Filling the Costume Box

I think I've been holding my breath for this stage of Jonah's life. He loves dressing up, assuming other identities and his imaginary worlds are endless. I remember the hours and hours I ran around the farm as princess so-and-so, Laura Ingles, or some other imaginary character with such fondness. And so my number one goal for Jonah's birthday was to fill the costume box a bit fuller. His bee costume and wolf costume (inspired by "Where the Wild Things Are") are too small and he needed some basics...

He was given an eye patch and loves going everywhere in it saying "Arr, Arr Matey!" So, I made this felt pirate hat to aid his pirate costume (I have other thoughts to go with this... maybe soon). You've seen the Monster-Finder cape, but here you can see the brown and gold print on the back; it is reversible so that it can be a whole other cape (though he has so far always worn it with the monster side out). And the crown - I have debated and debated on whether to let him wear his Birthday crown for play, but I have decided that I like the idea that the Birthday Crown is a special thing to add to the birthday magic. I like that on their birthdays the boys will be the one child wearing their special crown. So, the solution was to make another crown. I made it a different shape, but it is made the same way I made Jonah's and Maren's birthday crowns.

Here you can see that the birthday crown is reversible so it can be gold or silver. I also made my 'King of the Fairies' a fairy cape and skirt. A friend had cut up an old dress for something small and gave me the remainder. It only took an hour one evening to whip out the cape and skirt because I just used the hems and ruffle that were already there.

Jonah is crazy about Usborne's line of '1001 ___ Things to Spot' books. He chose the 1001 Wizard Things to Spot a couple months ago and has been slightly obsessed with wizards ever since. I'm sure the character of Merlin in the Magic Tree House books has aided his interest as well. Merlin used this hat and wand at Jonah's birthday party. I made all the head gear so that it can fit Jonah or an adult (elastic really is a wonderful thing) so he can keep playing for as long as he likes and Jim and I can join in the fun.

Note: Oh, and a garden update, do you see those huge tomato plants in the background. They are going wild on the sun porch and I'm really looking forward to fresh tomatoes!