Handmade gifts

In the past few weeks, we have received a number of beautiful, handmade gifts for our baby. Here are some photos of just a few of them (to the left are the burpcloths my friend Katie made for us--I stole her image of them because she's a better photographer than I am)! Thanks to Katie, Brubaby will be barfing in style.

And here's a long-awaited shot of the blanket I knitted, on a backdrop of the soft white blanket Mr. Incredible's mom stitched for us. This is a winter baby, and everyone seems determined to make sure that we get some good, warm cuddling in before the weather turns warm. I'm not into pastels, you see; hence the autumnal colors. Everyone thinks this means I'm having a boy. I think it means I don't like pastels. Either way, I'm really happy with the blanket--it's soft and washable and I can't wait to use it.

And here is the blanket [Great-] Aunt Mildred knitted for our baby. As a novice knitter, this crocheted blanket looks impossibly complicated to me, and we'll always think fondly of Aunt Mildred when we use it. She is, without a doubt, the cutest, sweetest Brethren in Christ little old lady I've ever met, and somehow I had the fortune of marrying into her extended family.

Okay, enough with blankets! This kid is going to be swaddled and bundled like crazy.

The wife of my cousin by marriage--yes, it's a little complicated--surprised us with this beautiful sweater, which she knitted herself. I love the design; it's so simple, almost with an Asian styling to it. She also knitted a little red flower, "to pretty it up" in case we have a girl!

And perhaps my favorite items are these onesies, made with love by dear Brandie. I love these little animal characters, with all their varied textures and buttons, and can't wait to dress my little one in Aunt Brandie's creations. Part of me loves these onesies--just like Katie's burpcloths--because both of these friends very recently got into sewing and threw themselves into making totally amazing, useful, creative items!

But I love them also because I know that, behind every stitch of all these gifts, there's so much love and time and prayer that's already being invested in our little one.

Thank you, everyone, for welcoming Brubaby so enthusiastically! Now if this baby will just make its appearance sometime soon, it can actually use these items. . . .