On January 4, Jenny and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary. Our celebrations have varied over the years from Disney World to buying new bedroom furniture to a nice dinner out. This year, our first anniversary as parents, we are planning an overnight getaway in the DFW area. This morning we plan to drop Brenden and Holly off at my parents’ house. Apparently Grampy has a special construction project on which he needs Brenden’s help. Then we hope to spend the day at Holiday in the Park enjoying the rides and beautiful weather. Saturday night we plan to stay at the Embassy Suites in Grapevine, where we spent our wedding night. Before dinner we’ll hit the manager’s reception for free munchies and wine – how can you pass that up? On Sunday Jenny plans to take me shopping for a new pair of Doc Martens. I’ve worn my current pair (the brown ones) since about freshman year of HIGH SCHOOL, and they’re finally starting to wear out. We look forward to a wonderful time!
Category Archives: Family
Stories of Christmas
Jenny and I are celebrating our personal Christmastime on Saturday. Based largely on a recommendation from our cultured friends Chris and Demona, we bought tickets to see Stories of Christmas, a concert at the Meyerson by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. It’s been a long time since I went to a choir concert, and I’m REALLY excited because this one is supposed to be outstanding, one of the best in the country. The show runs through this weekend if you’d like to get tickets. Jenny’s parents plan to watch Brenden since he’s too little to join us. Afterward we’ll pick him up and then go have a nice dinner somewhere as a family.
35 Years
Today is my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary. Sadly, these days many marriages never last that long, but theirs has. Congratulations! Lisa, Phillip, and Jenny cooked them a fabulous meal at Lisa’s house Sunday night to celebrate. I should have asked them how closely their lives today match what they had expected back when they got married. 35 years sounds like such a long time until I realize it’s only about 5 years longer than I’ve been alive. =) Jenny and I are both blessed to have parents who are still together, which is probably a bit rare these days, and we’re very thankful for that.
Jenny and I are set to reach 6 years in January. It’s hard to imagine what our lives will be like in 29 years when we’ll be approaching the 35 year mark (Lord willing). Brenden could be through with school, married, maybe even with a child by then. So could his brother/sister, assuming he gets one someday. I’ll be 59. Jenny will be 61. It boggles the mind.
Watch the Groom
Jenny and I went to her friend’s wedding Saturday night in Dallas. I didn’t know the couple, but many of Jenny’s friends and family were there. At someone else’s suggestion, I’ve started a tradition when I attend a wedding. When everyone rises to watch the bride enter, I watch the groom instead to see his reaction when she appears.
I was a groom myself nearly 6 years ago. My heart was racing with anticipation by the time both our sisters had walked down the aisle and taken their places at the altar. I knew that when those doors at the back opened, I would finally see the woman I was about to marry, and my world was about to change forever in ways I could only begin to understand. Normally I’m not a big cryer, but I teared up before she even opened the door. Happiness, gratitude, relief, pride, excitement, fear, and many other emotions swirled together in a fluttery mess in my chest. Then I saw her. I couldn’t help but smile. My vision blurred a bit as the tears rose in my eyes. The wait was over. We would leave the room as husband and wife. My wife-to-be-in-20-minutes was walking toward me, her eyes never looking away, to promise her life to me. The weight of how crazy and perfect and wonderful that truth was convinced me that I was exactly where I needed to be, and I didn’t care if I looked like a blubbering idiot penguin up there.
Watching Mike, a guy I’d never even met, wait for his bride and finally see her enter…it got to me. It takes me back every time. Next time you’re at a wedding, and the mother of the bride stands up, forget the bride for a second. You’ll be staring at her back for the next half-hour. Watch the groom melt instead.
Observations from a New Momma – the 3.5 month edition
So, Brenden turns 4 months old later this month. He’s been around for almost a third of a year! We’ve headed into the territory of “almost a year ago you found out you were pregnant” and “last Thanksgiving there were no babies around” comments – it’s weird to think about because it seems like he’s always been here. So here are some new observations for you to think about:
* B sticks his bottom lip out as far as humanly possible before crying. The farther out the lip is, the louder the cry will be once he gets it worked up.
* The boy is going to be tall – he’s wearing 6-9 month outfits, but some of them are too short, so he looks like he’s wearing man-pris (boy capris) all the time. I even had to go buy new socks because the old ones are too short for his big feet.
* It’s so fun to watch the rest of our family dote on him. Since I see his cuteness all day everyday, I’m not as tuned in to the novelty of it.
* Since hubs works nights, there are time periods when both Andy and Brenden are sleeping. They look alike when they’re awake, but when they’re sleeping, it’s really freaky.
* He likes to talk. Especially when he thinks no one is paying attention.
* Two things we’re very glad for: He hasn’t developed a fear of other people, and he can sleep anywhere. Hopefully this will stay around!
* Isn’t it amazing that we will go out of our way to act like an idiot to get a baby to smile at us, but we don’t make any effort at all with the adults around us?
* A friend of mine at work, when she returned from maternity leave, made a comment about wanting another one because hers was so grown. He was only about three months and I thought she was crazy. I understand that now!
* Trying to dress a kid that can grasp things is like trying to dress a cat. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it. 🙂
*We’ve started trying to set up a bedtime routine. We read the Very Hungry Caterpillar and sing a few songs before each time he sleeps. I can’t remember the lyrics to anything, so we’ve been singing Christmas carols.
*We’ve renamed the vibrating bouncy seat the “poop chair”. If he sits in it longer that a few minutes, he’s gonna need a new diaper.
That’s it for now! I’ll try to get some new pics up soon – we haven’t taken many lately!
Secret Trip to Granbury
Sorry it’s been so long. I’m on “normal” schedule right now, waking up in the morning and going to bed at night. Strange as it might seem, it’s harder to blog this way because there’s always something else going on.
Anyway, our secret trip was a blast! As many of you already knew, our destination was Granbury, a small town about 1.5 hours southwest of the DFW area. After dropping Brenden off with my parents, we started with a donut breakfast in a park in Irving and then drove to Glen Rose. Since we’d made good time, we took a detour to visit Dinosaur Valley State Park, which has fossilized dinosaur tracks in the riverbed. Some were easy to spot while others were easy to miss if you weren’t looking hard.
Then we hit Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, a drive-through animal park with about 65 species of antelope/deer-type critters, giraffes, emus, ostriches, cheetahs, and rhinos. From our open-air fan we got to feed many of the animals, some by tossing and some by hand. The giraffes and ostriches used their long necks to stick their heads far into the van and all up in your business, so you really had to watch your cup of animal food or they would try to steal it all.
After Fossil Rim we headed to Granbury and hit D’Vine Wine, a great winery that offers both premade wine for sale or tasting (we did both) and the chance to make your own wine in batches of 20-30 bottles. They offered several excellent wines, some of which they enhanced with fruit nectar to create fascinating flavor combinations.
Next we checked into our bed & breakfast, Angel of the Lake near Lake Granbury. Owned by a fun Australian couple, it’s a luxurious and very comfortable B&B on a beautiful property at a reasonable price. Our room, Gabriel’s Room, included blue marble, a jacuzzi tub with separate shower, king-size bed, and free M&Ms. How can you not love a place that gives you free M&Ms? Judy the innkeeper also provided us with a delicious 2-person birthday cake, which we enjoyed with some peach-flavored chardonnay from D’Vine. Breakfast was delicious, which meant I drastically overstuffed myself Thursday morning, but it was all good.
Finally we hit Bluff Dale Vineyards, about 15 miles west of Granbury up on a hill among beautiful scenery. They also had some excellent wines that focused more on the grapes and craft of winemaking rather than trying to add flavors from other fruits. If we were to open a winery someday, we’d want it to be similar to Bluff Dale – very casual and relaxed, with plenty of space for people to hang out, talk, enjoy a meal with friends, and listen to live music sometimes. After Bluff Dale we shopped a bit in the Granbury Town Square before enjoying some excellent barbecue at Chop N Block on the way home. I took lots of pictures and hope to post them soon. I’m now working on my new MacBook, so I want to learn iPhoto and use it to create a gallery for you. Check back soon!