"Sweater!"

Some people have blankies, some people have teddys, Lily has a sweater (or 8 of them depending on how you look at it.)

(The sweaters and vests in their original contexts)

Twice in the last few years John's mom has knitted the older 4 girls matching outfits, once sweaters and once vests. Both sets are made out of the same colors of yarn. They're super cute as you can see above. For a long time I kept them all in the top drawer of Ruth and Emma's dresser. This dresser is right next to Lily's crib and every morning when I would be picking out clothes, she would see these sweater and vests. Apparently she latched on.

Now if she sees one, she must wear it. "Sweater, sweater, sweater" she'll repeat until I pick it up for her to wear. Fortunately we have 4 sweaters and 4 vests because she'd wear them everyday if she could. I think it's like a comfort thing. One day when she was sick a few weeks ago, she could barely talk and she was crying but she saw one of the sweaters and cried until she got it. She wore it all that day and made us put it on top of her jammies that night.

Fortunately they wash really well, because Lily's really not at a "delicate wash only" age. And one day all 4 sweaters were dirty and she saw one of the vests. She thought it was a sweater until I put it on her (at her insistence) and she saw that it didn't have any arms. "Not sweater!" She said accusingly. "I know," I replied, "but all your sweaters are dirty. It's the same." She looked at me for a long time, then pointed at her chest and said, "Sweater." She smiled and went on her way. Anyway, thanks Pam, you've made Lily's year.