The Best Two Years...

I can't believe AJ and I have been married for 2 years already!  We've accomplished a lot more in two years than I had planned.  We didn't think we'd have kids quite this soon, but we both started itching for little pitter-pattering feet and then there was that institute class... it was a hopeless cause.  I love being a mom and wouldn't change it for the world, most days anyways.  Our anniversary was on Monday,  My cousin and her hubby were kind enough to babysit for us the Friday before.  It was the first real date we'd had since the beginning of August!  I miss our date nights.  I miss being able to say, "hey, let's go do..." and just going and doing.  Now we have to pack a diaper bag, carseat a baby and preheat the car.  As AJ once put it, "It's an ordeal."  And I'll admit I got upset that he said that.  I'm going to blame hormones 'cause I'm a woman and I can.  Sometimes, I wish we had more family a little closer.  You can only ask people to babysit so often before they want to be paid for it... and let's face it, we can't afford a regular sitter.  Grandma would say 'yes' more than some... it's just a grandma thing.  But, I'm not complaining, not really.  Just wishfully thinking.  Sometimes it would be nice to have some time with just my husband, especially since we don't have a ton of it left.

Anyways, we went to a delicious dinner... we filled up on drinks, popcorn and sticky fingers.  We had to bring the entrees and dessert home for later.  We were going to see a movie but they had all already started or wouldn't start for another hour or two.  That was later than we wanted to make our sitters stay so we took the seats out of the back of our Jeep and threw in some blankets, hot cocoa and a laptop loaded with movies.  We found an out-of-the-way side road and settled to watch one of the funnier movies I've seen in a long time... although I could've done without so much language and dirty talk.  But it seems like all the movies these days are like that.  It was actually a lot of fun.  And we really needed the time off from being parents to just be married.  It was awesome.  Thanks so much, Heather and Jeremiah!

We have a Valentine's Day tradition.  Since Valentine's Day is on Sunday and AJ has to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday we did it on Tuesday to make sure it got done.  Since our anniversary is so close to Valentine's we are pretty laid back about this holiday.  We go to the store, agree on a set dollar amount and then split up and get each other gifts.  I love this tradition because I don't have to stress about covering both our anniversary and Valentine's Day.  It's great.  And it's fun to sneak around the store, I mean Wal-Mart is only so big.  Our gifts are random, but fun.  This year I got a cake plate (I've been wanting one for a year and a half), champagne glasses (they are our fancy glasses when we have special dinners... and I broke one of the two we had last week), a cake mix and frosting... for my cake plate.  Not really a typical Valentine's Day gift set, but it's totally us and I love it. 

This month I've been doing the ABC's of Love.  Each letter gives some way for me to show AJ that I love and appreciate him.  For example, A was for aphrodisiac.  He got chocolate dipped strawberries and a risque note in his lunch he took to work.  R is for Robe, he didn't have one and we both thought he needed one.  It's been fun to surprise him each day.  It isn't always really romantic, but it gives me a chance to remember what a fantastic man he is and how much I love him.  I really am not looking forward to next year... but hopefully the extra effort this year will stretch and it won't be so terrible. 

So, here's to the past two years and the eternity to come.  The great times, the not-so-great times, and the awful times.  Here's to falling in love every day, always with my knight in shining armor.  Here's to the man that catches me each time I fall.  The father of my children, my soulmate, my eternal companion, my lover, my best friend, my husband.