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...Well, his name IS Charles William, so it's only appropriate that William and Kate will wed on Charlie's second birthday. The date is only two weeks past Madeline's birthday (Charlie's intended). We are picturing a royal theme. Castles, crowns, jesters, and of course, the part of Queen Mother(s), played by Mercer and me.
Oh, and these will be our party favors:
...sitting at the dinner table, alone, with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and PEOPLE magazine.
Perfection.
Here's my little turkey from last night, who decided it was an awesome idea to try out finger painting for the first time. With yogurt. On Gamma's kitchen floor.
...longest blog title ever.
My family was one of the first on AOL back in like 1987 or something. My first "screename" could have been "Laura," not "Laura7397235" because we were literally there from the beginning. When Ken and I got married back in the stone ages, I took on the e-mail address KurzLK@aol.com.
A few years went by and I started hearing about this gmail thing. Eh. I wasn't interested. And by the time I got interested, laura.kurz@gmail.com and every combination therein had been taken.
And I have fallen out of love with AOL. What once was my gateway to the internet now just feels archaic and unreliable.
...Fast forward to last night when I was trying to remember my you tube login for the 8,925,343th time. Somehow, I got signed into google as laura.kurz@gmail.com. I felt like I was hacking into someone else's computer (I've been reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series).
But the weird thing is, it's definitely my account, because I knew the answer to the secret question.
So. Now I have gmail. It's fresh and pretty and new. I kind of feel like I won the internet lottery. Not sure when I'll officially start using it because I'm a little nostalgic for the ten years that I had with KurzLK@aol.com.
2010's been a rough year. But by God I've got gmail!
...last Thursday, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and Charlie's snot dried up for approximately one hour.
Just enough time for Maria to get this:
(Our sweet Charmer, watching over us).
And she also got this:
...And this:
...And many, many more, but I have to save some for the Christmas card. (These are a little blurry - stretched for the web - they were just sneak peaks for me!)
Guess who made the sweater? No other than the talented Carron. Only one catch: she made it for her son, but was nice enough to let Charlie the Snot Machine Kurz borrow it.
...Unfortunately, does not keep the doctor away. The pediatrician has told me Charlie could have the snuffles all winter long. And suddenly, a move to say Arizona or Florida sounds wonderful! And to think I used to LIKE the four seasons!
...I left this apple on a plate on the end table and was in the kitchen cleaning up lunch when I realized it seemed eerily quiet in the other room. I discovered Charlie devouring every last bite of said apple.
Apparently Charmer taught him a few of her tricks before she left us.
...kind of like, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha," only cuter.
Charlie is not only named after his great-grandfather, Charlie Kirk, but also after his great-great-great-great-grandfather, Charlie Marzlin. Inadvertently, I decorated our mantel with the three Charlies. So now, a few times a day, I will lift Charlie up there and say, "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie," pointing to the three of them.
Charlie Marzlin is third from the right, pictured with some relatives, including the little girl, my great-great-great-aunt Clara.
My Pop Pop, Charlie Kirk. He would have turned 100 on November 6.
And my peanut Charlie. April 29, 2009, about ten hours old.
This is why I take pictures.
...seven dresses (not quite 27). Seven different colors. Seven different styles. College friends, lifelong friends, sisters-in-law - seven different friends. Seven updos. Seven anniversaries. Four states. Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish, and just plain wonderful.
(And one very patient husband who attended most of them, sat in the audience, videotaped, and helped pull out the thousands of bobby pins at the end of the night).
Meckenzie and Andy's wedding this weekend marked the end of my career as a bridesmaid. So I thought I would travel down memory lane.
I think this was my first wedding (I have the strange feeling that I'm forgetting a wedding). My sister-in-law, Katie. Let's not talk about how young we look. Or the fact that this photo is scanned in because it was before everyone had digital cameras. Tiffany blue halter. Cleveland, Ohio:
Next up, college friend Rachel. I set her and her husband up back in college. Two piece, black. Cincinnati, Ohio. Unheated synagogue in October (still before good digital cameras):
I took a few years off, saved all my energy for Mercer and Frank's wedding. Wedding where I felt the most like a member of the family. Green, waist sash. Washington, D.C.:
Next up, sister-in-law Christina. Patriotic wedding in July. Navy blue, first tea length. Cleveland, Ohio:
Molly Marine. Awesome wedding party. We even had a reunion a few months later. Light pink, waist flower. Cincinnati, Ohio (I have been to Cincinnati three times in my life and only for weddings):
I took a few years off then. Got pregnant, got fat, had Charlie, had an overactive thyroid, got skinny, and then evened out. Next up? Sweet Carolyn. Only wedding in our hometown, celebrated on my thirty-first birthday. This wedding also marked the increasing popularity of JCrew bridesmaid dresses (Gods gift to weddings, as far as I'm concerned). Coral, tea length. Baltimore, Maryland:
And here we are, the bittersweet end. I met Meckenzie thirteen years ago. We have been apart for far longer than we were together, and have always been separated by geography. But I couldn't have been happier to stand by her side on a cold November day. Maybe I'm just nostalgic because I know this will be my last wedding for awhile, but there was just something so special about this day. When the doors opened at the Lake House Inn and Meckenzie walked out with her dad to this song, it was like the world stopped and held its breath for a few moments. I have no photos yet, but I pulled this from a video Ken took. I will never forget this moment:
And yes, the bridesmaids were huddling/wiggling like first graders for warmth. I'm glad we all liked each other. Favorite up-do, ever. I asked for "bohemian." Brown/Grey from JCrew, with purple wrap. Perkasie, Pennsylvania:
Oh, and there was a photo booth. The photo booth operator liked me at the beginning of the night. By the end? Not so much. Next to the dance floor, I spent the most time in the photo booth (and at the make your own cupcake station):
Here's to seven happy endings.
