This is what I promised my husband that Noah could wear for his baby dedication:
And this is what my husband CHOSE for my son to wear for baby dedication:
I’d like to give him the opportunity to explain himself.
So I like to think that I’m a fairly easygoing, reasonable guy. I don’t picture myself as an overbearing tyrant that enforces my will on everyone around me. On the flip side, like anyone, I have likes and dislikes, and when it comes to my son’s clothes, I’m full of opinions.
Ali can wear anything, as long as it’s modest. Any style is fine – pretty, tomboy, modern, whatever. Girls can get away with anything from Easter dresses to overalls.
However. Boys, for me at least, are a different story. I don’t want the fancy, frilly stuff. None of it. Not smocking, not john-johns, not seersucker, nothing Strasburg or boy-boutique.
(And I only know all of those terms from my wife teasing me with those options.)
What is okay, you ask? Anything boyish – from preppy to biker, rocker to farmer, sports to cowboy.
My favorite look for Noah? Overalls and no shirt. The tank-top rock ‘n roll onesie is also a great look.
In years past, before Noah was even an eye-gleam, Rachel had allowed me to declare that under no circumstances would any son of mine ever get dedicated in a Christening Gown.
My boys do not wear dresses.
Enter the godparents.
Gary and Janey are good friends, wonderful parents, honorable mentors, and just downright awesome people.
So baby dedication is about a month away, and Janey mentions that she has an aforementioned forbidden garment that her godmother had made for her when she was a baby. Janey had also used this item lovingly with her own children (1 boy and 1 girl).
Would we be interested?
Rachel laughed, and sent her to ask me – just for the fun of hearing my reaction.
I flatly refused.
But, alas, my inner guilt began to gnaw at me. Janey was such a wonderful godmother, and how often would she ask me for anything?
How could I be so selfish to refuse her?
And so, without consulting my wife, I manned up, went to her, and proposed that we refer to the frilly special occasion attire as an ephod, which was a linen garment worn by King David.
Who is more manly than King David?
And with this grammatical condition, I would love to let her godson be dedicated in her family heirloom.
I returned to my wife to present my humble, loving, selfless decision, and Rachel’s heartless response was, “What?!? Don’t you think you should check with your wife before making those kind of decisions?!”
“No, I figured you had no objection since you never mentioned one.“
“That’s because I never thought there was any chance you would agree to it – there was no need for me to object!”
“Oh. We’re way past smock now, aren’t we?”
But with my husbandly spiritual guidance, Rachel also agreed to the opportunity to honor Noah’s Godparents with his presentation in an ephod.
Rachel here again.
So I got the ephodic garment out Saturday night to make sure that it would fit.
Noah was shocked, confused, felt forsaken by his Father, and looked pretty dang beautiful.
But, he opted to trust his Father’s better judgment, despite the effect of the ephod in highlighting his more lovely features.
He even held it together during his dedication prayer, not puking on the Pastor or even voicing his opinion into his microphone,
(Behaving better, in fact, than his overly bored big sister.)
But after all of that frillery, he was quite obliging in getting back to drooling all over his original dedicatory outfit.
To be able to change my husband’s mind about the use of a Christening Gown?
The magical powers of the Fairy Godmother are a force to be reckoned with.
Disclaimer: Noah’s Godmother is also a delightfully fun-loving and easygoing lady who was well aware that one of the repercussions of ephod wearing would be a blog written about such matters. No Godmothers were hurt in the creation of this post.
Love it.
He is a pretty baby tho…definitely stick with the overalls and blue shades of color! ;)
I am TOTALLY using this when one day, if babies do come along for us, to convince Scott that a christening gown will be acceptable for a boy. My mother has already planned out what she’ll make (of course)!
I’d love to know what Scott thinks about this plan :) Does calling it an ephod help?
Rachel he would look beautiful in anything! I am also anti-frill but he looked absolutely gorgeous in the ephod! You look pretty awesome yourself!
Jesse also wore a long white gown with a (gasp) smocked baby blue cross on the front. I assure you that this will be the ONLY time that Chad allows his son to wear a “dress” or anything smocked for that matter.
My mom turned my wedding dress into a baptism gown. I planned to have all children wear it, regardless of sex, and then save it for grandchildren. We had three girls so it wasn’t an issue, but I always wondered if my husband would actually allow a son of his to wear it. He is also anti jon-jons, smocking and pink on boys! If we ever have grandsons I guess we will worry then about them wearing a long, white and beaded gown :)
BTW, Noah looks adorable in both of his dedication outfits!
That is a pretty cool idea! I bet it is beautiful!!
You are such a creative writer. Isn’t it funny how we say, ‘I’ll never…’ but then when the circumstances seem right we realize it’s not so bad after all.
When I first read ephod my Sunday School lessons had failed me and I pictured a baby in a diaper wearing phylacteries, he he. My Sunday School memory failed me a second time as I pictured a breast plate thanks for the photos, I realized it was more like tunic.
It doesn’t matter what he wears he’s adorable.
@Jenica,
We did the same thing- turned my wedding wrap into a baptism gown! I have one boy and one girl, and my husband (also highly anti-frill) allowed it for the sentimentality of it. My little boy screamed when we first put it on him, which reassured my husband that, although his son was in a dress, he certainly wasn’t enjoying it.
Yes. I think that Chris liked Noah’s first reaction being one of shock and distress! :)
You do realize that Chris just set free a generation because now moms eveywhere will call an ephod, refer to King David and no self-respecting Godly father or husband has any argument left within him. I love it! (and for the record…both my children were dedicated in the same gown ..handmade and -gasp-smocked- lovingly by a sweet and precious friend. I guess for my daughter it is a gown and for my son it is an ephod!)
Awesome – I hope he gets listed in Wikipedia one day as “The Man Who Made it Okay for Boys to Wear Ephods for Dedications”!
Noah looks precious no matter what he ‘s wearing … but that’s too funny! Love the post. And you’re a knockout in that blue dress!
Well, he looks adorable in either outfit!
I spoke to soon… ;)
I know! I laughed at your comment last week, thinking “Just wait…”
On a totally different note from your previous commenters, I laughed out loud at the picture of Ali. What a cutie!! And, you looked beautiful, Rachel!
She’s usually not that fidgety!! Too much Easter Candy for breakfast or something, I suppose.
i love it!! but no lie…Madyson is sitting here reading with me(since we are home from surgery) and she said…”momma, why is that boy wearing a dress?” she is def. on team overall :)
I think Chris made the right decision, it was the perfect outfit for his dedication. Do I think he looks better in the overalls? Yes. But the dedication is a very special time. You all looked great.
Thankfully the Lord has delivered me from my past legalist ways or I would have mentioned that you’re the only one without your eyes closed during prayer. You might need to get Pastor Harry to re-pray that prayer over Noah to make sure it took. :-)
I wondered if anyone would notice that!! I was trying to get his attention to get him to calm down – he was frantically head-butting Pastor Walls, Woodpecker-style. I think he was getting hungry…
It’s really okay. After all, our worship pastor prays with his eyes open ALL the time…
SO true! He cracks me up!
I would have to say he looks great in both outfits!! And the picture of Ali made me laugh too!
I hate I missed it. I was in the nursery. I am anti everything you are as far as boy clothes are concerned so I’m not sure I could have pulled it off like you guys did. I will say the symbolism is really cool. I saw you through the nursery door Sunday and didn’t get a chance to tell you that you were rockin’ that blue dress! It looked great on you. (:
He is SO cute! And you look BEAUTIFUL! That Blue is YOUR color!
Rachel, you look great! I can only hope that I look half as good as that after baby#2 is born this summer. YOU are inspiration to me.
And Noah and Ali are both adorable. Don’t want to leave your husband out…he looked nice too. :)
Aw, thanks!! The Lose It app and nursing are to thank for that. I’ll update on our diets sometime this week.
Laughed so hard at the first picture of Noah (looking horrified in his ephod), I scared the baby. =) Congrats on the baby dedication! (ps: what’s a baby dedication? Like a Baptism/Christening?)
Kind of – we don’t do baby baptizing or Christening – we do adult baptisms. So a baby dedication is where the parents promise to teach their child about God and commit their child to the Lord.
Ha ha ha, hilarious! And just think, in 15 years, you can pull up that picture as blackmail any time he wants to cause trouble!!!!
Dang, you are a pretty hot Mommy in that blue dress!!! I REALLY wish I looked that good! You are inspiring me to get back on the weight-loss bandwagon. :)
So I’m guessing the gown is a Southern thing? My husband would die before putting a dress/ephod on a boy! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby dedicated in a special gown. Up here you just get them a nice outfit or any outfit for that matter. I think in the North only Catholics use gowns. Way to go to Chris for being able to go with the flow and allow his son to wear the ephod. :)
I had wondered if you would say this was a southern thing, too – I kinda figured it might be. :)
Awwwwwwwwww!!
seriously rachel…you crack me up! and you look fab in your blue dress – way to steal the show! =)
Ephod. Super : )
You look fabulous by the way.
What a cute post! Noah is adorable no matter what he wears. I have to echo what some of your other readers said — you look absolutely amazing in that blue dress!
Well, he needs to explore all sides of himself, right? Either way, he was adorable. And you look hawt!
he makes a gown look manly!