whirlwind wedding weekend

This Memorial Day weekend we MooHoos packed the Jeep Libby to the brim and hit the road for Saratoga Springs. Our raison d'etre for subjecting ourselves to a 14 hour round-trip car ride with a 9-week old? Why, Jaymelia's wedding extravaganza, of course!

Jay and Amelia are forever friends, and were wed at the beautiful National Museum of Dance in an outdoor ceremony on a typically muggy upstate New York afternoon. Mike and Jay have known each other since grade school, and we both met Amelia when Jay somehow tricked her into falling for him while we were in college. They share a love for Michael Jackson and totally get each other. It was no surprise that they decided to tie the knot, it was just a matter of when! We were so excited to celebrate their love this weekend with so many of our friends and their proud families. Don't they just look beside themselves with happiness? *Sigh,* I lovelovelove weddings.


Our weekend began with the wedding rehearsal followed by the rehearsal dinner at the Saratoga City Tavern. This weekend was the first time Natalie met all of these would-be aunties and uncles, which meant she got passed around an awful lot. Lucky for us, she was a good sport about the whole thing. Really, I can't complain one bit about travelling with Miss Natalie this weekend--she slept for 95% of her time in the car, and was entirely good natured about being handed from person to person like a doll throughout the weekend.


Not only was it the first time our friends met the little Grumpus, but it was of course their first time seeing me and the Moo as parents. There were a lot of, "Mike Cherry has a baby?!" comments jokingly tossed around as Mikey changed diapers and coochie-cooed at his baby girl. It was truly heart-melting for me to see Mike surrounded by all of his best friends, oohing and ahhing over the budgie in the middle of their typical Fantasy Baseball analyses.

There were some stark differences in comfort for our friends as they held Natifuss. The picture of Dave above is so funny to me and Mike because it's clear that he is super relaxed holding a baby. 19 months of practice with baby Luke and now baby Abby have paid off in making Dave a great dad and uncle. He was an expert silly-face-maker and tickler with Natalie, making him a hit to have around as we drove to and from the rehearsal dinner.

We've been waiting and waiting to introduce Natalie to her uncle Harper--finally they got the chance to hang out! It truly warms my heart to see them together, and I can't wait for them to get to know each other in the years to come.

On Saturday before the wedding we hit the road to head down towards Albany for a visit with the Gebbies! It was Dan-man's 2nd birthday, which he chose to spend in nothing but a diaper while he opened presents, ate cake, and pretty much entertained all of the adults in the room.

Daniel is expecting a little brother in just a few days, and it was such a treat to get to spend time with his mama and our dear friend Sara before life in the Gebbie household becomes twice as much fun and twice as crazy!

Daniel got to try out big-brotherhood for a couple of hours while miss Natalie was visiting. He was so cute with her, trying to figure out how to touch her gently. He (like most of us) was most intrigued by her ginormous cheeks, which he spent time stroking and lifting. It was probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen!! He also gave her a very sweet hug and a vigorous fist bump. If his time with the budgie is any indication, he will be a very loving and helpful big brother!

It was awfully special to get to spend Daniel's birthday with him--what a happy coincidence that Jay and Amelia's wedding was on his birthday weekend! This look on his face as he checks out his cake is priceless, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing it in person for all the world. It was hilarious to watch him trying to puff out his candles, and then become nervous when they finally blew out and smoke went everywhere. I kept trying to imagine that someday Natalie will be that big, learning new words and becoming even more curious about the world around her. It's crazy how quickly it feels like Daniel has grown, and I'm sure I'll be feeling the same way about our little grumpus as she gets older.

After visiting at the Gebbies, we headed back to Saratoga to get ready for the wedding. Mike spent a couple of hours with the other groomsmen, cheesing it up for the camera and spending time with Jay in his last hours as a single man. I had the daunting task of getting both myself and Natalie ready for the wedding, which was a bit more difficult than I had prepared for. I was pretty frantic, running back and forth between my curling iron and Natalie's playmat, alternating getting my clothes on and trying to coax her into her dress and shoes. I'd say the effort paid off, though, as our living doll looked just about as cute as she ever has all dressed up for the nuptials!

We all clean up pretty nice, eh? We had such a wonderful time at the wedding (where I took over a hundred pictures--I'll post a few more from the big event in a day or two), which is certainly attributable to the care that Jay and Amelia put into planning the day, and the joy we felt at seeing the two of them so in love.

Natalie wasn't the only little one at the wedding--Dave and Erin had their two adorable munchkins there as well. Abby is just a few weeks younger than Natalie, and Luke is her 19 month old big brother. We tried and tried to get a picture of all three of them in focus, looking at the camera, but a toddler who loves to dance is untameable--Luke is just a blur in all of the photos! He was sooo cute to watch at the wedding, where he got to run around on the lawn and break it down on the dance floor. I can't wait for these three to spend more time together as they grow up!

And of course no trip to upstate New York would be complete without some time with Mike's parents! His mom and stepdad spent the day with us on Sunday, and then we stayed the night with his dad and stepmom so all the grandparents could get some quality time in with our fussy face. I just love this picture of Natalie's Gma and Gpa McCormack, so happy to see our babe after so many weeks.

Even better? The visit with the grandparents included the first-time-ever meeting of Natalie and her cousin Carly! These two were born just 27 days apart, and I'm sure they are going to be the best of pals as they grow up together. Marissa and TJ are so in love with their little girl, and were able to answer lots of our questions about what fun things we have to look forward to in the next few weeks as Natalie reaches the 3-month mark. For some unbelievably cute videos and pictures of little miss Carly, check out Marissa's blog. Carly is all eyes and arms--she has these huge eyes that take in everything in the room, and her arms are sooo long, which is perfect because she's at an age where she wants to reach for and grab everything.

Natalie and Carly spent a lot of time alternating crying spells, which was funny to us and probably torture to everyone else at the breakfast buffet where they met. They both managed to enjoy some quiet playtime together at Gma and Gpa's, where they were both mesmerized by the lights and sounds on this activity center. It was oh so sweet to see them together, and even sweeter when they started reaching out and touching each other--they were rubbing and scratching each other's heads! Natalie got a little too rough, though--our gentle giant doesn't know her own strength--and gave Carly a good whack in the head during one of her attempts to flail at the hanging toys above her. Luckily, Carly's a tough cookie and was able to take it in stride.

Natalie also got to meet her Aunt Bri for the first time, and looked quite at home in her arms. Bri has definitely had some practice at snuggling a baby since Carly arrived, and she was a pro holding Natalie.

Mike's aunt Dena also stopped by for a visit and a cuddle with Natalie, and our girl managed to stay happy and content as we yet again passed her around. She was so funny giving her usual grumpy looks at the camera while her great aunt Dunu held her.

We joined the Cherry/Praus contingent for a backyard BBQ on Sunday afternoon, where Natalie promptly spit up all over her aunt Becky. Luckily, she's not the first grandchild on that side so nobody was too fazed by a little baby upchuck.

The long weekend of travelling, late nights, and lots of new faces and places finally seemed to catch up with Natalie on Sunday evening, and she gave in to her fussiness a bit. Here she is getting a little comfort from her Grandpa, who took her all around the yard to show her some beautiful flowers planted by her Grandma Cherry.

In all, it was a fantastic weekend with family and friends, and I was sad to see it end. It was, I'll admit, nice to get back to our own bed and it will feel good to finally have Natalie back in some semblance of a normal routine. I'll have more photos up from our whirlwind weekend as soon as the Fussifuss lets me take the time to do so!