Finn is three! & A finished Ollie's Classic Crew sweater

Our Finn turned three earlier this month! What pure joy he is. We've taken to calling him our "medium boy," a term he's adopted for himself, as well.

We celebrated Finn's birthday a little over a week ago. We started the day with big hugs and our usual breakfast, and then homeschool which looked like playing games together (to include the birthday boy), namely mancala, Trouble, and The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game. Then, we drove to a specialty store to get our favorite organic summer sausage, which was Finn's request for his birthday lunch snack plate. He opened his "big" gift from us – an orange scooter, like Cooper's. Later in the day, he told me, "It's orange and I wuv it." The boys scootered in the afternoon (naturally), while I rolled out and baked sourdough cinnamon rolls and sourdough hamburger buns. Finn opened a few other gifts from us, including "throw n' stick" sets, Rowe Casa kids bath bombs, and a set of foam swords and shields, all of which were received enthusiastically. We went on a family walk with the scooters, Nicholas grilled burgers for supper, and we had a really special evening. On Saturday, the three big boys played their typical Saturday morning Zelda game (they're playing through Skyward Sword, at the moment). We had the sweetest, lowkey day at home, and Finn took a late afternoon nap, after falling asleep on Nicholas.

Sunday brought church in the morning, and then my FIL and his friend, Kate, came over for the afternoon. I made a Swedish Visiting cake to pair with coffee and we sang to Finn with candles. He opened more gifts, including a Lego set, some Mario-themed cars, and a special Yoto player (also all very exciting)!

It's difficult for me to sum up our little sunshine boy in so many words, but here are a few things about Finn, at three-years-old:

• To our surprise, he adores Arlo as much as he did my pregnant belly (a lot)!
• He tells jokes all the time, even if he wakes up in the middle of the night
• His favorite foods are ground beef with ketchup, berries, clementines, bacon, baked peanut butter oatmeal with jam, chocolate chip cookie dough Larabars, and pretty much anything I bake
• He still can use a nap everyday, but he will frequently state, "I'm not tired," only to fall asleep ten seconds later
• He loves to wear hats – and non-hats, as if they were hats, including drawstring bags
• Finn is very independent, and is adamant about doing things by himself. But he will get frustrated at times and claim "the floor isn't letting me walk," or "the stool isn't letting me climb [up]" lol
• He loves Cooper so much. And he recently started calling him "Coop," and I love that. They love to go on adventures together, or play "store," or play with swords, or hide 'n seek.
• He absolutely loves to "nuggle" (he often talks with the "silent 'S'" – aka, "snow" is "no," "sweaty," is "yeti," and "snuggle" is "nuggle.")
• He loves to read books and watch Winnie the Pooh (the classic version from the 1970's)
• He is a total chatterbox at home, but much quieter when we're out and about
• Potty talk of all sorts is hilarious, apparently
• He loves to carry around his "tuffs," aka Legos of various shapes, a pair of black mittens he's especially attached to, a random key from the junk drawer, a favorite matchbox car, etc.
• Anytime we leave a friends' house, he says, "I wuv our friends."
• He makes us laugh every single day

We love you, Finn! You are so easy to celebrate and it is a gift to get to see you grow and learn. We thank God that we get to be your parents and you get to be our very special "medium boy." As I often sang to him all those nights I rocked him to sleep (well into toddlerhood):

The Lord bless you and keep you / The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious, gracious, gracious to you / The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you, give you, give you peace.

In a similar vein, I finished a sweater for Finn, the first I've knit especially for him! I used a blue yarn, matching his eyes, paired with a simple, textured raglan knit. And I'm so pleased with how it turned out, and he loves it too! He rarely sits still, so I got a few photos on the go, as well as a few pictures of Nicholas holding him (coincidentally wearing his own handknit sweater, recently finished).

Details

For more details, see my Ravelry project page.

Yarn: Purl Soho Good Wool in the color "Freshwater Blue." This is my third garment knit out of this yarn, and I'm still impressed! Blocking turns it in the most beautiful, lightweight, and cohesive fabric.

Size: 4-5 year, but with a slightly denser gauge of 21 stitches/4" instead of 20 sts/4" (resulting in a slightly smaller finished sweater). It fits him well with plenty of room in the body! And come fall, if the sleeves or body are too short, I can add additional length with the remaining yarn.

Pattern: the Ollie's Classic Crew by Hannah Graham. It was a wonderful pattern! Well-written and I love the "classic, but interesting" twist of the garter ridges.

Needles: US 6 for main sweater body and hem ribbing. US 4 for neck ribbing and US 4 12" circulars for sleeve cuffs.

Specifics/modifications:  Finn can be particular about his clothes, so I wanted a little extra stretch in the neckband and hem, so I opted for a 1x1 rib with tubular bind offs throughout.

And of course, he is tied with Cooper for the cutest little sweater model ever.

We love you, Finny boy!