This weekend, we hauled it to South Bend, Indiana for my Godfather’s son’s wedding. The ceremony was at the Basilica on Notre Dame’s campus. My goal was to get a family shot right next to Touchdown Jesus, but because of driving and time restrictions, said goal (and much of the touring I had hoped to do) was not realized. Speaking of Jesus, though, Brady has continued to greet our painting of The Last Supper each time we’re in the dining room and he now attempts to say his own variation of Jesus: “Eez-us.” Also on Brady’s rapidly expanding vocabulary list: ball (bah); doggie (dah-ga); Pap-Pap (this one is pretty clear, lucky for all you Pap-Paps in his life!); Grandma (Mam-maw); Elmo (Em-mow); blue (boo); Brady (Bay-dee). He’s also starting to blow kisses, play Peek-a-Boo (one hand covers one eye and he thinks he’s invisible--adorable!), and most recently, he has learned to bark like a dog. He does this any time he hears one of our dogs, one of the neighbor dogs, or a dog on TV bark. In fact, that’s how he wakes up some mornings: barking along with Bella!
Back to the wedding, the ceremony was breathtaking, as was to be expected in that particular venue, and although I tried my best to capture its sheer beauty, pictures just don’t do it justice. The ornate detail in every corner, on every stained-glass window, and in every pillar was phenomenal. I feel pretty blessed that I can say I received Communion in that amazing chapel.
The reception matched the ceremony’s grandeur pound for pound, prosciutto-wrapped-melon for prosciutto-wrapped-melon. There were at least 15 different waiters/waitresses balancing trays of hors d’oeuvres and cocktail napkins at the beginning of the reception, and during the sit-down dinner, each waiter served one or two tables. The service was better than any restaurant I've ever eaten! To complement the amazing food, the top-shelf liquor was flowing freely. The centerpieces were enormous (so much so that we couldn’t see one another across the table!), the décor was elegant, and the live band was awesome. It was a pretty amazing event!
But my favorite part of the weekend was watching with amusement as, yet again, my Polish husband felt the need to assume an Italian identity. I don’t know if it’s coincidence or he secretly wishes to be part of the mafia, but every time we’re with my Godfather and/or my dad’s friends, Zach takes on a stereotypical Brooklyn-Italian accent and uses his hands to talk so much that no one within arm's length is safe. I don’t know where his preoccupation for ethnicity comes from, but maybe it was because he was surrounded by Fabrizios, Bartolos, and DelGrassis and wanted to fit in! Or it could stem from the first time Zach met my Godfather; he received a fair warning that if he wasn’t good to me, he’d find a horse head in his bed…
In our limited down time, the guys fit in a round of golf and my mom and I accompanied Brady to the pool. He’s getting more and more comfortable in the water; the other day in the tub, curiosity got the best of him and he leaned down to put his face in his bath water. I watched to see what his reaction would be and aside from the big surprise that his face was wet, he wasn’t all that impressed. Even though his water endeavors have been successful thus far, I didn’t want to push it in the pool. Apparently, Brady had other plans. He normally sits on the side of the pool, kicking the water with his fat little feet, and then crawls away when he’s had enough. Only this time, he chose to lean forward in an effort to once again submerge his face, oblivious to a little thing called gravity, and he free-fell into the water. I caught him of course and he shrieked with delight! We did this until it lost its appeal (about 3,500 times), and I had visions of what next summer will be like when he'll want to jump in!
As extraordinary as the Notre Dame wedding was, it didn’t even compare to my brother-from-another-mother and my sis-from-another-miss’s special day. Congratulations to Derek and Kim! They officially tied the knot on Saturday, August 7th, in an outdoor ceremony and everything—even the weather—was absolutely beautiful. They personalized every aspect of their day, too! An amazing “seating chart” replaced name cards; it was a huge poster of their engagement pic set as a watermark and guests were listed alphabetically to find their table. Rather than use traditional numbers, Derek and Kim got creative and adorned each table top with the name, a picture, and a brief lyric from their favorite bands and musicians. Those of us at the head table were the Van Morrison group and had the pleasure of a few lines from the bride and groom’s song, “Crazy Love.” My favorite part had to be the ingenious guest book, though: rather than sign a white frilly book with some fancy pen, Derek and Kim opted for a copy of Rolling Stone’s Greatest Albums. Each guest signed on their favorite artist/album’s page. While I would have preferred to add my John Hancock to the Michael Jackson Thriller page, the Jankowskis proved a united front (AKA: Zach’s incessant pleading wore me down) and we shared our best wishes on The Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street. Zach’s argument for the Stones page was pretty solid, though: Brady does rock out every time he hears Mick and his big lips. An impromptu live performance by Uncle Derek’s band, Big with Seed, brought a more than fabulous day to a fitting end. I know Brady would have jammed to those tunes, too, if he hadn’t already been fast asleep at home with Grammy and Pappy.
Remember how I was so excited to share pictures of Brady in a tux? Well, I made the biggest Mommy faux pas of all time: he was all dressed up and looking cute from head to toe in his tux AND shoes (that we wrestled on him) and do you think I took one picture? No, I did not. Why? BECAUSE I FORGOT MY CAMERA. Because Zach and I were also in the wedding, we were lookin’ snazzy for a change, and I don’t even have any photos of us, let alone the 3 of us. I am so upset! I think that’s cause for Child Services to revoke my parenting permit, but at least a few friends were kind enough to share their pictures with us. I can’t figure out how to get them off my Facebook page and onto this blog, though, so it really doesn’t help anyone who’s reading now. Just call me Mommy of the Year…
I did, however, take several pictures of our days at the park. Brady’s new favorite thing in life (have you noticed how often his “favorites” change?!) is swinging. He loves the swing Aunt Lisa and Uncle Andrew got him for his birthday AND the one at Gram and Pap’s place, so we figured he’d really enjoy the park. We figured right. While he’s not that interested in the sliding boards (note the picture below), he would happily swing all day!
Kunkle Park, our favorite for the boy, also has these mazes and toys with moving sand and cars; Brady (and Daddy) really get a kick out of them!
I can’t believe it’s almost “that time of the year again:” the first day of school. We plan to pack as much as we possibly can into the remaining days of summer, even if it includes cleaning out a spare bedroom that has become overrun with all things Brady. Somehow or another, his stuff has overflowed into every room of our house. At any rate, whether we're cleaning or playing, I’ve learned my lesson about “Parental Photography:” I will have my camera on me at all times from here on out! In fact, I have recently implored my family for a camera upgrade for my 30th birthday! My gracious husband, who, a few weeks ago, asked me if he should plan a surprise party for me, assured me that he made a “mental note” of my birthday request. :-)
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