La Boda de Tía Boo-boo

So Joaquin made a ridiculously adorable ringbearer. Here he is getting dressed (of course he was in the girls dressing room with Mommy, such is the life of a little boy.) The vest was too big for him despite being the smallest available, so we had to tighten it ridiculously and depend on the coat to cover up any bizarro lumps. As you can see, he was a little sad at first since we had to wake him up early from a nap. Everyone was telling him how handsome he looked and he kept saying, "No, I'm not handsome", in his most stubborn voice. It was quite entertaining. Somehow admitting he looked good was giving in to the man. He started to thaw after awhile, especially when Lynette worked on him. Lynette has been my Mom's hairdresser for years and she came to do Heather's hair. She's also an experienced Mommy and she had Joaquin hypnotized and playing with her 'dangerous' comb while she gelled and spritzed him into perfectly coiffed cuteness. He loved her. (In case you're wondering her comb was dangerous b/c it had metal spikes for picking on one end. Anyone remember the era of separate picks? That was totally my childhood.) He also had more fun when I put on my jewelry. He was very interested in the pearls and the knowing the

name of the amethysts beads. We had quite a long talk about why they're called pearls and amethysts. So here he is finally smiling and all dressed up. Isn't that one of the cutest things you've ever seen? So we took him to the boys who put a boutonnière on him and brought him out for photos. I was not there for this next part, but I'm assured by many folks that it actually happened. Since Joaquin was two, Uncle Matthew has been teaching him the phrase "Don't patronize me". He can say it, but doesn't know any context so he only uses it to bond with Uncle Matty. Also Matthew's been in London for awhile so he hasn't had the opportunity to really work on it with him. Still it was floating around in there b/c as the photographer was saying in a child-friendly voice, "Joaquin, Joaquin look over here!" Joaquin responded, "Don't patronize me." Yikes! Like he doesn't have enough of an attitude already. Fortunately the photographer knows what's up and only asked, "Who taught him that?"

He calmed down considerably for the actual ceremony. From my position as bridesmaid I was able to see his helter skelter run along the back of the church turn immediately into dignified walking as soon as he hit the center aisle. (how did he figure out that was were he needed to perform?) He even held his pillow out nicely, only speeding up right as he got to the front. Unfortunately that little quickening put him right in front of Bryan where he couldn't see Uncle Matty, his planned destination. He panicked and ran right back up the aisle, into the arms of Daniel who carried him down and deposited him in Matthew's arms until he could go sit down with Grandpa. (He left after the giving away, nobody thought he make it through any of the ceremony.) He then sat with Grandpa, Grandma and Daddy very nicely through the whole thing. So honestly he behaved just as well as you could expect. I hadn't realized how nervous he was though, poor thing. After we all left the service he was very peppy and kept snacking when before he had been refusing all food. (Entertainingly enough his first comment was to Uncle Matty, "When are you going to get married?" He was definitely on a role that day. Nobody was even prompting him!) I keep underestimating how much he understands and realises of what adults are planning. He made it through pictures not particularly well, but we all had fun at the reception and he lasted until Auntie Boo-boo and Uncle Bryan took off.