabric picked out for a couple more of these in the next size up. Maybe gnomes and baby wale corduroy.

Meet Quiltie

When we were children, my brothers and I each had a different "lovey". Mine was a polyester department store baby blanket that my mom improved by hand-applying a satin ribbon binding. I loved my blankie. My oldest little brother had a Plaudie bear (more on this in an upcoming post), and my youngest brother had Quiltie. Ted's quiltie is awesome, with needle-turned hearts surrounding a calico checkerboard. That handmade quilt became threadbare as baby Ted and then toddler Ted dragged him everywhere and slept with him every night. I still have my blankie, and I think lovies can be very important to little children.

When Henry was born, we got several "minkee" blankets as gifts from friends. They are very very soft, but they lack personality. I know that's probably because they often need to be replaced and the simpler something is, the easier it is to replace. But. I made this little guy when I made this quilt for my friend Katie's son. I had a few extra blocks and I cut them down from half-square triangles into these hourglass blocks. The quilt measures about 11 inches by 13 and is batted with bamboo, which makes it very drapey and not at all stiff.

Henry is currently a fan of grabbing things, and this quilt has been in his crib ready for grabbing since about three weeks after he was born. It goes with us on most car trips and in the stroller, protecting his chubby little legs from the sun. I know I can't force this little quilt as his lovey, but he does seem to like it now, rubbing it on his face to soothe himself in the crib, sucking his thumb all the while. And I love to see him snuggling with this little quilt that I made him.