super hero :: small style

i *think* {gosh, i hope} that he is finally feeling better. it was only three days. but it was three whole, long days {and nights}. i am really ready to get back into the rhythm of our home once again.

yesterday i got him dressed and took him for a short ride in the car to nowhere in particular, but anywhere but here. a little for him and a lot for me.

it turns out fresh air and familiar city streets and jackie greene on the car stereo is good medicine. a little for him and a lot for me.

i am linking up with small style at mama loves papa today.

here is what luca wore on his wee outing ::

green super hero hoodie - target

brown trousers with mushroom pockets - stitched up by mama

butter soft red leather boots - bären-schuhe

small style :: pixies!

over the weekend i tried to take a few photos of my boys modeling the recycled wool pixie hats that i sew and sell. harper's photos are pretty darned cute. i even put one up in my new autumn banner.

luca wasn't quite as interested but still absolutely adorable...

we gave him acorns and leaves from the oak tree to study while i clicked away. that kept him still for about 10 seconds.

then he chewed the hat. that is daddy's leg over there on the right of the photo. he was on active duty and instructed to catch the baby if he decided to make a run for it {which he totally did}.

this was the last photo, right before he ran. but it doesn't even matter because it turns out there is nothing quite as cute as a toddling pixie streaking across the yard wild with giggles while daddy tries to catch up. 

a note to my little pixies - please do not outgrow your love for pixie hats and make believe and general silliness for a long, long time.  or perhaps ever. that would work for me too. love, mama xoxo

all about the hats ::

i make them from pristine recycled wool and cashmere garments {and occasionally fluffy angora!}

they are embellished with wool felt and braided wool ties.

each hat is one of a kind.

my amazing hubby made the beautiful wood buttons that i add to them!

i am linking up with mama loves papa today!

small style :: when big brother was small.

just a few more things that harper wore, mama loved and luca is now growing into.

 these pants with the butter-soft heather ross lily pad pockets. i made them for harper when he was nearly two but i am hopeful that they will fit over luca's cloth diapered bum this fall. 

 

harper's solstice sweater from a couple winters ago. i am positive it will look as amazingly adorable on luca as it did on harper.

and this little cassette tape jacket {target, i think} we still have this handknit pixie hat too.

have i mentioned how much fun i am having with another boy baby?... ♥

linking up with mama loves papa's small style post.

small style :: the striped romper

riley at a birthday party in the striped romper from the gap - summer 1995

harper just learning to walk in the striped romper - summer 2008

and luca running and playing in the striped romper - summer 2011

seriously, how sweet is that?!

i am linking up with mama loves papa (a day late, OOPS!) click over and visit her for more small style!

small style :: back to school edition

i can hardley believe that summer vacation is over. didn't it seem to last forever when we were kids. this year we sent two kids to high school (!!), one to third grade and still have two at home. since it is still super hot here we put off buying new clothes for a few more weeks when it will be cool enough to wear jeans.

'cept the big kids are already that cool and they wear jeans even when it is 100 degrees...

here is what they wore for their first day back ::

on esme ::

striped sweatshirt by old navy

polka dot gray tee by target

ruffled rainbow skirt by old navy, a hand-me-down from a special friend

and brand new, pink plaid NSS shoes with ribbon laces.

on riley and niko ::

they both wore old tee shirts and old jeans. they try to deny the fact that they are a bit alike but i think these photos say otherwise...



and here are the little cuties who stayed home with mama.

on harper ::

we are encouraging him to choose his own clothes and i pretty much just go with whatever he picks out as long as it is weather appropriate and fits him. this day it was a brown polo shirt and brown sweat shorts. his summer sandles are, you guessed it, brown. can't go wrong with all brown, i suppose.

on luca ::

short overalls by babyGAP

ooga booga tank top by mama ♥

laguna sandles by soft star shoes

today i am linking up with morgan at mama loves papa. if you love small style like i do be sure to pay her a visit!

small style :: summer repeat

at one point during my last pregnancy i thought that i wanted another little girl. how much fun would it be to sew sweet dresses and skirts and create tiny, frilly handknits. but as luca grows i realize how wonderful it worked out that we had another little boy.

i made a bunch of cute little tank tops for harper a couple summers ago. when he outgrew them they were carefully tucked away into luca's dresser. luca has been wearing them nearly every day the past couple months. the tanks are a perfect fit. luca is a perfect fit.

 

harper :: summer 2008



luca :: summer 2011



harper :: summer 2008



luca :: summer 2011

yes. this is just right.

i am linking up with morgan at mama loves papa today!

small style :: made from scratch

yet another mama made collaboration on little luca.

hand dyed hemp/cotton tee with owl applique.

reversible linen trousers - they are brown with mushrooms on one side and blue with owls on the other.

pediped sandles previously worn and loved by harper.

i always tell my husband that we made him from scratch. from his ginger curls to his tippy toes. and mama is busy covering everything in between!

i'm linking up with morgan at mama loves papa today!

small style :: bossy pants

while out and about on a recent thrifting trip we discovered this little gem - brand new, bright red suspenders, still in the original packaging. you just simply can't leave something like that at the store, friends. i wasn't sure if harper would even wear them but it turns out he is easily convinced when little clampy buckles are involved. 

 my favorite part is the little leather cross-patch on the back that says "THE BOSS". there have been a lot of "what's up, boss?" and "you're the boss!" tossed around the house since the suspenders arrived, usually delivered in a thick jersey accent for full effect.

and here is what the package has to say about little red suspenders for kids ::

For kids who aspire to be a contractor, fireman, or just want to look cool, Little Red Suspenders are the answer.

okay seriously, who can argue with that?!

i am linking up with morgan at mama loves papa today - pay her a visit for more sweet small style!

small style :: favorites

my favorite small boys in their favorite small style ::

favorite thrifted pirate tee. i wash it, he wears it. very seldom does it make it to his drawer.

this is currently his favorite pair of shoes. glow-in-the-dark halloween faux crocs (those are little ghosts on the top of each shoe) at least a size too big. but they are quick and easy to put on and we haven't bought sandles yet so i am just going with it for now.

our favorite cloth diaper - cute little owls sewn by my talented friend jess.

favorite bottoms - knit-by-mama monster pants. they are wool and also function as his cloth diaper cover.

and luca's favorite footwear... none at all. thank goodness summer is right around the corner!

oh, and he is walking now. so nearly all of my photos look...

like...

this.

{sigh}

don't forget to stop by for our first birthday month giveaway this weekend!

and i am linking up with mama loves papa today - pay her a visit for more sweet small style!

small style :: when sweet small style grows up

i miss having a tiny girl to dress up. she was so girly too, in a uber-fun punky brewster kind of way. she loved skirts, she loved dresses, she loved shoes, and i thought she always would. these days jeans and a hoody are her standard uniform. stuff she can run and play and hang from the monkey bars in. she will be 8 (eight!!) next month so i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that she has such a strong opinion about what she wears. it just happened so fast, came so soon.

here are a few favorite girly frocks she (we) used to adore ::

esme 2008.

she wore this old navy skirt until it was so short that i finally snatched it from the dryer on laundry day and donated it. it was cute over bare legs in the summer and leggings in the winter.

esme in her handknit cupcake top 2008
she picked out the pattern and the yarn and mama put her needles to work and cranked out this little top for her. the fit was good for just a short time then it was passed on to another little girl. i knit her a new one in a larger size but she only wore the new top once or twice. she was totally over it *sigh*

super cute mendocino kindergarten graduation dress
i cut into my beloved heather ross mendocino mermaid fabric to make her this special dress for her kindergarten graduation. although she was head over heels in love with it she only wore it a few times for "dressy" outings. i have it tucked away in my sewing studio so i can repurpose it into something else - that is a discontinued print after all!

adorable knit circle skirt for family photos - 2010
i sewed her this circle skirt with a yoga waitband the evening before our family photo shoot last summer. the fabric is one of the michael miller knits that had just come out. it is very full and twirly - a feature that would have thrilled her just a couple years ago. it still fits her this year and she tells me she will wear it if i buy her little shorts to go underneath.

sweet skirt with ruffled side panels that i sewed last summer.
this photo was taken last weekend, the day we went to the opening of our saturday market. i about fell over when she emerged from her bedroom wearing a skirt (a ruffled mama-made skirt!!) i decided it was probably best to not make a big production over it but i did insist on taking several photos of her that afternoon.

so there you have it. we have traded small style for her style and i am little by little becoming okay with that.
growing big-but still little girl style - it's the jam friends!


i am linking up with mama loves papa today!

small style :: mama knit

it turns out my dear husband has a strong adversion to sweater vests. i suppose this is perfectly reasonable for a fellow his age but come on, is there anything cuter than a sweet baby boy in a hand knit sweater vest?

so it became quite an ordeal when i cast on this little sleeveless hoodie for luca. first daddy begged me not to put our little guy in a dorky sweater vest. then he teased me every time he saw me working on it. finally he just gave up and kept his opinions to himself. and this morning when i carefully buttoned it onto the baby for the first time he admitted that it really is pretty adorable. ha, i win.

here are the project details ::

pattern - kira's hooded vest

neddles - addi turbos in sizes 6 and 7

yarn - wool of the andes from knit picks

the green is "avocado" and the contrasting color started out a pale blue ("rain" i think) but it was a little blah so i kettle dyed it in these amazing dark blues, purples and brown.

those buttons were in my stash, i think they came off of a tattered vintage shirt before it was tossed.

i love every delicious little thing about this vest. and i think inspired daddy is sweater vest smitten too...

today i am linking up with mama loves papa.

small style :: mama made trousers

does anyone remember the adorable little pocket pants i sewed for harper a couple years ago? we loved those pants so much. he rarely wore anything else.

you might assume that since we have a new baby boy in our house that those mama made trousers have been tucked away for him to grow into. but would you believe that harper is still wearing {and loving} them every chance he gets. it's true!

{harper modeling his new retro rockets pocket pants circa 2009} {harper wearing the same retro rockets pockets pants just this afternoon} flood pants with muddy chuck t's on a still-three-but-very-close-to-four-year-old are actually pretty darned cute.

so no hand-me-downs just yet, but i have already started stitching up a new trouser stash for the new boy. and i checked, i have just enough retro rockets fabric left to make luca his very own pocket pants, just like his big brother's pair. and who knows, maybe i will be blogging down the road about how he loves them and wears them and doesn't want to let them go. mama hopes.

this post has been linked up at mama loves papa for the small style series. go check it out!