Boys and Clothes

When I was pregnant with Jobe,
I was sure he was a girl.
(We always keep our baby's gender a surprise.)
I was looking forward to girl clothes.
I had even bought a couple of adorable sundresses.
Just so sure.

I'm not the fancy, frilly kind of girl.
I can probably count on one hand
the times Brookelynn wore bows in her hair.
Sorry if that offends you girly, girl moms.
In my defense, the girl didn't have any hair
until she was over two.

She has never been the lacy type.
If I would let her, she would wear
Nike shorts and a t-shirt.
E.V.E.R.Y. day.
To church even.
(I wish I was joking.)
Although she is starting to break out of that.
A little.
Thank you, Justice!

I thought it would be fun to have another girl.
Put her in cute little sundresses.
Sandals or flip-flops.
Capris.
On and on and on.
There are A LOT more girl clothes than boy clothes.

But God knew we needed another boy.
And I've learned that
even little boys can be fun to dress.

It's fun to put outfits together for them.
It's rare that I buy a matching outfit.
I save that for Easter and Christmas.
The rest of the time:
I see pair of shorts I like.
I buy them.
Then hope we have a shirt at home to wear with them.
Both boys are wearing shorts from Macy's.
Sadly, the closest Macy's is nearly 3 hours away.
But last summer I was there with a friend.
Who had an additional 20% off coupon.
Friends like that rock.
These shorts were on clearance.
End of summer.
$4 each.
Oh, how I love bargains.
When I pulled them out of the bag this spring,
it was exciting all over again.
Jobie's brown t-shirt was $5 from Carter's.
(Cost more than the shorts!)
And Ezzie's is recycled Old Navy from his cousin.
(Free!)
Their sandals are also recycled.
(I hate the words hand-me-downs.)
Cheap and cute outfits.
The best.
Jobe's shirt and shorts were worn by both Jake and Ezra.
I bought the shorts at my good friend's garage sale.
Her son is one year older than Jake.
She has great taste in clothes.
Well, in everything actually.
Probably 75% of Jake's summer clothes are from her.
And nearly all of his KU shirts.
They love it when I come home
from helping her get ready for her sales.
She has sales twice a year.
I always help her organize a few days before.
And I shop too, of course.
Even Brookie gets some of the warm-up pants.
Or Nike shorts.
Or t-shirts.
Or indoor soccer shoes.
Another friend that rocks.

Anyway, back to the boys' outfits.
I have no idea how that shirt and those shorts
have made it thru three boys with no stains.
I think I only let them wear them sparingly.
Never when we are going out to eat.
Or to the park.
Or on a wet muddy day.
The shirt was a b-day present for Jake from my parents.
The fake Crocs are from Target last year.
He is barely squeezing in to them now.

Ezzie is again wearing a shirt from his cousin.
The shorts were $4 from that same Macy's trip.
His shoes were under $20 from Nike outlet in Branson.
Not as great of a bargain.
But not bad either.
He loves those shoes.

Wow!
This is much longer than I intended it to be.
I'm wordy today.

See how much fun boys are to dress?
I want to go shopping now.