boxes of love

One of the many lovely things about moving into a larger place is that I'm unpacking things I haven't seen in almost three years. I've been such a mush today, heartily greeting all kinds of little friends as I unwrap them. Some of the best ever ever ever are these:
Handmade for me by my parents decades ago. The bunny is made up of felted wool patchwork and has pink satin-lined pocket ears and a heart on its butt. See?

This is Nemo. Do you know him? These days children think that Nemo is a clown fish, but really he's this guy right here. He's a kid who has wild adventures in his dreams and falls out of bed every night. True to form, my mama gave him a heart pocket.
The babushka puppet probably had an actual name, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't appreciate her then as much as I do now, and I don't remember what she's really called.

My papa (I call my dad 'Papa') made the little bear. It's modeled from a Steiff bear, I'm sure, but it has a metal rod inside that lets you control the head through the tail. It's the YesNoBear, but we always just called it the NoBear, because it's easier to make it shake its head than nod. We'd ask it questions and have very brief conversations together.

The next Extra Super Love-full item is this:
My little brother (who was born when I was 17 and my mom was 46) dictated this message for the tag on his Christmas gift to me several years ago. Inside the box was a little raku pinch pot that he made at school, along with one of his beloved D&D minis.

Can you imagine the swooning when I found this today? Thank you for all your loving joy towards me...?! It's too much! He is too much! (He's 15 now, and the overwhelming LOVE just kills me every time I see him. Cutest boy in town, and still the sweetest.)

And here are some little fellows who are just so charming that I was forced to include them. After those years spent in a box, they deserve a little public adoration.
I wonder what I'll find tomorrow...