{ Toddler backpack baby brother // and thoughts on "time flies" }

I love to sew accessories. I think it is what I prefer sewing.
I like that you can achieve something that looks professional and will last longer than a garment.
And I love to know that I make them for my children.

J’adore coudre des accessoires. Surtout pour mes petits. J'adore l'idée qu'ils vont les garder plus longtemps qu'un vêtement. 

When I made my first Toddler backpack, it was for Blandine, and she immediatly decided to use it as her school bag. I made the marger size, included in the pattern , which has enough room to hold all her school supplies and books.
And, of course, Maxence wanted one of his own.

Lorsque j'ai fini le sac à dos de ma fille, je savais qu'il fallait aussi en faire un pour mon beau garçon. Mission accomplie: comme sa sœur c'est devenu son sac à tout faire.

My boy loves bright colors and animals. So I chose this print designed by Ed Emberley and mixed it with a print from the Botanics collection. I added red piping all around.

I am gettting really good at adding piping:  it is really easy and adds so much interest to any piece of sewing.

I lined the bag with another Botanics print: 

He also decided to use it to go to school.

At 5, Maxence is a very very sweet boy. He lost 2 teeth this week-end and it just about broke my mama's heart!

 A 5 ans Maxence est un adorable garçon. Ce week-end, il a perdu 2 dents quasiment coup sur coup, au risque de briser mon cœur de mère!

He can ride his bike without the small wheels and makes us laugh, a lot!
Il sait maintenant conduire son vélo sans roulettes et il nous fait beaucoup, beaucoup rire. 

Yes time flies. I was discussing this with a dear online friend the other day. We were agreeing on the fact that we are a bit annoyed to hear that statement over and over:"It goes fast!"
It is true.. and not true.

Yes, time flies but I feel I have invested so much time with my children. I have tried to take the time to say yes, as much as I could and whenever I could.
I have made endless numbers of walks, games, cakes, read countless stories. I nursed them and carried them, I sang songs and woke up at night.
It has been and still is exhausting and beautiful at the same time. 
Don't get me wrong : I am no perfect mother. I just do my best, like all of us!

But it is only when I take a moment and pause, and look at how they behave, how they play and talk that I can see how far we have gone together. This time and energy I invested were not wasted.

I took the time to enjoy them and now I can see them blossoming into nice happy kids. They are not perfect, nobody is. They argue and make a lot of mess, but overall I am happy to see them grow and I feel I have enjoyed every moment since they were small.

It does  not help mothers to tell them :"it goes fast", I believe what would really help them would be to remind them how important it is to be intentional and to invest emotionally as much as they can in the time they spend with their children. Even if it is tiring and can be frustrating. Even if they are working moms and don't spend a lot of time with their kids.

Because, the quality of the relationship you create with your children is somehow as important as the amount of time you spend with them.