Wedding Day August 29, 2009
First time seeing eachother, both crying. Waaa Waaa!
"We're married, yay! Cue the wedding procession song!"
La Di Da Di Da! Beautiful Wedding, great reception, incredible honeymoon in Hawaii...
And then this happened: (all in the space of ten months)
1 month
4 months
5 months
6 months
7 months
8 months
9 months - 36 weeks (HOLY MOLY!)
10 months and 1 day - 40 weeks, 1 day past due date
(funny how the door becomes smaller and smaller behind me, as the 10 months progress)
And....so, a little over 10 months later, we welcomed Norah Einin Dykstra.
Here she is on June 11, 2010, 12 Hours Old.
Here she is on June 11, 2010, 12 Hours Old.
We clearly have no time for dilly-dallying.
So, here I am on our 1st wedding anniversary with 2 month old, Norah. It was a big, beautiful year and all that in our first year of marrage.
(This is at Julia's wedding at Semiahmoo Resort, Blaine, Washington)
One year later:
Norah - August 2011 - Age 1, and 2 months
Anniversary #2, August, 29th, 2011
I believe this was our first date since Norah was born (over a year before) so it was lovely. Trysh babysat Norah with little cousin Luna and we went to Anthony's at Shilshole Bay.
At this 2nd wedding anniversary, we had just confirmed we were moving to Dublin - we lined up friends to rent our condo and were starting the process of getting moved out of our house. This was a big transition year, as the year before had been. =) Come to think of it, the year before that was spent planning the wedding so we've had a succession of 'big years'.
We've gone from wedding-planning to wedding, straight into baby prep/first pregnancy, birth of first child and now, through ages 1 and 2 all while moving to Ireland and Wayne starting his Ph.D. I'd say we've held it together pretty well during these first three years and I know we'll make it through any phase that comes our way. I know for sure, I wouldn't want to be on this journey with anyone else.
3rd Anniversary - August 29, 2012
Flying home from Toronto after Wayne was the best man for his best friend (redundant), Derek.
It ended up being less expensive to have a long layover in Copenhagen on the way back to Dublin so we decided to take advantage. Usually a 7 hour layover is not a great thing, but this way we got to see a city we wouldn't otherwise fly to (given our short-list of places we can see):
An open love letter to my love:
These three years have passed in the blink of an eye and look at all we've done. I can't wait to see what we will have accomplished at our ten, twenty and thirty year anniversaries. I know these will come all too soon and I hope we can be conscious of soaking up everything we can while watching our children grow as we 'grow old' together.
I am proud of you every single day and know this is only just the beginning of what you will accomplish and achieve. You've impressed me with your brilliance since the first time I heard you speak at Seattle University and while I didn't think you could become any more intelligent, you've continued to amaze me, every year since. The world has no idea what it has coming when you start to share this gift as a professor and psychologist. I have no doubt you will be famous in your time and I can't wait to see that unfold.
Three years is nothing at all and I'm so proud of you, even now. You are the true and genuine example of a partner in marriage and parenting and this is a rare, rare blessing to have found. You support me unconditionally - undoubtedly more than I support myself. You teach me patience, compassion and humility and I'll spend the next 30 years striving to exemplify half of what you do in these areas. You truly live your wedding vows, on a daily basis and (as with everything else I love about you) I can only hope to be better at this. Thankfully I have you to watch and follow (and you have the patience to know I'll get there).
When people ask questions about what kind of husband you are I'm always so excited to try and explain how you fit no mold. I am, and will always be, so proud to describe my incredibly thoughtful, ethically-minded, feminist-principled, book-worm, uber-involved-father, philosophy-guru, husband and I just wonder how on earth you came to me. It couldn't be any other way and yet I'll always ask why I was so blessed.
I love you and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.
It ended up being less expensive to have a long layover in Copenhagen on the way back to Dublin so we decided to take advantage. Usually a 7 hour layover is not a great thing, but this way we got to see a city we wouldn't otherwise fly to (given our short-list of places we can see):
An open love letter to my love:
These three years have passed in the blink of an eye and look at all we've done. I can't wait to see what we will have accomplished at our ten, twenty and thirty year anniversaries. I know these will come all too soon and I hope we can be conscious of soaking up everything we can while watching our children grow as we 'grow old' together.
I am proud of you every single day and know this is only just the beginning of what you will accomplish and achieve. You've impressed me with your brilliance since the first time I heard you speak at Seattle University and while I didn't think you could become any more intelligent, you've continued to amaze me, every year since. The world has no idea what it has coming when you start to share this gift as a professor and psychologist. I have no doubt you will be famous in your time and I can't wait to see that unfold.
Three years is nothing at all and I'm so proud of you, even now. You are the true and genuine example of a partner in marriage and parenting and this is a rare, rare blessing to have found. You support me unconditionally - undoubtedly more than I support myself. You teach me patience, compassion and humility and I'll spend the next 30 years striving to exemplify half of what you do in these areas. You truly live your wedding vows, on a daily basis and (as with everything else I love about you) I can only hope to be better at this. Thankfully I have you to watch and follow (and you have the patience to know I'll get there).
When people ask questions about what kind of husband you are I'm always so excited to try and explain how you fit no mold. I am, and will always be, so proud to describe my incredibly thoughtful, ethically-minded, feminist-principled, book-worm, uber-involved-father, philosophy-guru, husband and I just wonder how on earth you came to me. It couldn't be any other way and yet I'll always ask why I was so blessed.
I love you and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.
