A Big Fat Greek Engagement Party

We went to Minneapolis last weekend to go to Mark and Lea's ("leah", not "lee") engagement party, and we really had a nice 48-hour vacation.  Trav took the afternoon off so we could travel during Audrey's nap on Friday, and Emily did really well in the car.  We made it to the hotel in time to swim for about half an hour before we had to get cleaned up for supper, and Emily screamed most of the time in the water.  She was pretty freaked, but I think she was enjoying it on some level, deep down.  Audrey was more transparent about what she liked and didn't like.  Since the pool was 3' minimum, we had to take them around with us the whole time, and they didn't get to just run and play in the water.  But it was a good experience overall - by the time they swam on Saturday and Sunday mornings, they were both kicking like crazy and using their hands out in front of them as Travis and I floated them arond.  Emily liked to sit on the steps of the pool and practice blowing bubbles.  They'll be fine swimmers once we get them started... I think. 

Anyway, we met up with Minnesota friends who both have newborns, so it was fun to put our kids to bed in the hotel and stay up chatting with them, enjoying their little ones!!  The next morning, after swimming, we took the girls to the sculpture garden and got some great pictures of them running around in the sunshine.  We ate dinner at a cafe that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, which is something I've always wanted to do because that show makes food look SOOOO good.  They find places where things are homemade and made out of real ingredients, and this place really was fabulous. And, even though it was the middle of November in Minnesota, we were able to eat outside!  It was a gorgeous day and we sure took advantage of it.  The girls were plenty tired to take solid naps (both of them) on Saturday afternoon, so Trav and I decompressed while they slept and then got ready for the engagement party.

Lea's family is Greek, and their wedding will be in a Greek Orthodox church in Minneapolis.  I absolutely adore Lea - she's so cool!  And her family is wonderful, too.  We really enjoyed meeting all of them, and a lot of their family friends who have known her since she was a tiny girl.  We met her cousins and grandparents and felt a little overwhelmed but definitely welcomed.  Lea has said that her wedding will probably be kind of like the movie Big Fat Greek Wedding, not exactly, but yeah, kinda, and I can totally understand now!  The people we met weren't over-the-top characters, but at one point there were three ladies singing children's songs in Greek to my girls, who just sat and watched in amazement.  They sang "wheels on the bus" and "itsy bitsy spider" to Emily and Audrey first, and they just loved that, so they launched into something in Greek, and then they laughed and said, "oh, they probably don't know that one!"  Yeah, not really!  And then the waitress brought more wine and everybody said "Opa!!!" and the party continued.  This was just a 2-hour informal reception in the back room of a restaurant -- I can only imagine what a full-out wedding will be!!  I'm so excited!!

My girls did really, really well during this party, considering that it was loud and crowded and they didn't know anybody except their Sullivan grandparents and Mark and Lea.  When we walked in, Audrey saw Lea and immediately leaned in for her to hold her, and snuggled up under her chin.  It was SO sweet, and I just love that Lea's family got to see a little genuine taste of how much we all love her.  But after that, everybody kept coming up to me and saying, "Oh! These must be Mark's nieces!  We've heard so much about them!  they're so beautiful!"  And the girls just clung tighter and tighter to me.  They loosened up after a while, about the point where they couldn't contain their wiggles anymore, but they really, really handled things well for being so intimidated.  Then Lea's brother started playing silly games with them, and they thought that was great, too.  Emily is SO excited to be a flower girl for their wedding, and I wonder if Audrey might be invited to be one too, since she'll be 3 1/2 at the time of the wedding, almost as old as Emily is now, and Emily will be FIVE.  yikes!

And the weirdest part - I will have a one-year-old then, too. :)  My due date is May 24, 2012, and their wedding date will be May 26, 2013!  I'm 13 weeks along now, and have heard a heartbeat so I think things are all good there.  I haven't announced on Facebook yet, but people at work know, and of course family and close friends.  so, now my blog knows, too!  I spent weeks 6 - 8 sleeping on the couch in the afternoons, during which time Emily complained that she was lonely because she was the only one in the house who was awake - oops.  The nausea seemed worse this time than with the other 2, but a few weeks away and I'm already thinking it wasn't really that bad in retrospect.  I did manage to throw up a prenatal vitamin on the day of Audrey's birthday party, though, which is a TERRIBLE experience.  I don't recommend it!

So, that's the scoop on the weekend, and things.  All in all, it's good to be me. :)