A Hawk Pillow for O.

We live very far away from family...from anyone really. In our isolated island out here in West Texas, we try our best to make sure our little ones "know" their family as well as possible - through Skype, phone conversations, the occasional visit, but mostly through pictures and stories. We tell lots and lots of stories about the people we love and we try to repeat those stories as often as we can.

It may seem so small, but it is truly amazing to see how much love my little ones can develop for another person whom they have barely seen in person. 

Their cousin, for instance, who lived a long way away in Burlington, Vermont until very recently (and now lives not much closer in North Carolina). Clayton and Evan have met O. only two or three times, mostly when he (and they) were too young to really even interact. But they love him tremendously. When we even mention O.'s name, their faces light up. They come running from across the house when they hear that he is on the phone. And they eat up any pictures or stories that feature him.

I hope that someday Clayton and Evan can really get to know their cousin (and any others that may come down the road). It is one of my greatest wishes to be closer to the people I love and to raise my kids to know and love my family and my husband's as much as I love them.

Anyway, despite the great distances, Evan loves to dote on his cousin. You may remember the bunting that Evan made him for his second birthday last month. Well, a month or so before that, he decided to make O. a present on a whim, just because he loves him so much. 

We chose to make a little hand-sewn pillow. Evan drew on a piece of canvas with permanent fabric markers. I folded the fabric and cut around the outline of the picture, so that I had two identical pieces. Evan helped me pin the pieces together, wrong sides facing, and we sewed it in tandem using a larger sharp needle and embroidery thread. The canvas was thick, so I helped start the needle through the fabric. Then, Evan pulled the needle the rest of the way through and set it up for the next stitch. He left a few inches open and stuffed it with craft stuffing. Then, we finished up the last few stitches.

Evan called it a "hawk pillow" for O. and was so excited to send it off in the mail. In case you are wondering about the hawk thing, my sister has a pillow in the shape of a hawk that Evan sleeps with when we visit there. Apparently he thought O. should have one of his own.

Not sure O. gets  the whole "hawk" thing, but I have heard that he does find the pillow quite snuggly.