Gimmesanity

“Mommy, do clouds have mouths?”
“No, they don’t have mouths.”
“Oh…then, where does the wind come from?”

Monkey shows me a note that she’s written (NOSESNIA.)
I read: “Noses Nia? What’s that mean?”
“No, not noses Nia. It says: No, says Nia.”

Monkey doesn’t like mint-flavored anything.
I tell her that her Auntie Angie doesn’t like mint, either.
End of conversation.
We go to the park.
She runs around, she climbs steps and makes friends.
Almost an hour later, she asks, out of the blue:
“If Auntie Angie doesn’t like mint, then what kind of toothpaste does she use?”

There are days when I find myself slipping into an anxious fog. Days when I start to think about all the ways that life can be so difficult. I focus on the things that go wrong, the things that are out of my control.

Then, I empty out my camera and find gems like these:

Suddenly, things are actually pretty damn good over here.

Last week you turned 4.
I’ve been thinking about what that means - you being 4 and how crazy it is to think that you’re already an actual person who can carry on a real conversation.

There’s so many hilarious and insightful things that come out of your mouth at the most unexpected times. Like, when we were in the taxi on the way to the airport in Colombia and you turned to Alan and said, with your hands up in the air, “I can’t believe I’m only 3. I feel soooo much older.”

Yeah, and now you’re 4.

The morning of your birthday, you held my hand as we crossed the street and told me, “Mommy, being 4 feels a lot like being 3.”

That kind of sums you up for me. Some days, I look at you and am in awe over how grown you’ve become. You do so much on your own already. You read - READ! all by yourself! Crazy. Then, other days, all you want to do is curl up next to me on the sofa, or have me lay down with you and rub your belly, and you’re back to being my little Monkey.

You make us laugh with your silly jokes and funny faces. I melt when I see how amazing you are with you baby sister. You are, hands down, the best big sister a girl could ever ask for. It’s like you’ve been ready for Bean all along.

Monday nights are when the little adult in you really comes out. I have class, which leaves Alan home alone with you and your sister. He panics a little. He knows he’s outnumbered. But, you’ve always come through and go out of your way to help him. To assure him that little girls are not always so scary.

This coming year is going to be full of so many changes. You’re strong, though. Strong in a calm, assertive way that always amazes me, and reminds me to have faith in myself, too. That’s the biggest lesson you’ve taught me. It’s one that you continue to teach me.

Happy 4th, my Prettymonkey. Mommy loves you lots.

Remember a while back, when I made that fabulous Hearts sweater for Monkey? (go ahead, click and take a look. Take it all in, cuz photos is all I have left of it. *sniff*)
Up till now, I never blogged about the fate of that oh-so-perfect-for-my-Monkey sweater. Now, one of the reasons I didn’t blog about it before is that I knew that said post would be filled with LOTS OF CAPS and generously peppered with language that is unbecoming of a lady such as myself (shut up.)

Monkey got to wear her beautiful, handmade sweater twice. TWICE. Then, it was lost on a trip over Thanksgiving weekend. We won’t name any names, but let’s just say that the person I hold responsible knows who he is, and Monkey will not be wearing any handmade goodies on weekends nor on every other holiday. Just saying.

Anyways, after what I have to assume was an exhaustive search, the sweater was deemed lost to the world where all other handmade goods go when they are not watched over properly. Hopefully, some other little princess is traipsing around New England with a pink, pink sweater with little hearts around the yoke and pearly heart buttons down the front.

Let’s all have a moment of silence for that not-so-little-sweater that I lovingly toiled over on size 2 needles….

Of course, I had to replace the lost sweater. But, how do you tell a Monkey that, no, momma will not make another sweater in itty bitty needles because the first one kinda made her eye go all twitchy?

Well, you make a purple one and add sparkly buttons, that’s how.

Deets:
Pattern: huh? More on that later…
Yarn: Leftover SWTC Karaoke from this project and Knit Picks WOTA from this project.
Needle: US5

This project was kind of a frankensweater of top-down patterns. I got most of my inspiration from EZ’s February Baby Sweater. I then looked around at a few other random cardigans on Ravelry. While I liked the round yoke of the EZ’s FBS, I did not want a lacy sweater. After measuring the Monkey and checking my gauge, I casted on for the yoke and did my increases for a rounded yoke in garter stitch. Then, I switched to the WOTA and continued in stockinette. I put the sleeves on hold while I finished the body up until it was time to switch back to the Karaoke. I didn’t know how much Karaoke I would need and was afraid of running out before getting to the sleeves. So, I figured if I didn’t have enough after the sleeves, I could just make the bottom of the body a little shorter.

In the body, I increased 2 stitches twice to make sure that the sweater would button over her little toddler-Buddha belly. I wanted this to be a fairly fitted sweater so that she can wear it under her spring jacket without it bunching up. Also, I wanted her to wear it now since I’m pretty sure that she won’t be needing a sweater for too much longer (we’ll be in Texas this fall. More on that in a later post.)

The sleeves were done in the round using magic loop. I also added a purl row for that fake-seam thing on the inside. Since the yoke extended to her shoulders, I didn’t need to do any sleeve cap shaping. I finished the sleeves off with a few garter rows of Karaoke. Once I was done with the sleeves, I put the live stitches from the body back on the needles and did a few rows of garter in the Karaoke.

The button band was knitted as I went along, and the buttons were purchased during my first trip to M&J Trimmings. Wow, that place is a sensory overload, seriously. I did find the perfect buttons, though. As soon as Monkey saw them, she said, “Momma, the buttons are filled with magic fairy dust!”

Yup, it’s quite the magical sweater for a very magical little girl.