28.04.09
Baby Sisters, Marriage and Family
Last week we set off on a big trip… Micah’s first trip to Parkes (of many) and a fairly significant trip for us. My little sister was getting married, and I was getting a new brother.
The trip there was uneventful. It took us 6 hours (as opposed to the normal 4 1/2) due to two stops for feeds and nappy changes. And Micah slept the whole way. We decided to leave 5 days before the wedding, to help out with the set up… and give Micah time to settle into a strange new environment.
My parents gave us the B&B to stay in, which was lovely. Plus it meant they could sleep through the nightime feeds. Micah refused to sleep in the porta-cot, and after the first night in our bed, he slept in his pram for the rest of the trip.
We used the first two days to settle in and get into the flow. Then on Wednesday things started happening. Mum and I spent most of the day at a beauty salon where we had manicures and pedicures and facials – my birthday present. The chick couldn’t believe I had never had these things professionally done before. The manicure was ok.. but pretty much what I could have done at home. The facial was absolute heaven- refreshing creams and scrubs and – best of all – hot towels. I am definately doing that again! The pedicure was cool too – my toes had never looked nicer. While I was being pampered Micah drank out of a bottle for the first time, milk I had expressed earlier. It was good to know he was happy to do this: a promise of nights out to come!
That night my aunt and cousins arrived and plans of marquee settings up were in motion.
The next two days were full on. My parents were hosting the wedding in their backyard (note they have 5 acres of backyard to play with!) and had pretty much organised the entire thing. Mum had a list of things for each day that week. There was a marquee and several gazebos to set up, chairs and tables to set out and dress, metres and metres of material to arrange, pot plants to move…. Mum and Dad were a blur and the rest of us just tried to be as helpful as we could. Micah lived in his sling and was incredibly good considering the flurry of activity around him.
The day came and I got spoilt again when Mum sent me to get my hair done. Getting your hair done is fun. Once you’ve got all your formals and wedding out of the way – there’s not many occasions where getting your hair done is appropriate. So it was way cool. I wandered in and out of the house where the bridal party were getting ready in various stages of readiness. But finally I was in my awesome new dress and watching my baby sister walk down the aisle.
I had trouble concentrating during the ceremony. Between trying not to poke H in the eye with my parasol (unsuccessfully!), making sure Micah was out of the sun, and making sure the bridal party were looked after… I hardly heard a word. I read a Bible passage and Haoran prayed, and suddenly the service was over and my sister was married.
Micah was incredibly good.. only getting vaguely whiney towards the end. We hadn’t had time to buy him a special outfit for the occasion (one we’d be happy with him spitting up on at least) so I dressed him in all white, and Mum made him a little black bow for a bow tie.
I guess this is what I can expect in life as a mum.. but I was distracted during the rest of the day too. I’m not sure I had any complete conversations until later when Micah had passed out. I had expressed feeds for that day so I didn’t have to get out of my dress.. so that made things a little easier. Although later on I had to give in or risk exploding.
The afternoon tea was lovely – gluten free cakes in the shade of the gazebo – with a gorgeous view of the sun setting. It was with that background that the bridal party returned from the photoshoot and entered another one with the family.
It was fun having all the family there. My immediate family are the only ones who made the move out to Parkes… so having the rest there was a bit of a novelty. Plus as we get older and are more involved in our own lives.. we don’t make a huge amount of time to get together anymore. So it was kind of cool to catch up and just see everyone together again.
Micah met alot of the family that week. His ‘Pop’ (my dad), three great grandparents, uncle and aunt cousins (what Micah will call my cousins) great aunts and uncles.. and even a great great uncle! It’s pretty amazing that Micah has 5 living great grandparents.
Being away with Micah wasn’t as intense as I thought it should be at some points… and was at others. For example, the trip on the way home took 8 hours. That’s right… twice as long as it should. All I can say is never underestimate the traffic coming down the mountains on a Sunday afternoon. You will end up in a traffic jam with a screaming baby in the back… having to turn off into a side street and change that same baby’s pooey nappy on your lap in the front seat because it’s raining outside (in case you’re wondering… extremely difficult). In the end, however, it gave H the opportunity to find some clever back streets and get us the heck out of there.
Apart from all that… all in all, a successful week. One sister married.. that was the plan.
