And just like that, all of the blocks for Finn’s milestone quilt are finished and my baby is officially one year old. They say “babies don’t keep” but somehow it feels like the past year flew by especially quickly. I won’t even try to pretend I won’t miss this project dearly now that it’s mostly finished. I do still need to piece the top and quilt it, so no worries–you haven’t seen the last of Finn and his quilt!
Within the past week, Finn has fully mastered walking and now prefers it over crawling. He joyfully walks circles around the house, his wobbly steps getting stronger and smoother by the day. This joy of walking certainly made this photo shoot the most difficult yet! I got one, only one, photograph of Finn relatively near his final quilt block, and while it’s not as clear as I’d like, it’s staying.
Twelve months is 12 months, and not even mommy’s most sincere and pleading attempts will keep a newfound walker from walk, walk, walking! Just as a reminder, here is Finn with his very first milestone quilt block, 11 long months ago:
Isn’t it absolutely mind-blowing how much babies grow and learn in such a short time!? Life is an amazing thing.
My big kids brought home a couple of balloons from their cousin’s first birthday this weekend (we had a full family birthday weekend with both Finn and cousin Reagan born 26 hours apart), and they have become the favorite toy for all three kids. (Safety note: Yes, I know that balloons are not technically safe for babies, so I will reassure you here that I only allow Finn to play with the balloon when I am directly supervising him!) I figured giving Finn something fun to hold was my best bet at having him stand still for even a moment.
Even still, Finn would rather walk around than stand still, despite my best efforts. C’est al vie. Such is life with a brand new walker!
Add an eager almost-four-year old big brother helper, and the majority of my photos looked like this:
or, more accurately, like this:
This is part of what I have loved about this project, though. It has given me an opportunity to sit down, reflect, and write about life in the current moment. By documenting each month of my baby’s life, I’m also documenting our life as a family. With our busy lives, how often do we take a moment to write about our day? I have loved that this project has given me the motivation to write, reflect, and document the joyful milestones in Finn’s first year.
Finn continues to have a sweet and joyful disposition, complete with his newfound ability to express frustration and flop himself face down, crying, on the floor. Overall, though, he is a happy boy and a super helper. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher, taking out each utensil and holding it up for me (as long as I’m quick enough to take it within a second or two). When he does that, I always say “Thank you!” and now it sounds like he says, “Thank you!” right back. This morning while I was getting dressed, he joyfully opened my dresser drawer and started taking out folded clothes, tossing them on the floor one at a time and saying “thank you” after each one! Oh, the innocence of babes!
Finn has helped take these blocks off the wall for the very last time. Next up is squaring up the blocks and sewing the quilt top together. I’m going to give myself a month in which to do it, since it feels like an attainable goal. Setting realistic goals is still something I’m continuously working on, and something this project has helped with greatly. As much as I may have itched at times to make extra blocks, or up the ante to two blocks per month, I’m SO glad that I stuck with my original plan of one block per month, since deadlines have a funny way of sneaking up on me. Sure, it took an entire year, but all of the blocks for Finn’s quilt have been made! A finished quilt is just around the corner.
For those of you new to this project, you can see the full quilt layout plan, HERE in the 3 month post. The blocks are all completely finished now, and just as planned! You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. Thank you for joining me on this journey! I’m not considering the journey over just yet, since I will check in with quilt finishing progress, too, with Finn’s help of course!
I’ll end this post with a few peeks from Finn’s first birthday party. He had such a great time!
Here’s to many more years of growth, joy, and family fun!
I’m linking up with Design Wall Monday, and Sew Cute Tuesday tomorrow.
Night Quilter 
That year went by way too fast. I can’t wait to see Finn’s quilt. I love the colors!
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I can’t believe it’s been a year!! I remember when you posted the first block & the plan…wow! Finn has grown into a handsome little toddler – I’m looking forward to the pictures of him with his completed quilt…but I’m not rushing you 😀
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Oh Kitty, how has a year already passed?! He is still a gorgeous baby and your quilt blocks turned out stunning. I can’t wait to see how it looks all put together! 😊
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Happy Birthday to Finn (love that name)! The quilt is beautiful!
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What a beautiful little boy! I love your quilt idea for measuring his first year’s growth.
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I have followed your 12 months of quilting and watching you little guy grow. Wish I would have thought to do the same. Boy what a fast year it has been. Thanks for posting and can’t wait to see the finish
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I have loved watching both this project and Finn grow over the past 12 months, Kitty. I’m so glad it’s not over yet and that we are guaranteed another check in or two with Finn as it gets finished. 🙂 ❤
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Before I had kids, I hated all the cliches from parents about how the time flies…. And now I have kids, and find myself unable to avoid constantly commenting about how the time flies! And it’s so much faster with #3, so I think it’s wonderful that you’ve created a diary of Finn’s first year with your posts, Kitty : )
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It’s so hard to believe it has been a year already. What you have done is something so very special. Years from now when Finn is an adult he can look back on this time and see what you were thinking and how he grew. Every quilt has a story and you have documented this one well. And thank you for sharing every step with us. My daughter is almost 16 so watching Finn’s first year has made me smile. I do miss those days. Happy Birthday, Finn!
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Lovely boy, lovely quilt! I hope to do the same if I have kids- great idea!
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I can’t believe that it has been a year already! Happy Birthday to Finn.
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Happy birthday Finn!! What a lovely post. I really enjoyed the photo essays on Finn’s changes over the year. Keep us in the loop with the kids – and the quilts!
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I have so enjoyed these posts each month, Kitty! It really is amazing how Finn grew right along with his quilt and your pictures of him are so beautiful. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished quilt.
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This has been fabulous! Best 1st year I’ve seen! What a sweet birthday boy!
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He is so cute and the quilt is wonderful. This has been such a great project over the year. Patiently waiting to see the finished quilt.
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Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Finn!
Little by little, bit by bit, and then before you know it… one day you look down and realize that the little baby that you brought home is now a boy! I’m still amazed even now when I put my little guys to bed, and then realize the next morning that they have grown over night!… it hardly seems possible. It’s amazing how a little thing like a buttoned up shirt can transition a child from a baby to a boy – so cute!
I’m sure you’ve been chomping at the bit to get this one put together… I’m glad you chose to use restraint. You will have so many nice memories at this when you look back, and I know that Finn will one day appreciate all the photo shoots one day. Should be interesting to hear what year two brings.
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This has been fun for us too, following little Finn’s growth along with his quilt’s.
I think you have covered my two favourite things about babies in this post. They can eat cake by absorbing it through their skin – half outside tummy and half inside. They also walk like drunk adults – adorable in babies.
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This has been the sweetest project to follow along with. You’re right, that it goes so fast, and I’m wishing that I could have done a project like this during my little man’s first year to help savor it. Can’t wait to see it finished and Finn cuddling up with it.
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the colours of this are gorgeous! can’t wait to see it complete. congrats/condolences on your baby being 1 already. I have 2 boys and time flies so fast!
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Congrats on finishing the blocks. Happy Birthday, Finn! It’s been great to follow the journey of the blocks and Finn. I love the photos — he’s got a great smile.
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I hear you on blurry pics and time going far too fast. I can’t believe that DT are coming up on their 2nd birthday. Finn, like his quilt, is beautiful. Though I haven’t managed anything as significant as your milestone blog posts, I do makes a note or two each night before bed of the best moments of the day. I hope they’ll be good to look back on one day and they help me focus on the bright spots, and not the dark, of parenting. How log cabin is that? 🙂
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