Our Little Chief

When Danny and I started dating way back in the summer of 1999, we quickly adopted the nickname "Chief" for one another. I don't know how it started or where it came from, but that was our term of endearment of choice (romantic, I know).

So, we went about the next nine years, all the way to the present day, calling each other "Chief." In the early years, we often joked about how we'd have our own "Little Chiefs" one day, and we daydreamed about our future offspring.

Fast forward to April 2007. We found out we were expecting and were absolutely thrilled. We both wanted a boy, although a healthy baby was enough to make us happy, but a boy was our preference. Around the seventh week of pregnancy, when I had my first ultrasound, I just knew it was a boy, and I started thinking of him as "Tyler" even then.

Before we were able to confirm the sex of our baby, Jason, Joy, and Addie came to visit us in Louisiana. One of our outings was to the Boardwalk where we stopped in the Carter's outlet store. Almost immediately we spotted an outfit made for a boy that said "Little Chief" on it. I nearly screamed with excitement. We didn't yet know if we would be needing boy clothes, so Danny said we would wait and come back for it if and when we determined it appropriate.

A few weeks later, we discovered that my early instincts were correct, and a little boy would be joining our family. When we went back for the Little Chief outfit, as you can guess, they were all gone...not a single trace of Little Chief attire anywhere. We both wanted to cry, and I wanted to kick myself for not buying the outfit when I saw it, saving the receipt, and returning it if necessary.

So, we got over the loss and moved to Texas shortly thereafter.

Low and behold, on an outlet shopping trip with a new friend here in the Lone Star State, I found three Little Chief outfits at the Carter's store. They were all on the clearance rack and marked for about $5. The only one that would even be reasonable was the short-sleeved, short overalls outfit in a newborn size. Since Tyler was due in the winter, I just didn't know if it was wise to buy this summery outfit, but I couldn't leave it in the store after all the drama surrounding it. I determined that Ty could at least get his picture made in it once for posterity's sake.

The Little Chief outfit has been washed and ready for a while now, and today was the perfect day to break it out because it was almost 80 degrees here. Enjoy the pictures of our Little Chief, the one we dreamed about many years ago.