Birthday Backpack

Elena turned two in December, and I'm finally getting around to mentioning it. We keep birthdays fairly simple around here, because I am not a party planner. The thought stresses me out. We gave Elena a gift on the day of her birthday and then had both sets of grandparents over for a birthday dinner and cake the following day. (The cake is a whole stressful story of it's own. All I'll say is that I made twice as much cake as I planned and none of it turned out the way it should have.)

Anyway, here are some pictures of Elena's birthday backpack. I had made one for Edwin when he turned two, before leaving for Botswana. Elena had been wanting to wear Edwin's, so I figured it was time for her own. Plus, she's out of diapers now (!!!), so we've retired the diaper bag and use the backpack instead.

Many thanks to indietutes for the free toddler backpack pattern. I made some changes to the pattern that includes a small zipper pocket on the back, open pockets on the front, velcro closure, and I added about 1/2" all the way around. Plus, I lined the backpack and use fleece as a padding in between the outer fabric and lining.