Happy Muslim Mama: Keepsake Boxes

I finally got some time this morning to sort through my children’s baby things I had saved as keepsakes. I only had the boxes below for now which are roomy but not very strong. Hopefully at some point I will get my hands on small wooden chests which I can decorate (butterflies and flowers for Little Lady, motorbikes for Little Man and maybe clubs for my little caveman).

We had so much fun looking through old things, the kids wanted to play with their baby toys again. I have kept their baby announcement cards, greeting cards, school books and first toys. Even the crib card and bracelets from the hospital. The yellow going-out outfit was from mum and the vest is absolutely tiny. I also kept each child’s first pair of jeans. My mum bought the little trainers too and the trainer socks are so small, about one and a half inches long. This is Little Lady’s first party dress which I bought before she was born. This is her first little kurta which she wore with jeans when i took her to visit my office before returning after maternity leave. The pink slippers are from her first trip to Pakistan and the black and white bangles are smaller versions of ones I had.
This outfit was for her second Eid (she was born a few days before her first Eid) and was sent by her Grandmother in Pakistan. I thought it was beautiful and a bit crazy to have so much delicate work on an outfit for a toddler, she did look gorgeous in it though.
With Little Man I had less things because I had a big bag with the newspapers from the day of his birth, his first clothes and all of his cards and hopital bits that I remember stashing behind a sofa never to see again much to my consternation. The All-Star tee was from Kooks and the red tracksuit from my brother. We laughed every time he wore it and thought he looked hilarious, until Kooky photoshopped a picture of him wearing it by adding a big gold chain and a music system in the background. I managed to find one of his announcement cards though and keep that. They were sent to friends and family with boxes of Indian sweets. I came home from work one day to find Little Man wearing this claret and blue West Ham united strip. Most of my family support West Ham and a cousin had come round with the outfit for my husband to change him into. He may not support the Hammers when he is grown, but I am never going to let him live this one down. The white top is his first kurta and the green t-shirt was from Kooks, it says cutie pie on the front and has his name emblazoned on the back (she did the printing herself which was very sweet). I still had Gorgeous’ cards (the one on the front is from Long-Suffering Sister and has a real mini knitted sweater and is my favourite). The black beaded bracelets were from Pakistan. A cousin sent them because in Pakistan it is believed they help to protect from “nazar” or the evil eye. Baby’s jeans and jumper outfit is my fave, but like most of his clothes, he hardly got to wear them because he was such a big baby (9.2 lb). The vest was newborn size and fitted for about a week. The red and white outfit is the England strip from the time.
I had forgotten all about this. I can’t even remember where it came from, a mini dishdasha. The slippers were from my mum and looked hilarious over his socks.

I am going to pack these up and stick them on top of a cupboard to add to now and again. Insh’Allah they will make nice gifts to bring out when my little ones get married one day or have little ones of their own.