My cowboy

Technically this is a Cowboy hat. Stebbs says he looks like Juan Valdez (the coffee guy.) Elijah calls it is his farmer hat. He "borrowed" this from William's house, and William will not be getting it back because the red liner is now worn off and the hat is on its last legs from so much love. Elijah love.

Yesterday the boys were going to hang out at their friend Caleb's hosue for a few hours. Elijah wanted to wear this hat and his bathing shorts with, what else, a yellow shirt. Yellow is his favorite color, and while he isn't picky about what he wears as long as I say something like, "Oh wow! This shirt makes you look so handsome!" he prefers a yellow shirt whenever it's available.
Isaac is much more picky. He has about five shirts that he will wear. One of them is a red Cars shirt that we have two of so he can honestly wear it a few times a week. Another is a Blue cars shirt that he wore to see the movie so he calls it is "movie theatre shirt." There is a long sleeved orange striped shirt. A long sleeved blue and green striped shirt. A blue shirt with an excavator on it. And a brown shirt with a dump truck. And that's it. Oh and a green shirt with a collar that is a bit on the dressier side for when that is called for. And that's it. When it comes to pants, he wants to wear jeans everyday. Now that it is getting a bit warmer, he will compromise with jean shorts but not without saying, "I want these to be longer." I have given up trying to put him in any other shirt though. It's just not worth the tears that ensue for, literally, hours on end.

I don't have many clothing rules. If we are going to church, we don't allow hats, and I try to make sure the boys are wearing a shirt and pants that match to some degree. If we are going off-Base, I like to make sure that they appear well taken care of. I also don't allow them to wear jeans when it is too hot outside or sandals when it is too cold. But otherwise, I really let them call the shots with their clothes and shoes. Why not?
And the truth is, I really don't even care what another mother thinks of me when they see my son in his bathing suit bottoms and his farmer hat. Maybe that's because I'm on Base, and I know most people I see. I don't feel the need to make excuses for the boys either. They are kids. No one cares. Or no one should care. Yes Isaac has worn that red Cars shirt five times this week. Yes he is wearing his bathing suit to the grocery store. Yes I know that stripes going in opposite directions don't match. Yes I realize his socks are different. Yes Elijah is wearing a rain jacket in the bright sunshine. (True story).
I hope I can feel this same way when the boys are sixteen, but somehow, I doubt it.