Long Legged Luke

With the exception of the soccer game, most of this weekend was occupied with fall clothes shopping for Luke. (BTW, I've decided trying on jeans with a 6 year old likely falls under "cruel and unusual punishment" and might possibly be against the Geneva Convention.) Why the emergency? Because the weather forecast for Monday morning at the bus stop showed 45 degrees! (That's 7C, for you Celsius folks.) With only one pair of jeans that even sort of fit, and a week of morning lows in the 40s, jeans and long sleeves were a very sudden and immediate requirement.

I have heard for years now that somewhere between the ages of 2-6, most children have a spell where they actually wear the same clothes for two consecutive seasons. For the most part, I'm still waiting! I will admit that a handful of the long sleeved shirts we bought him in February and March (which were a size larger than those bought the previous September) do still fit, which means that he's only gone up one shirt size since last fall, not two like usual. Maybe that counts? Until recently, we've always had to buy Luke's shirts a size larger than his pants size, not because he needed the room around his body, but because he needed the length to keep his tummy and wrists covered. Last fall, that meant size 6 jeans and size 6 or 7 long sleeved shirts depending on who made them (mostly 7s). This spring, when buying short sleeved shirts and shorts, I noticed we were largely buying shorts and shirts the same size: 7. An interesting development, but I didn't think much of it beyond that.

A brief aside: In US boys clothing, you have infant clothes measured in months rather than "size" like small or large. Toddler clothes measured in sizes that usually end in T and (generally) correspond to the child's age; an average 4 year old would likely wear size 4T clothing. The "little boys" department picks up with numbered sizes and ranges from size 4-7 numbered consecutively. The "big boys" department takes over at size 8 and increases the size numbers by 2s through 20. (I have no idea where the break point is between big boys sizes and more traditional men's sizes. Might ought to find out soon, at this rate!!)

I knew that we would have to move into the big boys department this year, since the one pair of size 7 jeans we bought him last spring (after ripping holes in the knees of every pair of size 6s he had) was clearing his ankles by an inch. The size 8 jeans fit great, once we found the right style (apparently older boys have more butt than Luke does; thank goodness for adjustable waists), but the size 8 shirts, which I just assumed he would need, absolutely swallowed him! They came down nearly to his knees and the sleeves just hung off the end of his arms. I'm still baffled how that happened. Is it normal for boys to go through a phase where their legs grow so much more than their bodies? He's gone up two sizes in jeans while going up maybe half a size in shirts. It just strikes me as odd.

I was hesitant to go back to the little boys department since I knew some of his size 7 shirts from the summer were getting too short, but there was no way those size 8 shirts were going to work. Some of the size 7s were too small, but others fit him quite well. It all depended on the style/cut and the brand. Some brands had a size 7x which again worked in some styles but not all. We actually had better luck at Target this year than our usual go-to store of JCPenney. I'm not complaining! As long as we have clothes that fit well and are age appropriate (a big issue when having to shop in the big boys department for a not-even-6 year old), I'm happy.

One thing I will say is that the Target shirts are less consistently sized between different brands. I bought three different shirts from three different makers. One was a medium that was a smidge too big, but he'll grow and it will likely shrink. One was a small that fit great! And one was an extra-small that is bigger than the medium (but was way too cool not to buy). Oh well! We now have plenty of casual t-shirts. I just need to find a few more nicer polo/henley type shirts, and he'll be all set.



Then came this moment this evening (Monday). I chalk this up under "things I didn't need to know today." DH was folding all of Luke's freshly washed clothes and, on a whim, decided to hold up a pair of Luke's new jeans to his own waist. They didn't clear the floor by *nearly* as much as they should! I decided to compare them directly, with Luke's jeans on a flat surface laying on top of DH's. WOW! I mean, I know DH is only 5'8" (1.73m) tall, but still! I was quite amazed. Fair being fair, I decided to stack (from bottom layer to top in the below photo) a pair of DH's jeans, a pair of my jeans (surprised those are as close to DH's as they are), a pair of my capris, and a pair of Luke's new jeans.



As you can see, Luke's jeans are longer than my capris! He's not even 6 years old!! Only 3 more days, but still!! We've suspected for a while that he is at least 4 feet (1.22m) tall by now. We'll find out "officially" at his 6 year doctor visit this coming Friday.

Currently feeling: is someone stretching his legs at night?