And so it begins...
About a month ago, we packed up the kids and headed down to Louisville for a second cousin's wedding. This was our first wedding to which the kids were invited, and we knew they were old enough to enjoy it. Boy, were we right!
I'll spare everyone from futile attempts to relate the emotional impact of holding my not-quite-two-year-old daughter while another father gave away his own little girl. This post is about the kids. Suffice it to say that the wedding was quite lovely and the reception featured a pizza delivery by Papa John, the founder of Papa John's Pizza!
Josh had no interest in the wedding ceremony itself, and refused to tuck in his shirt, but he was otherwise a good sport. Jenn was singing (as the wedding singer), so Josh amused himself the whole time by playing Memory on my iPod Touch while I handled Fi.
Fi was also quite good, amusing herself at first by checking out the decorations and looking at the people, and then by shifting back and forth between the two empty seats available, since we were saving Jenn's seat. However, just as the final attendants started up the aisle, Fi started to get squirrely. So, picking her up, I pointed out the bridesmaid and groomsman, but she had absolutely no interest. The bride appeared int he back, the music changed appropriately--and Fi was moments away from a meltdown.
Desperate to calm her down, I pointed toward the bride and said, "Look, Fi--it's the bride." Fi only squirmed in my arms, taking a breath that I knew would end in a cry of displeasure. Without any other recourse, I continued my description of the events. "Here she comes, Fi. Doesn't she look like a princess?"
Instantly, Fi was still in my arms. The face of my child, usually turned up in a smile or twisted with a cry, became the model of awed sobriety. "Tin-tess..." she murmured in wonderment as the bride glided by. Although she had never shown any interest in princesses before, she was silent with attention--her eyes fixed on the "princess"--through the rest of the ceremony.
As Jenn was not with us during the ceremony, she was unaware of Fi's new-found admiration when she was carrying Fi around during the reception. Spotting the bride, Jenn asked Fi, "Would you like to meet the princess?" Fi's response retained all of her earlier solemn fascination. "Yeah... Tin-tess..." After a bashful introduction to the bride, Fi was unrestrained when recounting the meeting. "Mommy! Mommy! Tin-tess! I taw tin-tess!"
The four of us ate heartily, and the kids got extra helpings of cake. They were so full that, when Papa John arrived, neither of them wanted anything to do with the pizza. Then, there was dancing. Normally a dancing queen, Fi was slow to start, but eventually hit her groove. Josh was simply a wild man, jumping and diving and running and repeatedly getting thrown in the air by yours truly. Eventually, Josh collapsed in a corner for a while to recharge, and one of the servers covered him with a tablecloth.
However, the whole time, Fi kept a watchful eye on the crowd. Everytime the bride came into sight, she would raise the excited cry, "Tin-tess! Tin-tess!"
She has been all about princesses every since.
I'll spare everyone from futile attempts to relate the emotional impact of holding my not-quite-two-year-old daughter while another father gave away his own little girl. This post is about the kids. Suffice it to say that the wedding was quite lovely and the reception featured a pizza delivery by Papa John, the founder of Papa John's Pizza!
Josh had no interest in the wedding ceremony itself, and refused to tuck in his shirt, but he was otherwise a good sport. Jenn was singing (as the wedding singer), so Josh amused himself the whole time by playing Memory on my iPod Touch while I handled Fi.
Fi was also quite good, amusing herself at first by checking out the decorations and looking at the people, and then by shifting back and forth between the two empty seats available, since we were saving Jenn's seat. However, just as the final attendants started up the aisle, Fi started to get squirrely. So, picking her up, I pointed out the bridesmaid and groomsman, but she had absolutely no interest. The bride appeared int he back, the music changed appropriately--and Fi was moments away from a meltdown.
Desperate to calm her down, I pointed toward the bride and said, "Look, Fi--it's the bride." Fi only squirmed in my arms, taking a breath that I knew would end in a cry of displeasure. Without any other recourse, I continued my description of the events. "Here she comes, Fi. Doesn't she look like a princess?"
Instantly, Fi was still in my arms. The face of my child, usually turned up in a smile or twisted with a cry, became the model of awed sobriety. "Tin-tess..." she murmured in wonderment as the bride glided by. Although she had never shown any interest in princesses before, she was silent with attention--her eyes fixed on the "princess"--through the rest of the ceremony.
As Jenn was not with us during the ceremony, she was unaware of Fi's new-found admiration when she was carrying Fi around during the reception. Spotting the bride, Jenn asked Fi, "Would you like to meet the princess?" Fi's response retained all of her earlier solemn fascination. "Yeah... Tin-tess..." After a bashful introduction to the bride, Fi was unrestrained when recounting the meeting. "Mommy! Mommy! Tin-tess! I taw tin-tess!"
The four of us ate heartily, and the kids got extra helpings of cake. They were so full that, when Papa John arrived, neither of them wanted anything to do with the pizza. Then, there was dancing. Normally a dancing queen, Fi was slow to start, but eventually hit her groove. Josh was simply a wild man, jumping and diving and running and repeatedly getting thrown in the air by yours truly. Eventually, Josh collapsed in a corner for a while to recharge, and one of the servers covered him with a tablecloth.
However, the whole time, Fi kept a watchful eye on the crowd. Everytime the bride came into sight, she would raise the excited cry, "Tin-tess! Tin-tess!"
She has been all about princesses every since.