igor.000739

Our godson Chris is turning five this month. (That is the little tazmanian devil there on the left). We were trying to figure out what to buy him for his birthday, and we were having a very difficult time. See, him and his brother Brandon have every imaginable toy you could ever think of.

It is not that hard to please them really, Superman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Ninjas... easy - right? But that is the problem, they have so many toys that any toys that we buy for him is just going to add to the every growing pile of toys that he will outgrow. Plus, we want to be responsible godparents and get him something educational - or in his mind's eye: not fun.

Last year, after our friend suggested it, we got him a Leapfrog. Apparently, despite the fact that it is educational, the Taz Dev loves it! So this year, that is the first thing we thought of - and we got him a Leapfrog game that teaches all this PreK and K stuff. Since he is going to school this year, we also bought him a backpack, a lunch bag, crayons, pens... and threw in the mandatory cheesy Spiderman game, which I am sure will be his favorite - sigh.

We have also decided to open up a savings account that he can have access to when he is 18. Most people open up a savings account so their child/godchild can have some money when they enter college. Not us. After getting our bachelors and masters, we know how easy it is to get a loan, and how the monthly payments are not that bad for the rest of your life. Maybe, by the time Chris is 18 the U.S. will have evolved enough to understand the importance of education and provide free college education like other developed and underdeveloped countries. But that is a soap box that I will save for another day.

No, we as godparents have chosen to save money so Chris can one day travel wherever he wants. Both Tony and I have traveled (together and separately) through many parts of the world (argentina, guatemala, mexico, cuba, spain, italy, germany, austria....there is more) and the education that we get from those travels is immeasurable and irreplaceable. We want Chris to have that same gift.

Added to his list of toys, is, of course, a hand-knitted item (was there ever any doubt kids?). I present to you igor.000739:

Tony named him igor - I added the 000739 because it sounds so robotic. I love this guy! And, yes, people this will be my last handknitted toy in a while, because I have so much yarn predetermined for projects, I need to get rid of it.

igor is again from one of Jess Hutch's patterns. Her designs are so quirky and full of life, you really fall in love with them instantly. igor is also my first real attempt at intarsia (pretty good job if I do say so myself) and the first time I made an i-cord... not the most challenging technique, but first time I did it!

Now, I am not kidding myself. I know this is not going to be Chris's favorite gift. He will probably categorize it as a "baby toy", however, I am one day, when he goes to college igor is going to go right along with him (cause I will pack it for him) and he will never forget that when he was five I made this for him (cause I will remind him).