2nd Birthday Letters from Mommy and Daddy

It has been so much fun to read what everyone has to say about Carter's 2nd year with us.  I picture reading these with Carter one day and I know he will understand at least somewhat how loved he really is!  I'm not sure he can ever truly know exactly how much we all love him.  It's impossible to describe that kind of love.  Read the birthday letter I wrote to Carter last year here and the one Ty wrote him here.

Mommy:

Dear Carter,

This year has been HUGE!  When I look back at pictures of you on your first birthday you still look like that same little boy just bigger and more mature.  Back then you were still crawling and babyish.  Now you are all big boy and toddler!  You took your first steps a few months after your first birthday and then you were quickly off running, climbing, jumping, and now galloping and skipping.  Your vocabulary has taken off and you talk all the time!  You speak in 2-4 words sentences often and sometimes even 5-6 word sentences.  You understand so much and seem to always be soaking things up.  There have also been lots of big boy changes such as sitting in your booster seat instead of your highchair, sleeping in a big boy bed, mostly dressing yourself, sharing your mommy and toys with a boy I babysit, and finding out you are going to be a big brother!  In June we started our journey with me staying at home.  It has been an amazing 6 months and there have been so many wonderful memories made during our days together.  I tried writing this post out in my head before I sat down to write, but then I decided to just sit down and write what came to me because those would be the big memorable moments anyway.

The first thing that jumped into my head was your rain boots.  Back in the spring I ordered you rain boots after it rained the first time because I loved the idea of watching you splash in puddles.  You hated them the first few times we tried them out, but then loved them and quickly became obsessed.  They are the only shoes you can put on by yourself so you want to wear them every day.  When I get you dressed in the morning I ask you if you want to wear your shoes or boots and you quickly respond with boots!

You have always been such a snuggle bug and that didn't change a bit this year.  You love to cuddle into me and give me kisses.  When you wake up from a nap, now that you're in a big boy bed, I'll go in and lay in bed with you for a while and we talk.  Then when I pick you up, you lay your head on my shoulder, wrap your arm around my neck, grab my hair in your hand, and twirl it around.  Feeling your body pressed against my chest continues to be the best feeling in the world.  I feel so whole and like everything in the world is right when you are in my arms.  Now with my growing belly you sit on top of your sister and your legs hang down beside my belly.  It is precious!

I've also enjoyed simply being with you. Getting to be with you every day is a dream come true.  I love getting to watch you grow, explore, and learn new things. I love not being rushed in the morning so I can sit and talk with you as you eat breakfast or lay in your big boy bed as you tell me all about your buddies who went night night with you. Spending my days with you is the best!  We have utilized our days for lots of learning and lots of fun.  When I think back over my time staying at home with you, a few things really stand out in my mind.  This summer we went to the splash park multiple times a week and you were hilarious.  You absolutely love water and weren't deterred even when you got sprayed in the face!  When they finally closed down the water section of the park this fall you were always going over and pushing the button in an attempt to get the water to turn on.  There have also been lots of trips to the zoo which surprisingly always end with you having a new favorite animal.  The Children's Museum has been a favorite and I love watching you conquer the tape tunnel.  You went through it all by yourself for the first time this fall.  We've gone on walks to the library and walks at Turkey Mountain.  You enjoy walks the most when you get to hold Harper's leash.  Thinking of the library, I love that you are such an avid reader.  We will sit down in daddy's chair and read 20+ full length picture books in one sitting.  You are quick to let me know if you don't like a book by shoving it closed as I try to read it.  If you really like a book you let me know by flipping back to the cover immediately after finishing the book, waiting for me to start reading it again.

Carter I would have never believed it if someone had told me last year, but I love you more now than I did a year ago and I know I'll somehow love you even more next year.  You are such a perfect little boy and you make my day every single day.  There are so many moments when I look at you and wonder how in the world I got so lucky as to have you as my son.  I swear when I look at your profile I see an angel on Earth.  These months staying at home with you have been the best months of my life.  Thank you for loving me and being willing to snuggle your momma (I'm enjoying that while it lasts).  You are my favorite son and I love you so much.  Happy 2nd Birthday, my precious!

Daddy:

Carter, 

This year has been just a whirlwind of fun and excitement watching you grow up, literally running to your two year birthday! You started walking earlier in the year and it didn’t take you long until you were running everywhere you went. You love running! My favorite is when you get riled up right before bed time and run laps around the house in various stages of undress as your momma tries to get you into the bathtub. It’s not that you don’t want to take a bath (you love bath time), but rather you just get so excited for it and need to run off that energy. 

Walking in the door from work every day to hear you yelling daddy melts my heart. You come running up to me and sometimes give me a hug, and sometimes give me an excited gibberish play by play of your day with mom. 

Speaking of that, we made a move to have your mom stay at home with you rather than use a daycare this year. It has been an amazing experience and I can tell how much you both love it! She is so creative and does and amazing job of making you use your mind and learn and grow every day. I love getting text updates throughout the day showing what you guys have been doing. So many fun trips and crafts, it’s no wonder that you take 3 hour naps! 

Soon, you will be a big brother. I know that you will be a great big brother, helping to take care of your little sister and being a good mentor to her. It is so much fun being a big brother, I know you will love it. I am so happy that you love to read! That is something that your momma and I love as well so it is great to have you reading with us. And in all honesty, some of your books are much more interesting than the ones I read! 

It has been a great year son and I cannot wait for the next one as you run toward your third birthday! 

I love you so much!

 

   

Daddy Day: Taking a Tiger to the Zoo

Today I had the day off due to President's Day. That is a first for me in my professional career and it was quite the nice little perk!

Carter and I started our day off leisurely playing in the living room and watching TV. Once we got a little motivation, we decided that we would go to the zoo for a bit! As a Valentine's Day present for our family, we wanted to get a season pass for the zoo. At $75 it makes sense for as much as we and Carter love the zoo. Now with a pass, we can go for a few hours and see whatever we want and not feel like we wasted any money because we didn't stay all day.

We got there at about 10am and Carter was due for a snack so I put him in his stroller and I sat on the bumper and he had a banana, some water and random fish crackers that may or may not have been stale... but edible. To be honest, we got a lot of stares from other zoo goers, mostly families and moms with kids. Dad and son seemed to be rare but that was fine for us!

After a painstaking 20 minute sign up process due to computer problems, we were in the zoo. I knew we didn't have a lot of time because we wanted to meet Liz for a late lunch so we went to see the bigger animals that Carter could see well.

First stop was the petting zoo that consisted of about a dozen friendly, portly goats, and one very aggressive rabbit name Muffin. Carter petted every goat and laughed and giggled the entire time. While petting one of the white goats, it even lowered its head and nuzzled into him. The keeper was very friendly and even took photos of us. After we petted every goat, I asked the keeper what was in the pin in the corner to which replied, "that's Muffin the rabbit".

Naturally I thought a rabbit would be something fun for Carter to pet so we (keeper included) went to go see her. She said that she will get her out but we probably shouldn't go into the pin. I thought that was weird until she reached in and actually tried to grab Muffin. Muffin immediately made it clear that she did not want to be petted and started growling and slapping the keeper with her front paws, much like a cat. She told us Muffin was just shy and tried 4 or 5 more times to grab her with the same results. While we never touched Muffin (not a loss it seems...) Carter laughed and giggled through the whole ordeal.

After that it was onto the tiger. And as luck would have it, the keepers had just put out the tiger lunch which consisted of  8 or 10 chunks of raw meat spread around the enclosure, on the grass, on stumps and in trees. The moment we stopped, they released the tiger and he ran out and eagerly started eating his meal. Carter absolutely loved it, squealing, laughing, and trashing his feet. Thrashing so much that he kicked one of his shoes over the fence into no man's land between the two fences... Great I thought, that is going to be a hard one to explain. But after some thought, I put Carter back in the stroller, checked for employees, and leaned over and was able to just barely grab his shoe. Now don't worry, there was another fence, and a 30 foot ravine between me and the tiger so there were no dangers. I was just concerned how we were going to explain to mom how we went the zoo with two shoes and only came home with one.

After that was the lions where Carter got a complimentary half roar from the male lion when he got up to reposition himself in the sun. Carter really appreciated that and showed his pleasure with a loud sequel.

After that we saw rhinos, buffalo, giraffe, and hyena's before heading to the car to meet Liz for lunch and capping off a good day!

Breakfast for Dinner, that's the way Daddy Rolls - A Daddy Post

Daddy here, filling in for Mommy!

Last night mommy woke up at 2am about as sick as I was two weeks ago. I of course slept through it but she informed me that morning when I woke up! I honestly felt bad for her but deep down I thought to myself, now I am going to get sick! That seems to be the way it works around here, either we all get sick, or just I get end up getting sick.

Luckily Carter has only had a cough and congestion. As for me, it struck me at around 8:06am. Six minutes into my work day, I realized that it would not be a pleasant day. I did what I could but I ended up leaving work at around 10am. I came home, hydrated and rested. Poor Liz on the other hand toughed it out and made it through her work day.

So obviously when she got home she was absolutely beat. She tried laying down in the living room with Carter and but was not able to get any rest because Carter was obsessed with going over to her and bugging her. At about five, she finally called it quits and went to bed.

With that, Carter and I sauntered into the kitchen to figure out what the plan was for dinner. Much to our disappointment, there was not preprepared food left from the week that would be an easy heat up and serve. So I decided I would introduce Carter to one of my favorite dinner meals, BREAKFAST!

Liz and I had some pancakes left over from Thursday's dinner (yes, mom and dad had breakfast for dinner the night before!) and decided that the bites he had yesterday he seemed to really enjoy. So I warmed those up, along with some peaches and a glass of apple juice and he was set. He immediately went to town and ate all of the food I had made him.

After that, a little bit of quality rocking and snuggle time and he was ready for a bath. At this point he was so tired, I sat him down in the tub and he just sat there and stared at me. Needless t o say, there was not playing tonight! And then, out of the blue, he scrunched up his face and farted. Except, it wasn't a fart. But a poop! So we took a faster bath then expected and got him in his jammies.

After that, some more rocking and snuggling until bedtime. We very sneakily creep into mommy's room to kiss her goodnight and then lay him down to bed. All in all it was a good night!

Daddy's First Year Memories

One of my favorite memories of you was one of our first as a family. The first night that we brought you home, no one got very much sleep. You, because you were so small and were eating every hour, us because we were new parents. By the time the sun came up, we had it figured out. You were nestled in between your mother and I in bed with us, sleeping peacefully.

Daddy with you as a newborn.

I love seeing you with your Grandparents. It is so easy to see the love in their eyes and in yours. Whether they are teaching you something, playing with your or just holding you, it is something amazing to see. One of my favorite photos of you is from when you were sick, wearing only a diaper, sitting on your Grandpa Cox's lap while he helped you drink out of a cup.

Lately, my favorite thing is when I get home. I typically come home to find you and your mother playing in the living room. Once I walk in, you drop what you are doing and start bouncing up and down excitedly with the biggest smile on your face. It absolutely melts my heart!

Eating food out of your bib at 362 Days Old.  Only 3 more days until your birthday!

No Green Eggs and Ham for our Carter Man - By Daddy

Well... no eggs at least, green, yellow, or any other color. We were able to confirm Sunday night that Carter was allergic to eggs.

Over the past few weeks we had randomly given Carter scrambled eggs with his dinner. The first time, he ate very late then bathed and we put him to bed. We were getting ready for bed when he started crying. Liz went in there to soothe him and found him laying in his own vomit.

Momma to the rescue! Always makes a sick baby feel better.

We scrambled (haha like the eggs) to get him changed and back in bed only to have him vomit two more times that night. Getting low on jammies and crib sheets, Liz sat and rocked him to make sure he was over the sickness. That night he did not sleep well and woke up early and hungry!

Sooooooooooooooo sleepy!

We were not sure what the problem was but messaged the doctor and just kept an eye on him for the next few days. He seemed to be a little slow to get back his appetite but after a day he was back to normal.

Then Sunday night, we went to dinner with Liz's parents at Jason's Deli. Liz got the salad bar and ended up feeding Carter vegetables, cottage cheese and a hard boiled egg. As I was climbing into bed that night, I heard Carter coughing. For some reason, I felt like I needed to check on him.

I climbed over Liz (the monitor was on her side, and she didn't appreciate me climbing over her and waking her up apparently!) to see Carter laying in his own vomit again.

Borrowed your towel daddy, hope that's ok!

We got him changed and back to sleep and finally said it out loud, our little guy is allergic to a food item. We checked with the doctor and as we thought, he said Carter needed to stay away from eggs and anything with eggs in it.

Honestly, this is not something that has us to worried. After some quick research, most children allergic to eggs outgrow it by about 5. We can also be thankful that his reaction is only an upset stomach and vomiting and nothing more serious.

Being goofy while momma wrestles pants on Carter!

Daddy Day: Sick Baby, Part 2

Dad post today!

Today was Carter's second and hopefully last sick day. Last night he was clocking in at 102 temp so we knew that he would not be going to daycare today. Luckily my sick days had kicked in and I was able to use one so that Liz didn't have to miss two days in a row (although I know that she would have much rather stayed with Carter man!).

He woke up at around 6:30 and did the usual morning routine with his momma since she would not be able to take him to daycare or see him at lunch. I fed him breakfast and messaged the doctor giving him an update on Carter's status and seeing what time I should bring him in.

After seeing mom off, we sat and relaxed (he relaxed too much, I had to change two poopy diapers in less than 20 minutes!). I had heard back from the doctor and we had an appointment set for 9am. We got out the door a little later than I wanted to but we made it to the doctor on time. We checked in and were almost immediately taken to our exam room. The doctor came in, did the standard exam and declared that Carter had an ear infection!

He wrote out a prescription and sent it to Wal-Mart for us and off we went. We beat the prescription to the store by about 20 minutes so we piddled around Wal-Mart, buying a few things but mostly just killing time. Carter got quite a bit of attention from everyone and he certianly enjoyed that even though he felt so bad.

Once we got the meds, it was off to the house where he immediately fell asleep and took a 2 hour nap. He got up, we had lunch, took his meds and then went to play in the living room for about an hour before he started getting sleepy again. He went down for his afternoon nap and slept for almost an hour.

After that nap he was almost back to his old self! He was very happy and playful for the rest of the afternoon. He was quite content to sit on the floor and play without being held (he always wants held when he doesn't feel good). At one point, he was even playing with mommy's socks which she had left on that bathroom floor.

I was telling him (on video) that it was silly that she was still wearing Halloween socks so far past Halloween only for Liz to get home to point out that I had him dressed in Halloween pajamas all day... oops!  Notice at the end of the video Carter looked down the hall, saw Skippy, and said kiki.

All said and done we had a pretty good day that was capped of by Carter getting the medicine he needed and was able to start feeling better so fast!

Carter and Daddy: Mommy's not the only one in an air plane this weekend!

Note: this is a daddy post without ANY mommy supervision. So there will be incoherent ramblings and miss spellings... so let's all focus on the pictures of Carter!

This weekend Liz had a wedding in San Diego for a good friend of her's from college. Due to my new job, I was not able to get time off to go. So we decided that I would stay back with Carter and she would go. It was hard but it was our best option. Carter and I would end up visiting Liz's parents to run a Halloween race!

That race was the Twilight Thriller 5k in Joplin Mo. We have run it every year for the past three years and it has been a blast. The first year we really didn’t know what to expect other than people dressed up and raced.

The course is flat and fast with the only real down fall is that the turnaround is really tight. As usual that first year, Liz and the Hurford’s mopped up on the winner’s podium. Something that I didn’t expect was the costume contest winners. None of them really seemed to stand out. A DOG won the costume contest that year...

Then the second year, I of course dilly dallied on getting a costume until the day before the race. I ran to a thrift store and managed to find the right clothing to dress up as a gnome! Saturday Sondra helped me make a red cone hat and scarf and we went to the race. After the race, I was surprised to hear them call me up for the winner of the male costume contest! At that point, I realized that what really seemed to be an advantage was that I had on a 2 foot tall hat making me easily visible.

So this year, I decided that my costume needed to stand out big time. And as an added bonus, why not incorporate Carter? Yes I know what you are thinking, that’s cheating. No, it’s not! So rather wait until the last minute, I decided to give myself 2 weeks. Ever since Carter was born, I had been brain storming on turning his stroller into something awesome. Because it has the holes to put in the adapter for a car seat, that stroller has been just asking to be transformed into something amazing!

Pre Flight Check at Grammy and Gampy's before the race.

So using 100# cover stock, 5/8” styrofoam, and some dowel rods, that’s just what I did. Using a 1945 Bearcat as my model, I decided to turn the stroller into a fighter plane and have Carter and I dress up as pilots. I found him a cap and goggles for cheap online and then I found mine last minute at a costume store half price! With some last minute modification Saturday afternoon to add lights in the wings, (Carter's Grandpa Cox's idea) Carter and I were ready to go.

Walking up to the race I knew moving around in the crowd would be difficult. But almost immediately people started to notice the stroller. And as I got closer, they started to notice Carter in the stroller, and that is when the oos and awws started. As I thought, I would have to start at the back so as not to run anyone over or have them bump into the plane and tear it up.

Thomas, Sondra, Carter and I waiting for the race to start.

This was a first for me, I started the race in dead last, 205th place. A bonus to starting last was that all of the race organizers got to see Carter and I start. About half a mile into the race I had to stop and take of the lined leather jacket due to the engine overheating (haha get it? I'm the engine!). I checked on Carter and he was still quite warm so we forged ahead.

Because it was an out and back course, it was not long before we had people going both directions on the trail. Once I squeezed through the turnaround (scraped the wings on both sides!) the trail was a little easier to manage and we were able to start passing groups of people. About 100 yards from the finish I stopped and put on my jacket and Carter and I finished the race at full throttle to the cheers of the crowd.

Waiting for the Hurford's to get their trophy. And Carter admiring his trophy!

We ended up passing 76 other runners and finishing 129th! Not bad considering we had to start in the very back and our costume was 4 feet wide! At this point, it was a bit past 7 and Carter was starting to get tired. Luckily the awards came fast. As we stood waiting, sure enough they called for the winner of the men’s costume contest: “Pilot dad and plane son”. Not quite what we were dressed up as but close enough! Felt good to win something since I am not about win any races anytime soon!

The custom trophy Carter and I won!

By the end of the night, all five of us had won an award. Sondra got second in her age group while Dave and Thomas each got first in there respective age groups. As soon as we had collected out hardware, we hit the road to get Carter home and into bed. He is such a good baby that he didn't even start to cry until we were 3 minutes from home.

I think it is safe to say that our stroller is only starting its career in costume contests!

Carter and Daddy with Carter wondering why I am taking pictures instead of getting him his bottle!

While we are having fun we both miss mommy! Things are just so much smoother with her under center (football reference, yes!). I do things differently than her and Carter knows it. He usually waits patiently and watches closely because he doesn't even know what ill do next! This is good for all three of us and Carter and I both know mommy is having some much deserved fun! But we can't wait for her to come home!

Also I had ice cream for dinner. Now I don't feel good. Liz doesn't let me only have just ice cream for dinner...

BONUS PICTURE! Carter playing with Zuma and Fezzy.

Daddy Day: The Ring

I started my search for a ring in late August, doing a lot of research online learning about the different cuts and colors and what not. I tried looking at rings online but that really got off to a bad start because I did not like anything I had seen. 

After about a week of that, I approached a co-worker of mine who has a friend who owns his own jewelry shop in Tulsa. I stopped by his office one morning (a Monday) and mentioned that I was looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend and that I had heard he knew someone in the jewelry business.

One of our engagement photos.

We sat and talked a little about what she liked (at this time I was fairly confident she would like anything and that’s what I told him). Towards the end of the conversation, I told him that actually, she really likes hearts. He said ok, not a problem, I will see what my friend has to offer.

I felt good about that conversation and figured I would give it a few weeks and see what he came up with. The next morning (Tuesday), my coworker walks into my office and lays a piece of paper down on my desk. It had sketches of about 4 rings on it with prices, stone weights and quality. The only way to describe the feeling I experienced when he laid that sheet down is with this phrase: “SH!T just got real”.

I was quite surprised that I had rings in front of me after only 24 hours but he claimed he said he had a ring with a loose stone so he figured he would swing by that night. So there I was with some options that after only a glance, two of them I knew I needed to see in person.

So the next day (Wednesday) he offered to take me up to his friend's shop over our lunch hour so I could see the ones I liked in person. In a matter of seconds, I knew which one I wanted. It was a ring with a main stone, side stones on both sides, and then about 4 chips down each side of the ring itself. The kick was that when you are looking at this ring from the front or back, you can see two hearts cut into the ring itself that allows you to see the bottom tips of the side stones.

I told them I would “think about it” and come back later. That night I started dropping hints to Liz, trying to get an idea of what she would like. Finally I flat out asked, if your ring had hearts incorporated in it, would you like that? She thought about it and said yes, but they don’t make anything like that. I told her that they will make anything I want; I just have to pay for it! To which she responded, don’t do that, it would be too expensive.

That conversation actually gained me two valuable (to me) insights. One: (the original goal) she liked the idea of hearts having something to do with the ring. Two: she assumed since I pressed her so hard on the hearts issue and the fact that I told her I could get whatever I wanted made, she assumed it would take me weeks or months to get a ring so she was not expecting a proposal any time soon. (I found out all of this after the proposal).

So the next day (Thursday) I went back to the store with my co-worker and told him that was the ring for Liz. So he got it out along with a box of diamonds and set them on the counter. Next he handed me a loop, a pair of tweezers and said, “now you get to pick out her main diamond” (all the other stones were already set, the main stone was not). THAT was cool. I felt slightly bad ass rooting around in a box of diamonds. Eventually I found what I thought was the best one and handed it to him. We did the paper work, I paid the man and was about to ask when it would be ready when he told me he was busy and that I probably couldn’t pick it up until tomorrow (FRIDAY!), again, I was struck with that feeling, “SH!T just got real!”.

Here I was assuming it would take a week or more to set the setting and then set the stone. I told him I would be back Friday at lunch to pick it up.

As it turned out, that was good timing because we were headed back to Liz's hometown that weekend and I felt like that was the right place to propose. It was weird sitting in a car with Liz for two hours with her ring not 2 feet from her at any given time in my pocket. We got to Pitt and I transferred the ring into my bag and stashed it in my room at her parent's upstairs. Later that night she even asked to borrow something that I had in my duffel bag at some point and I told her sure, just go get it. I would have loved to have seen my face about 30 seconds after she walked off, me having just given her PERMISSION to go rummaging through the bag I had her ring hidden in. Luckily she did not find it.

At this point I did not have a plan but kind of assumed that I would propose to her Saturday evening. Unfortunately she ended up getting a migraine and slept most of the day and evening (this in turn prevented me from proposing on Sept. 11th…).

So Sunday, her feeling slightly better, I convinced her we needed to go to the wilderness trails and walk to get me some exercise. There, where we went on our first date, I was finally able to propose! (and I am pretty sure she loved the ring).

Daddy Day: Ty's Wedding Day Memories

Today is the last post in our wedding memories series.  Here are Ty's wedding day memories!

The first memory I have of our wedding is the last day of work before I took two weeks off for the wedding (the week before to prep and then the week after for the honeymoon). I was sitting at my desk that morning, just anticipating the upcoming weeks, so excited I was jittery. Needless to say, I got very little work done that day and ended up leaving at about 2:30 that afternoon. Normally, I would call Liz and let her know I was coming home but that day, I decided not to do that.

When I walked through the door that afternoon at 2:40 (awesome commute when I am the only one on the highway!), I was greeted by Liz and a look of complete shock. She ran jumped into my arms, hugged me, and started crying, excited to get an early start to the week leading up to the moment we would start our lives together as a married couple.

Not much of the week before sticks out in my mind other than getting to spend some time with Ang playing golf. I actually really enjoy golf, got started in high school playing with a few friends who were serious golfers, then in college playing with a few friends who were serious golfers, then in my professional life with co-workers who were super serious golfers (a couple of them were scratch golfers). So one would think that playing all of this golf with talented people would rub off on me, but it hasn’t. I just enjoy getting out on the links and crushing a golf ball hard and straight several hundred yards and then taking 5 chip shots and 4 putts before giving up with a 10 stroke count for the hole.

Ang played in college which translates to she is really good. It didn’t take her long to realize that I was just out there to crush a few balls and relax. We had a really good time and it was great to get some bonding time with one of Liz’s best friends.

With Ty's Grandma and Grandpa at the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner and rehearsal itself was a great time with all of our family and friends. It was good to kind of have that informal setting. It was all really quite relaxing and went extremely well. I remember after the wedding rehearsal, two of my groomsmen coming up to me and thanking me for telling them people were dressing up. Apparently I told Paul and Brian to wear khakis and a nice shirt but didn’t relay that message to Chris and John who wore shorts. Sorry guys!

Poor Chris and John in shorts!

Before the wedding, Liz and I had chosen to have a quiet moment together, just her and I in the chapel. Her and I and the photographers that is. It didn’t take her long to come down the aisle (my back was to her) and touch my shoulder but it really seemed to take forever. Once I turned around I will never forget that look of happy on her face which is the first thing I noticed. Yes, I glanced at the dress, but I was more interested in her (we later had a discussion on how she was surprised that I didn’t even look at her dress). That was honestly one of my favorite parts of the wedding.

Waiting for people to be seated was agonizing. It just seemed to take forever and I wanted to get things done! Finally we were able to start. Everything went smooth and according to plan. For most of the ceremony, it seemed like just Liz and I up there. We were constantly flashing smiles at each other and mouthing a few words even. There was just an easy air about it.

Photography afterwards was a breeze and a lot of fun. I loving walking down the hall of our house and seeing the photo of us on the Pitt State campus just married.

The picture we have hanging in our hallway.

One of the only “hiccups” we had in the entire wedding became a non-issue almost immediately due to quick thinking by my brother and an always be ready for anything attitude by my dad. When my brother got married (8 months earlier), my dad told him and I that he would have cash on him at all times and if there was an issue, he was sure it was something cash could fix.

So when the limo driver dropped us off at the reception hall and refused the check Liz had written out days earlier because he needed to see some id and have a driver’s license number written on it (something no one at the limo company bothered to tell us), Paul was off in a flash to get cash to cover the bill and get the driver out of our hair.

At Paul’s wedding, one of my cousins noticed I was dancing a lot and made a comment to me about how she didn’t know I liked to dace so much. I told her, “No, I hate dancing. But Liz loves to dance so I dance for her”.

That being said, I think that the only time I really wanted to dance was our first dance. I remember holding her close and just gently moving around the dance floor while quietly singing the words of our song to her, something I had been doing since we started dating. That was a great moment, something I will cherish forever.