by Rachel | Family Life
The day Zach proposed to me (7/27/07), I chose a wedding date based on my lucky number: 08/08/08. Conveniently, it’s also a very memorable date, which has worked to Zach’s advantage ;) We celebrated our 6th year together this week — a year that has been by far the hardest, but also the best, of our lives.
Our wedding day was, up until June 8, 2013, the very best day of my life. It has since fallen to the #2 spot, but for good reason. It was a beautiful, sparkling, perfect Friday in Springfield, and I was surrounded by my entire family and best friends. We had a beautiful ceremony at Laurel United Methodist Church, followed by the most fun party I’ve ever attended at the Inn at 835.
I actually cried as the last song played at our reception, because I didn’t want the night to end. Everyone, and I mean, everyone, was still on the dance floor at midnight, and the facility basically had to force us out. That’s when you know you’ve thrown a successful party!
We spend the following week on our honeymoon in St. Lucia, and then came back to “real life” as a married couple at our first house on Holmes Avenue. In our six years of marriage, we’ve tackled some big things (home ownership, getting a puppy, owning a business, pregnancy) but nothing could have prepared us for our first year of parenthood.
Raising Parker has brought us together in so many ways, but it has also highlighted our differences and the things we need to work on as a couple. It’s comforting to know that we aren’t the only parents who have gone through this, and I think in the long run our marriage will be stronger because of it.
My mom offered to host Parker’s first sleepover so that Zach and I could go out and celebrate our anniversary. I think they were both pretty excited about it! Parker didn’t even look back as my mom carried him inside and we drove away.
We had dinner reservations at Augie’s Front Burner in downtown Springfield, which is one of my favorite restaurants. We don’t go out to dinner alone very often, so it was really nice to be able to take our time eating and enjoy each others’ company. It was really dark in the restaurant, so the photo didn’t turn out great — but we’ll still add it to our album of anniversary dinners.
After dinner, we went out for a drink downtown and then came home at the very late hour of 10 pm. So I suppose we didn’t take FULL advantage of Parker being away for the night, but what can I say…we’re old! We exchanged anniversary gifts, me going first as usual (because Zach always outdoes me in the gift-giving department).
I gave him a memory box with photos from all of our previous anniversaries and the one I took of Parker commemorating #6. I filled the box with smaller gifts, each wrapped with a note sharing a “wish” for year #7. We’ll see how many of them come true this year :)
For the past 5 anniversaries, Zach has given me a photo book containing all the highlights of the previous year. It is my FAVORITE present and I look forward to it every anniversary. We have so much fun looking through it together and reminiscing, and when we have guests over, they love going through all the books. It will be so wonderful for Parker to have photo books of our lives, dating way back to before he was even a glint in our eyes.
All in all, it was a wonderful anniversary and the start of what has been a great weekend so far! I slept in and woke up to Parker running into my room after Zach had picked him up from my mom’s house. Those two headed to the fair shortly after, so I’ve spent the entire day in my office getting lots of work done. I guess you could call that a bonus anniversary gift!
by Rachel | Family Life
Summer is over halfway over, which makes me very sad. July was off to an exciting start with a quick trip to Denver. We went out to visit my brother Josh and sister-in-law Jeni for the first time since they moved there last summer. I was looking forward to a relaxing, low-key getaway, and that is exactly what we had…starting with the flight out there. We left super early in the morning, which was perfect because Parker slept the entire way! He is such a wonderful little traveler.
On the car ride from the airport to Josh and Jeni’s house, it was Daddy’s turn to sleep. Parker got a kick out of watching him sleep as he drank his bottle. At that point, he was wide awake and ready to hang out with his uncle and aunt.
As much as he enjoyed his time with Josh and Jeni, he really loved hanging out with their big dog Lincoln. Parker was not scared of him in the least, even though Lincoln is a GIANT. A very gentle one, though; he was so good with Parker! He didn’t even seem to mind when Parker pulled his tail, tugged on his whiskers, and laid all over him. They were so cute together.
We had a big family cookout on our first day there, and I think Parker was a little jealous of all the guys playing lawn games while he hung out on the deck with the girls. He did get to go down and run around a little bit later, though :)
The next day was the 4th of July, and we were pretty lazy all day long! Zach met up with a friend to watch the World Cup game, while we hung out at the house and made a trip to the park nearby. We met up with Zach later on for lunch downtown, and Parker stood next to the table dancing to the music the restaurant was playing for most of the meal. He is a dance machine, I tell you. He was cracking me up with this “Mr. Cool” pose.
That night after we put Parker to bed, Zach and I headed to downtown Littleton for a little 4th of July date. We had ice cream and appetizers (yes, in that order…we are such rebels) and then got to see the fireworks before we headed home. We realized it was our first just-the-two-of-us date since February; how crazy is that?
We headed to Coors Field for the Rockies game the next day. Zach got us amazing tickets in the Club section, and we were in the shade for the entire game. Parker did really well sitting through 3+ hours of baseball, and it definitely helped that there were lots of people to take turns holding him on their laps. As long as he is outside and has plenty to look at, he is a pretty chill dude.
We had an awesome time in Denver, and it was a little bit of a bummer to come home — especially since I had to start work the very next day. Zach took Parker to his parents’ house after we got home on Sunday so that I could catch up on laundry, clean the house, and get ready for my students. I was absolutely exhausted by dinner time, but it was an extremely productive day. Parker and I took it pretty easy on Monday until it was time for me to work.
After I was done, we met up with Michelle, Annabelle, and baby Alec for one last dinner before they left. Parker loves his big cousin so much, and I think the feeling is mutual. It will be fun to see their relationship evolve as Parker gets older and can talk back to her.
I made it through my first week back to work, though I felt pretty rusty after taking the entire month of June off. I had a big meeting on Friday that went very well, so we went out to dinner that night to celebrate. We chose Obed & Isaac’s because the weather was so nice and they have a great patio. We didn’t even get seated until 8 (past Parker’s bedtime), but he was a perfect angel throughout dinner.
We ended up going out to eat again the next night, this time at American Harvest with my friend Crystal and her family. On Sunday, Zach dressed Parker up like his little mini-me and the two of them went to The Alamo to watch the World Cup finals. I got to enjoy an afternoon to myself at the pool, which was just awesome. I hadn’t done that since before Parker was born, so I soaked up every last minute.
We don’t have any travel plans or big events happening the rest of the summer, so my plan is to just make the most of the weeks we have left. I refuse to even think about the fall until mid-August!
by Rachel | Family Life
My best friend Katie is having a baby! She lives in New York City, so I was super excited when she said she’d make the trip home for a baby shower. She threw me an amazing shower last spring, and I wanted to return the favor.
Katie and Justin aren’t finding out the baby’s gender, so everything — from the invites, to the decor, to the gifts — was gender neutral. I got the idea for this cute clothesline from Katie, who did one for my shower (with all nautical clothing, of course).
My mom made most of the food, and my mother-in-law Libby pitched in with fruit and dessert. How cute is this watermelon baby buggy?! My mom had seen it on Facebook, and Libby (queen of watermelon around here) brought it to life.
It was so much fun having all of my high school friends together again. It doesn’t happen very often! I’m the only Springfield girl, so I was very happy that the rest of them made the trip home to celebrate baby Massimo. And Katie wasn’t the only one with a baby bump; Jennifer and Anna are also expecting.
I’m definitely the odd man out in this photo…no baby in this girl’s belly! Later that night after the shower, I went out to dinner with my 3 pregnant friends. Needless to say, I was the only one who enjoyed a glass of wine with my food ;)
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker has always been a charmer, but based on his birthday party, I think it’s safe to say that he specializes in small groups rather than large crowds. As more and more people arrived and showered attention on him, it was clear that the birthday boy was feeling more than a little bashful. But the straw would break the camel’s back a little bit later.
We went all out with the nautical theme to match his nursery and new playroom (more on that coming soon!). So naturally Parker dressed the part in a sailor suit as the guests arrived. But before long, he made his first wardrobe change into swim attire so that he could join all his friends in the pool.
My mom and stepdad went above and beyond by not only hosting the party — which included opening up their pool to a gaggle of babies and toddlers! — but also preparing almost all the food. The spread was pretty fantastic. My mother-in-law contributed with fruit and desserts, and my mom’s friend Terri created the awesome cookies. I’m not much of a chef, so I stuck to decorating and making sure everyone was having a good time.
Parker made the rounds throughout the party, but spent the majority of it chilling in the pool with his buddies. He loves his friends! It was so cute watching them interact in the water. Parker looks like such a little peanut next to them (though to be fair, he is the youngest by several months).
The weather was beautiful…a perfect day for a pool party. It was fun watching everyone splash around and have a good time. That is by far the most people ever to swim in that pool at once.
After we filled up on hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, and lots of other yummy food, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday”. Parker wasn’t thrilled about sitting in his high chair, and it only went downhill from there. He burst into tears as soon as everyone started singing to him, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with his smash cake.
I smiled for this photo, but inside my heart was breaking for my overstimulated, overwhelmed, overtired little buddy. I rescued him from the hot seat a few moments later, but not before Zach dangled him over his cake. I’m sure you can guess how I felt about that!
At that point, the 30+ person crowd began to thin out and Parker had a chance to chill out. He opened a couple gifts, including a pair of Air Jordans from his friends Augie and Charlie. Pretty fancy!
He also got his very own personalized soccer jersey, which of course Zach put on him immediately. One of my mom’s gifts to Parker was an engraved Louisville Slugger bat with his name and the Cubs logo. I think Daddy was much more excited about it than Parker :) Parker’s cousin Mason helped him open the rest of his gifts.
I’m so grateful first and foremost to my parents for hosting and doing all the hard work involved with throwing the party. The rest of the grandparents (especially my mother-in-law) helped out and made it such a special event. So many of our friends and family traveled to Springfield to help Parker celebrate; we are super thankful for the great company and of course, all the awesome gifts Parker received!
After the party was over, we loaded everything up and took our exhausted one-year-old (!) home to get ready for bed. Needless to say, he slept VERY well that night. We all did, actually. It was a wonderful day, but I’m glad first birthday bashes only happen once.
by Rachel | Family Life
Nevermind that I’m turning 31 today; the real celebration will be on Sunday when Parker turns ONE. And so begins a lifetime of overshadowed birthdays (as it should be; I’ve had my time in the sun).
This week is very bittersweet to me. I’ve been feeling nostalgic, thinking back to this time last year when I was getting ready to have Parker. It does NOT seem like 12 months have passed since then! As quickly as this year has flown by, I remember every moment of it so vividly. It helps that I’ve taken hundreds of thousands of photos and blogged semi-regularly along the way.
I have a fun little video to share this weekend involving the weekly photos we’ve been taking of Parker. It’s just incredible to look back at pictures of him as a tiny newborn, and then watch him run around the house, showing off new skills just about every day. I’m so proud of the sweet, smart little boy my baby is becoming.
So far, our birthday week together has been pretty wonderful. Monday was my last day of work until July, which in itself was worth celebrating! It’s so nice to have a break. On Tuesday, I went birthday shopping while my mother-in-law watched Parker, and then yesterday we hung out at home and I got some work done on the new playroom (our big birthday present to Parker!).
I’m kicking off my 31st year today with lunch and shopping, meeting up with one of my college friends who is in town for the weekend, and then dinner with my family. More fun is to come tomorrow, when we head to Chicago for a Cubs game with the president of AAA. He wanted to treat Parker to his first game, and Zach (being quite the devoted Cubs fan) is more than a little excited.
Sunday is the BIG day, though, and I am getting super excited. Between the playroom reveal and a big birthday bash, Parker is going to be quite the lucky little one-year-old. Photos and blog posts to come!
