Six Years Ago…
October 18, 2009
Six years ago today I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. I took my time showering and put on a shirt that buttoned down the front. My mom cooked me breakfast, and then drove me to visit the hair stylist in town. I spent a few hours there with five of my closest female friends along with a few family members and then returned to my house with my hair piled into big curls (my neck was sore for the rest of the day with all that hair up there!) and a tiara firmly affixed to the top of my head.
After what felt like an excruciatingly long wait, a limo arrived at my door and took us to a church. It started to sprinkle on the way, and everyone said “oh, it’s good luck when it rains on your big day!” To which I responded “that’s just what people tell the bride to make her feel better.” Luckily the sprinkles abated quickly and didn’t return. In the basement of the church I pulled on my gown, only to realize that the seamstress had forgotten to sew the eye hook back onto the top of the zipper when she took the gown in months ago. After a few minutes of panic, a family friend swept in and saved the day with a new eye hook and a few quick stitches.
Once everyone was ready, we moved upstairs to have endless rounds of pictures taken before the guests arrived. Then I waited (again for what felt like a ridiculously long amount of time). Finally, it was my turn to walk down the aisle. It was the moment that every little girl waits for. With music playing and 100+ of our closest friends and family standing, watching and waiting, I emerged in my beautiful white gown with my tiara and veil and bouquet.
Even though he had helped me pick out the dress, and even though he had rolled his eyes at my silly girly desire to try the dress on again and again, and even though we had just had a zillion pictures taken mere minutes before, his eyes welled up at the sight of me walking down the aisle. That’s how I knew I was doing the right thing. That’s when I knew that this would be forever and that I had no reason at all to ever wonder or doubt his love for me or mine for him.
I quickly stuck my tongue out at him and the his smile dried his eyes (and mine – wouldn’t want that makeup to get all runny!) The ceremony was short, but sweet and perfect. After a brief receiving line, we filed back into limos and drank champagne on our way to a country club for a most wonderful reception. The evening was filled with laughter, light, dancing, drinks, food, family, friends and the number 13 (inside joke…)
It’s been six wonderful years today, and I wouldn’t change even a single day. I got lucky enough to find the guy who gets every single dorky movie or tv reference I make (often because I’ve made him sit through yet another romantic comedy). The guy who changes at least as many diapers as I do. The guy who sits with his 3 year old son and patiently rubs his back until the little guy falls asleep. The guy who lets me sleep in on an occasional weekend morning (after some negotiation for his own sleep in morning). The guy who still calls me beautiful. The guy who dances silly dances in our kitchen just to make me or the kids laugh. The guy who actually enjoys cooking on occasion. The guy who buys me bouquets of flowers even though he thinks that buying flowers that are just going to die in a week is silly. The guy who puts up with all of my quirks and idiosyncrasies. The guy who loves my children with every fiber of his being. The guy who shares quiet smiles with me when those children do something unbearably cute. I found the guy who loves me.
We’ve been married for six years today (and together for almost 11) and it’s been an excellent journey so far. I can’t wait to find out what the next six years bring!
A few weeks ago I took Parker in for his 9 month checkup. While he has always been a pound or two smaller than his brother, we had never really worried about his size. Zach is long and lanky, and Parker seemed to have a similar body type. At the 6 month checkup, Parker was in the 36th percentile for weight (65th for height). His weight seemed to be doing a step sort of thing and not really staying on one curve, but there weren’t many plot points to really say that definitively. He seemed to gain quickly, and then level off and then gain quickly again. At 6 months he had leveled off a little, so I expected a bigger gain at his 9 month visit. Instead, he dropped off his curve. He dropped from 36th percentile to 18th! The nurse practitioner suggested that it was probably Parker’s increased activity. He went from being mostly stationary at 6 months to constant motion at 9 months. I hope that she’s right, but there is a little worried mommy part of my brain that can’t stop saying “what if it’s something more?” At this point, we’re just waiting to see how he gains in the next three months. So, we’ve been a little more focused on Parker’s eating habits lately. He’s always seemed to eat fine – 3 meals a day and bottles in between. Finger foods throughout the day as well. So I’ve been trying to convince him to eat a full jar of food (stage 3) at each meal and introducing more table foods than we had been before. Unfortunately, it appears that Parker has recently decided that he is no longer interested in baby food. He’ll eat about 2 bites and then he stops swallowing and letting the food slide out of his mouth. So now we’re trying to come up with foods that don’t come in baby jars but is still chewable and edible for our little guy. And most importantly, making sure that he’s eating nutritious food that helps him grow lots over the next three months!
Last month I helped to chaperon Xander’s day care class at a local apple orchard. It was something I had been looking forward to for years – some of my fondest childhood memories include my mother coming on fields trips like apple picking with me. So I was “assigned” 2 boys along with my son to keep track of during the day. One of the boys is generally pleasant and helpful and listens pretty well. The other one, not so much… So, we all hopped into my car (I should note that the “challenging child” also came with a booster seat that I personally feel is entirely inadequate for his little frame) and off we went.