By The Oak Tree: Love and Marriage

We celebrated 3 years of marriage yesterday. In some ways it feels like we've been married for 23 years, and in other ways it feels like we were second lining down Canal Street yesterday. I cannot remember my life before Ken, and I truly love being his wife. Although we have our challenges, I feel like we were truly made for each other. We are a great team and he is my soul's mate. Our wedding was pretty dreamy, too. It was a wonderful way to kick off our life as husband and wife!

This year, we threw pregnancy and marriage into the mix, and Malley has been such a wonderful addition to our little family. However, I do remember having my doubts when she first arrived. I mean everything was perfect with just the 2 of us (and the dog). Great vacations, eating out on a whim, 16 hour fishing trips, adventures through various countries....what fun! And then we were suddenly thrown into the parenthood game. I think that the first baby, no matter how exciting, is always a shock to your system. A wonderful, adorable, lovely shock. Suddenly, going to Target alone seems like a free trip to Hawaii. You wonder if you'll ever sleep more than 4 hours or shower for more than 3 minutes again. You begin to plan your days in 3 hour intervals around eating and sleeping. And then you fall madly in love with your baby, and you realize that this is what life is all about. We have had so much fun with this precious nugget. She grows and changes daily, and we look forward to watching her grow! One of the greatest parts is getting to experience the love that grows between us. Watching Ken become a father has been one of the most wonderful gifts. He is a natural, ya'll. Truly a natural. Ever since our third date (when I unabashedly asked him if he wanted kids, how many, how far apart, names, etc.....okay, maybe not names, but you get the point.....) I knew he would be an incredible father. And boy was I right! He is patient, loving, and kind of obsessed with Malley. It makes me so happy. He always wants to hold her and show her off. I joke that we need to have another one soon so that I have a baby to hold. True love. We are blessed and lucky!

Yesterday we spent the day with Malley and ate at Revival Market (amazing!) and went to The Children's Museum, which is one of my very favorite places in Houston. Malley and Ken had never been, so it was fun to get to show them the awesomeness that is the Houston Children's Museum. We'll save that for another post. It was a great day! Tonight we head out for a date night at Underbelly, which is another one of our favorites.

Here are some pictures from our wedding day. And some inspiration to continue to hit the gym. In other news, yesterday marked 1 month until Andrew and Christina get married in New Orleans! So exciting!

Parading through the streets for our Second Line. One of my favorite memories! They closed down streets so we could parade through with a 7-person brass band, The Storyville Stompers. Fun!