family wedding in PA
this past weekend we were in PA for a family wedding. we had four profile showings in a two week period in january. as we were nearing the date of the wedding, i was praying that things would quiet down on the profile showing front until after we returned home on sunday, february 4. and wouldn't you know, god answered! after four profile showings in two weeks, we went two weeks with NO profile showings. so we were able to travel to PA and enjoy seeing david's extended family and celebrate the marriage of david's cousin to his beautiful bride. i'm so thankful!
i anticipated that travel with bina would be easier this time around since she now sits and watches shows for two hours while she wears her beloved eye sticker. she would watch all day if she could, so we limit it to just eye sticker time now. bina did great on the flights and i even got the chance to read for a bit on the way out to PA. i never thought i would do that again. ha. it does get easier! easier in some ways, harder in others. always changing.
i spent so much time trying to decide what bina and i would wear for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. i changed my mind several times. then two days before we left we finally got around to looking at david's wardrobe and realized he was the one in trouble! a quick trip to the mall for a new belt happened the night before we left. glad i was so concerned about me and bina and our endless options that i ended up neglecting the one person who needed some wardrobe help. we figured it out though. everyone was dressed for the occasions, not over or under dressed. success.
one thing i was deliberating was how nursing friendly i should dress. bina either nurses a bunch during the day or not at all now. i had a hunch that she would be nursing more this trip since she can get overwhelmed in crowds of people and lots of activity. luckily i chose the most nursing friendly of the outfit options i was considering because she nursed like a friggin' newborn the whole time. which, is good for my milk supply! thanks, bina! i told myself i was going to start pumping again when we got back. hasn't happened yet. i just do not like pumping. bina kept up her frequent nursing yesterday so that worked out okay. but today, not so much. baby steps, brittain. just pull out that pump once today. i GET to pump, ya'll. i have boobs that produce milk, over 2.5 years out now. yeah. nope. not helping to motivate me. we'll see how this goes.
bina was a hoot during the wedding festivities. on the day of the wedding we rode on a charter bus from the hotel to the venue. bina LOVES busses. so of course that was a highlight.
the ceremony was beautiful. seating was arranged in a circle around the platform where the bridal party stood. we were on the side opposite the exit. so. kind of difficult to sneak out for an unruly toddler. which, is what i have. thankfully she was obsessed with her little cousin who is just three months older than her so he caught her attention and kept her happy for the most part. he was also the ring bearer so when she saw him and the rest of the bridal party parade down the aisle, of course she thought she should be part of it too. i watched her creep out to the aisle from our seats, and then start walking down towards the platform. i thought she would come back to her anchor, mama. but no. i ended up having to go fetch her and take her back to our seat, her protesting in her two year old way. thank god for the boob. the best toddler silencer. next she wanted to go sit by her little cousin. so we snuck around back over to where he was. then he had to go pee so we took a group trip to the bathroom. we caught most of the ceremony but missed the kiss. toddlers, man.
the best part of all this is that bina actually wanted to get on the potty when she realized her cousin did this. and the venue had paw patrol potty seats in each of the stalls in the women's bathroom. it was like. heaven. at least for bina. so she wanted her diaper off and to sit on the potty seat. which we did. and she kept touching the toilet seat under the potty seat because of course. but i was so proud! she's been so resistant to the potty. now that we're back home we haven't been on the potty since. but i'm going to get one of those paw patrol potty seats and see if we can get this thing going. remember your cousin, bina! he poops in the potty! you can too! things i never thought i'd hear myself say. motherhood.
after the ceremony, bina took it upon herself to be the flower petal cleanup crew. she picked up each of the white rose petals from the aisle, smashed them into her little hand, and handed them to daddy. again and again and again. the bride's family started taking pictures of her doing this so i figured it was okay. i definitely thought during the ceremony that i understand why people don't want kids at weddings. they're noisy and disruptive. but then i also thought: that's life, isn't it? and gosh do they make for some funny stories after.
at the reception hall bina took off happily running laps around the room. i'm used to her antics and i'm rather hands off with this stuff. as long as she's not screaming or crying, let her be. she's sleep deprived and off her normal routine. i was just hoping everyone else felt the same way. but in a room full of 250 people that's bound not to be the case, ha. david was a bit stressed by our rambunctious toddler and would prefer that she not blast off in a tornado of happy noise across the room.
before the dancing started, the toasts were given and the groom finished them off with a thank you to all the guests. as he was giving the thank you speech, our little booger decided to climb up the steps next to where he was standing that lead up to the stage. then she turned and faced everyone and lifted up her dress to expose her bare little belly and "nuh nuhs" (nipples). i covered my eyes. oh bina. david's cousin, the groom, acknowledged her by cutely saying "that's my cousin." she was whisked off the stage by another cousin and handed to me, at which time she began an epic angry tantrum. and i was trapped in by tables. so. that was a bit unfortunate. then the dancing started and we pulled out paw patrol and all was right in the world again.
it was so good to see david's extended family. we saw many of them back over labor day in september while we were in boston for our little family vacation. they're always so kind and hospitable, easy to talk to. when we arrived at the hotel on friday, we got there just as david's uncle and aunt from connecticut arrived. we ended up going to chocolate world with them that afternoon and enjoying a little tour and the chance to make our own chocolate bars. they were so kind to be considerate of bina and what would be most fun for her that afternoon. it was a fun way to start the trip!
bina's most favorite part of the hotel room was the phone. something we don't have at home. she laid on the bed like a 16 year old girl blabbing away to no one, then would hang up the phone and pick it back up again and resume blabbing. it was adorable. i love this kid.
on sunday we took a trip to bass pro before heading to the airport. we wanted to go someplace where bina could have fun exploring. she loved hopping on the atvs at weingarts here in michigan, so we figured bass pro would be a hit. and it was. she tried out all the atvs like goldilocks and the three bears. she climbed up on a little boat display and commandeered the vessel. typical bina. notice, she insisted on wearing the necklace i wore with my outfit to the rehearsal dinner. my little diva.
bina fell asleep in the car on the 10 minute drive from bass pro to the airport. the kid who hasn't napped in months. that tells you how exhausted she was. and she didn't wake when i got her out of the car and carried her into the airport. or when i stuck her in the stroller. or when i took her back out to go through security. or when i stuck her back in after that. she started at one point and i picked her up and held her. she was disoriented and fussy so i put her on the boob and she went back to sleep. that just never happens anymore during the day so i decided to cherish the moment. she got close to two hours of sleep i think. i was so thankful because our flight was delayed and we ended up not getting home until 9pm. that nap gave her enough rest not to be a total disaster flying at bedtime. praise god.
and now we're back home and back to the adoption journey waiting game. on monday we were asked about a potential profile showing outside our preferences, which we decided to decline. i thought it was interesting that we went two weeks without any peep on that front, and the day after we get back it started up again. thanks, jesus, for protecting our hearts with that little reprieve so we could celebrate with david's cousin and his bride and enjoy time with family!
