how is your memory?

Handmade gifts are a favorite of mine.  I love to get them and I love to make them. Before Anika arrived, I spent a lot of time doing non-mommy things: yoga, getting massages, going out for coffee, shopping, knitting, sewing... now I spend a lot of time doing mommy things: washing bottles, making baby food, laying down with her while she sleeps - I can hear you groaning and muttering to yourself, "I thought she had a college degree and could read and understand parenting books".  Well, I can read.  And I have a pile of books littering the living room on sleep training... but simply put, I am ignoring all of the advice given to me in said books.  So my point: since I lay in bed with her for a few hours a day, I have mucho timeo to come up with projects and flip through sewing/knitting books (very quietly of course!).  This is one of those projects - a memory game for Leif!

What a great idea!

Emilie and Mikael emailed me some lovely pictures of their family (who all love at least 5 hours away, and not one family member lives in their resident state of Iowa) and Leif's favorite toys and I went to town.  I unfortunately cannot take credit for the memory game idea, it is a project from Alicia Paulson.  But I can take credit for the fabric zipper bag that hold the pieces.  This was my first time sewing in a zipper - I had to use a few YouTube videos to get it straight in my head.  Yippee!  I heart the Internet. 

Leif just turned 3 and memory is not the easiest of games especially when I made 36 pieces - hell, I don't think I would get very far with his game.  So Emilie, in all her mommy wisdom, set up the game with all of the the pictures facing up.  Brilliant!  As far as I know, he LOVES his game and plays it daily, perhaps hourly... Emilie, don't burst my bubble of joy.