ramblings of an insomniac

i've been awake for over an hour. it's senseless, really. i should be sleeping soundly, but not, i've been tossing and turning. so i decided to grab the laptop and spare hubby the earthquake that is my restlessness. he had a long, busy day yesterday. he had to dress up for a meeting at work, and then we went to a wedding last night. so he spent almost 12 hours dressed up. no, wait, almost 14 hours. i didn't complain when he took off his tie and sport coat for the reception. nope, not one bit. he looks great without being all formal.

we decided to see how baby bear would handle a wedding. considering she did not have an afternoon nap (she awoke late yesterday morning, which resulted in a later morning nap, which ultimately resulted in no afternoon nap), she behaved fabulously. however, hubby ended up spending all but the opening prayer and closing prayer of the ceremony with her outide in front of the church. she loved climbing up and down the concrete steps. the bride gave her a tulip from her bouquet which disappeared at some point.

my friend's mom is married. she is one of those women you can't help but admire. she is full of life and joy. her life has not always been easy, but she has 4 grown children who love her and now she has someone with whom to share the rest of her life. her groom is younger than he looks at first glance. as he breathed a deep sigh of relief when the ceremony finally started (traffic held up several of the guests, and the bride chose to wait for their arrival), we could not help but laugh. the small church was nearly packed with friends and family, including several babies and toddlers. for some reason, i did not take many photos. my parents were there, and my dad took a few, so perhaps i will get them and post them.

observations from the reception: when asked to get something for baby bear to munch on, daddy brings back a couple of crackers, a bit of cheese, and one piece of pineapple. mommy goes to the appetizer table and sees canteloupe, honeydew melon, grapes, etc... guess what baby bear wanted to eat- crackers. main course? baby bear literally scoffed at the cold ham sandwich after being given bits of steak from the steak kabobs. as soon as the ham touched her mouth, she set it back down and reached for steak. hubby as well as another hubby took their daughters for diaper changes. i dare say that this is a good sign of parenting skills.

hubby humored me and about halfway through unchained melody, we joined others on the dance floor. i can't say we danced well, we sort of move to the music somewhat together. that's what happens when you get two people who were raised in environments that practically forbade dancing or lacked opportunity. my mom couldn't get my dad to dance with her, so she grabbed baby bear for the fox trot. i vow for us to take dance lessons someday. hubby says he stepped on my shoes, but he missed my toes. i loved watching the bride and groom enjoy dancing together. she in her gold suit with long flowing skirt, he in his ivory tux. they looked spectacular.

as a friend fed her daughter, which led to the standard, "how long did you breastfeed?" exchange, i felt proud of the attempts i made with baby bear. this friend made it 6 weeks, then she had to return to work and had no desire to pump. i don't blame her. our other friend retreated to the bathroom to nurse. i don't blame her either. her dress wasn't very nursing friendly. but i think after all baby bear and i went through in the nursing fiasco, if baby bear 2 and i do succeed, i will be all for nursing wherever we are, with a covering of course. i will feel entitled to the freedom to feed my child however, wherever, whenever needed. i will probably get a sling, too.

after we returned home and changed baby bear into her pj's, i rocked her back to sleep in the rocking chair that tech mom and dad brought over. it was wonderful.

oh, baby bear tried to eat dirt yesterday. it resulted in her getting a 2nd bath. i was pulling weeds out of our big earth pots, in hopes of attempting to plant something yet again in the near future. cherry tomatoes seem to do ok, as does okra. peppers... not so much. which is a shame, because i love them. anyway, she thought it was grand fun and proceeded to try to empty the dirty out of the pots one fist at a time.

there's a fine line between what goes on her blog and what goes on mine. this is my place to ramble, i try to be a little more concise on her blog. and i post more pictures there.

i got to hold another 4 month old little girl. it's scary how foreign a feeling it is to hold such a fragile newborn. baby bear is definitely a toddler. oh, she's not crawling out of her crib like her younger cousin did yesterday, but she loves doing somersaults (with assistance), climbing and flipping on whoever is holding her, playing chase. it's amazing how fast 17 months have disappeared. she can eat more than her father and i combined at a meal (you think i'm kidding), and the next she will eat barely a fistful of food.

as hubby and i "danced", it was nice to know baby bear was in safe hands. her grandaddy walked her around the reception area, up to view some artwork, peer in store windows, etc. (the reception was inside a factory that has been converted to a shopping mall/muli-function building. it's so cool. it even has a pet adoption place in it. and a church meets there.) it was nearly 9 p.m. by that point, well past her bedtime. and she rose to the occasion and cuddled with whomever happened to hold her at the moment. (mommy and daddy were first choice, grandparents a close 2nd.)

yes, it was a good night. a good day, too. we went from sleeping in to playing in the dirt to dressing up... i in my black dress that i found for $10 and couldn't fit in at the time, baby bear in her pink satin and white lacey dress. i think it may be her easter dress, it's so pretty... she looks like a doll in it.

maybe i can fall asleep, 2 hours after waking up. and if i'm lucky, maybe baby bear will not wake up for at least another 3 hours.