Three weeks after we had Eliza, Joe and Stephanie tied the knot. Since the wedding was a few hours away from home in Logan, Utah, all of us went up the night before and stayed in a hotel. I am not kidding when I say babies are serious work. Charly's sister, Julianne, and her husband, Kevin, just had their 10th(!!) child and 1 month later made it to the family campout in the Sawtooths and I have NO IDEA how. Having a chance to see all of Charly's family at the wedding just after we had a baby was a really special time, but we were also like "good thing she came a week early or else we wouldn't have made it." 6 months and a few doctors visits later I know that that the healing process of childbirth was not so kind to me as it is for others, and that was probably the most difficult part of the trip.
At the same time, Charly and I were both just so totally, totally, blissed out that entire six weeks of newborness that Eliza grew out of way too quickly, and I am so glad we made it to the wedding despite the circumstances. I will always cherish those memories of Charly and I becoming the greatest team in history to do simple tasks like change diapers on church floors and eat many, many, plates of wedding food.
Also, Steph(the bride) made all her nieces matching skirts, and Eliza's skirt that she was measured and fitted for at 1 week old is one of my most cherished clothing items! So sweet and cute!
Some time after the wedding we also went and hiked the Cress Creek trail with Eliza...
It was a fun mini adventure. In between my first and second surgery we also took Eliza to the movie theaters for the first time. We got online and looked at the reserved seating chart and picked a movie with only like, 7 other people- 4 of which were another couple with 2 kids. Eliza was a champ! We rocked her to sleep, nursed her, and didn't drop any of her toys on the nasty floor which, aside from a screaming baby, was my main concern haha. Afterwards we grabbed some mexican food and went for a bike ride. I also took this photo of her chubby cheek goodness around that time:
She changed so much from how she was before I had surgery- the baby mullet you can kind of see in the photos below is hardly there anymore! I don't know if I'm happy or sad about that...
I also can't believe we have baby that rolls and crawls like it ain't no thing. Gone are the times when you could step into the kitchen and not worry about your baby, who you left on the other side of the living room, following your footsteps. Eliza doesn't quite understand that linoleum is harder than carpet, either. So she inevitably wiggles into the kitchen, cranes her head up to look at me, and then lets its plop down onto the floor. Oh, the horror, that comes after that dreadful clunk! While I don't encourage the experience, I do secretly like walking over to her and swooping her up off the floor and into my arms. Then, if she's really upset, we walk over to the front door and step outside in to the fresh air and it always, instantly, soothes her baby woes...
..and the whole process makes me feel like a hero.
Motherhood is just really, really, great.
