Celebrate the BOY

So over on Made By Rae and made, they are celebrating an awesome thing, BOYS! They are bringing an excellent point to light, there aren't a whole lot of sewing projects for boys...but there are!  You just have to think and their awesome site is putting out lots of fabolous ideas for things to make for BOYS!!  Seeing as how I now have three, I had to do my part of showing some fantastic things that you can make for BOYS!  I don't nearly have the artistic ability as many of these fine sewers, but I do manage to make some cute things just for my boys that they love, so I thought I'd start to share a few.

I follow a lot of fantastic crafting blogs.  They give me the inspiration I need to get out from in front of the TV and behind a sewing machine.  made is AMAZING!  I wish I had her creativity and her photography skills!!  On 11.30.2010 she posted a tutorial for a faux chenille baby blanket and it struck a chord with me.  I have always wanted to quilt, but there have been many things holding me back.  I cannot cut in a straight line, there's a lot of picking coordinating fabrics involved, I don't really have the space to lay it all out and I really can't even begin to look for someone to mail it out to "quilt" it for me.  But then I saw the made post and I knew that that was a quilt that I could make and it would rock!  I had yet to make anything for the twins - time and inspiration were holding me back. But I knew I wanted to make these for them ASAP.  Right after Christmas, Joann gift card in one hand, coupons in the other, off I went and bought everything I would need for two chenille blankets.  I had a lot of fun picking out boy-ish, and hopefully not to baby-ish, fabrics with the aim that I wanted them to get the long haul out of the blankets and since I bought 1 1/4 yard of fabric of each type I didn't have to worry about cutting straight lines!! 
JP and JR are color coded.  Any of you with twins probably understand, I needed something that didn't involve thought, that would allow me to tell them apart at 4am.  Since it worked so well when they were itty-bitties, I've just kept it going.  So JP uses the green clothes, bottles, toys, and now his new baby blanket.  JR is my blue boy and if you've every seen his eyes there really wasn't any question that blue is his color.  I figure it will work when they're older too, towels, backpacks, storage containers, they all can being in the assigned colors. 
They LOVE the blankets!  Sometimes I catch JR playing with the cut side like he holds on to the tags of everything.  I didn't think JP noticed it, until the other day I caught him stealing JRs too, I guess he likes it so much he wanted them both.  They both came out so beautifully I already have the fabric bought for two more special little boys' blankets.  I can't wait to get started!

Bottles

Why am I still holding bottles?  When TJ was 13-months old he was certainly holding his own bottle.  Neither, of the twins are even making an attempt to hold their own.  Remember, there are two of them and they no longer will wait patiently for the other to finish his bottle.  So there I stand, at every meal, stretched out to one and hunched over the other holding bottles.  The only way I was even able to get this shot was because JP didn't wake up when I came to get them for lunch.
Is hoping for just one of them to start holding a bottle really asking that much?!

Feet

Baby Feet

JR was a big help today. We were heading out the door to the grocery store and JR was kind enough to hold each of his feet up for me to put his socks on. This, however, was his idea of a joke.  The twins' favorite thing to do is to rip their socks off and shake them at me.  It's their way of saying, "Look what I did, Mommy!"  But I'm the one that ends up looking like the terrible Mom who takes their babies out in the cold with no socks on!  It doesn't matter how big their socks are, I can put them in socks that go up to their knees, and I do, and they'll just keep working at that sock until it finally comes off in their hand and they are elated!

Babies with pants still on

TL doesn't help.  He's made JP's favorite game "shake the sock in my face" and it's a tried-and-true way to make JP crack up! I must admit, there are other things that they like to take off, so I guess I should be happy that, so far, socks are the only things they take off in public.  Today, after their alleged nap-time, I came into their room to see two, pant-less,  13-month olds, and boy were they excited about it!


In other news, JR has mastered his "Up" sign.  Ironic, I would have thought his first sign would about involved food like TJ's did.

The "Love Bug"

Speaking of TJ, I was a big sap today and bought a Hallmark Love Bug.  I figured, what better way to celebrate TJ's reading his first book then this little treat.  I did, however, have to explain to him that the bug was merely a holder for the goodies and that he would eventually be traveling to other family members to pass on treats to them for special things that they do.


Later, I was asking TJ about his day and he was telling me that he and his "buddies" play this game, "It doesn't really have a name...but there are these girls....and they chase us...and we like it."  He further went on to say, "They hate me the most because they all want to catch me."  I did explain, as tactfully as I good, that I don't think they would play with him is they hated him.  Oh, to be 5 again. =)