2011 CM10: A Little Lion for My Little Lion Man

Another important part of the stocking is an ornament.  When I got married, I had a huge box of ornaments to take with me to decorate my own tree.  (Thank you, Santa.)  And now that Judah has a stocking of his own, I plan on continuing the tradition...because that's what I do.

So this year, I went out and bought the mandatory "Baby's First Christmas" ornament.  It is currently hanging on the tree--no, we have not yet taken down our Christmas tree, and yes, we will get around to it sooner or later, and yes, there are pine needles everywhere--with an empty little window waiting for Jason or me to fill it with an adorable picture of Judah on his first Christmas.  But I also wanted to make Judah a very special ornament, since this ornament would be his very first of all.  (I made sure he opened it before the generic hallmark one.)

Now, between his name being Judah and me wanting to decorate a Narnia-themed nursery (which I never actually did), Judah has more lions and lion-themed things than any baby could ever actually need.  But when you have something that works, you run with it.  So this is the little lion that I made to be Judah's first ornament:

It may be one of my favorite things that I have ever felted, both in the process and the result.  I especially love his mottled mane, which I did by teasing together yellow, orange, and brown wool.

Note: this picture makes Judah's head look bigger than it actually is.

Ever since he opened it, this little lion has been Judah's favorite ornament on the tree.  It has even displaced his former favorite, the Nutcracker.  Whenever I hold him up to the tree, he always reaches out for his lion as if to say, "This one is mine.  Mama made it especially for me, and I love it, and I love her, too."  I'm sure that if he could talk, that is exactly what he would say.  It gives me warm fuzzies every time and guarantees many handmade ornaments in Christmases yet to come.