OL' BLUE

I bought Connor a fantastic shirt from Eddie Bauer... back in 1992.

A navy blue henley made from the finest waffled cotton fabric around.

He loved it.

In fact, he still loves it 18 years later.

I, on the other hand, have fallen out of love of said shirt.

For the obvious reasons this photo plainly shows....

The cuffs are barely hanging on for dear life.

His elbows poke out on either side.

The collar is pretty much shredded.

And his armpit was too much for this shirt...see the hole?

Yet, Connor's love for "Ol' Blue" never waned. He loved it even more for all of it's vintage character and charm.

I threatened to toss Ol' Blue in the trash especially after seeing Connor wear it to one of the boys' parent-teacher conferences. That is just not right. :) But the look on Connor's face was that of sad despair... He said "No way, you can't throw Ol' Blue away."

Then I bargained a little... "How 'bout I turn Ol' Blue into one of those funny stuffed animal monsters we've seen at the store?" (AKA Uglydolls)

He must of thought I was far too lazy to accomplish such a task, because he said with a smile on his face, "OK...I guess that would be OK."

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Fast forward a few months...to August 6th.

Connor's birthday was in a few days and my plan needed completion.

I pulled Ol' Blue off the hanger for the very last time, grabbed my sewing machine, and headed downstairs to do the deed.

Nick and Nolan looked SHOCKED. The were certain dad was NOT going to be happy about this transformation. "How can you possibly give dad his favorite shirt all cut up and turned into a monster for his birthday?" "This is not going to be good, mom."

The next few hours I cut, sewed, and stuffed until I ended up with this little guy....

His hair is made from Connor's thrashed collar... His toes are made out of the mangled cuffs...his body was lined with green fabric to really showoff Connor's old elbow windows...and his eye is one of the henley buttons...

I love him.

Nick and Nolan love him...

We would just have to see what Connor was going to think.

Duh.... Duh.... Daaaaaaa.......................

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The birthday boy had a wonderful celebration all day long and now it was time to open presents. I have to admit, I was a little nervous (Which is why I also padded this present with a purchase of a new navy blue henley that I added to the box right before wrapping up Ol' Blue.)

Connor ripped into the paper and opened the box... Monster Ol' Blue sprung out of the box as if instructed.

The look on Connor's face was priceless.

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He busted out laughing. He LOVED it!

I could see the worry wash away from Nick and Nolan's faces...They would still have a mom.

Happy Birthday Connor!