The Wedding, Part I: The Tie

On July 19th, my cousin Lee McBrearty married Meredith Leach.  It was a wonderful weekend filled with parties, laughter, fellowship, reunion, and all around fun. It was the first wedding for Lucy and Greer, and the second for Reeves (his first one was the wedding of my Uncle Craig and Aunt Mary, but he was only 5 months old).  Needless to say, they were QUITE excited about all of the festivities.  In fact, there are so many memorable little moments, that I simply can't combine them all in one big post.  So, over the next couple of days, I will post some little stories that made me smile.  These are the moments I don't want to forget!

We all wanted nice new outfits for the actual wedding ceremony.  I stressed and stressed over my dress, but in the end, I wound up wearing the dress I wore for my very own after rehearsal dinner party.  It is a great dress that has served me well over the years.  I just regret the hours and hours I spent stressing over finding something new.....this little black dress has never let me down!

I was lucky enough to borrow and buy (at quite and ebay steal) some beautiful Strasburg dresses for the girls.  They were precious, and all of the little girl cousins matched.  ADORABLE (except for the strap that wouldn't stay on Lucy's shoulder and the green spit-up that decorated Greer's lace collar, but I digress....they were BEAUTIFUL!).  Perfect twirl dresses that made them look like angels!  Even Chris splurged on a new navy suit, and he looked quite handsome.  

Reeves was my dilemma.  I have had a hard time with this "boy" thing as it is.  As one of 3 girls, I don't have much experience in this department.   I learn something new everyday, and I pray that God will give me the wisdom (and sometimes the patience) to raise a strong, loving, Godly man. 

 I was fortunate that Chris let me dress Reeves however I wanted to for much longer than many of my other friends with boys.  I admit that I loved the Jon Jon's and the Big Collars.  I loved the Button Short Sets and the occasional Smocked T-shirt with Matching Gingham Shorts.  He kept a long, bowl-type haircut for a really long time, and Chris never, ever complained.  He already knew we had an "all boy" type, so I don't think it ever bothered him.

With the start of "real school", I had to let much of my "baby boy" go.  I gave in to the shorter haircut, the big boy clothes, and the "cool" tennis shoes.  I knew that this wedding was going to require some sort of "big boy" dress clothes, and I had a hard time deciding what would look best.  After much debate, and after flipping through a million catalogs, I decided to go with a tie.  Well, easier said than done!  I could not find a cute one for the life of me.  

I was ready to give up, and just let him wear a nice polo dress shirt with his linen pants when Mom found it.

THE TIE!

It was in a sales bin a the Brooks Brothers outlet for just $5 (and if you shop at BB you know that is the steal of the century).  

I have never seen a kid more proud of an article of clothing!  He just beamed, and when he tried it on for the first time it was priceless.  He has this little thing he does when he's proud of himself.  It is something that even his teacher pointed out to me this year as he was learning to do all sorts of new things in Kindergarten.  When he is beside himself with pride, it's like he's trying not to smile, so he pushes his tongue into the inside of his cheek.  It is way too hard to describe, and I am determined to catch it on film one day.  Until then, here are some pictures of my "big boy" in his very first TIE!