What an incredible weekend! David and I decided that for this anniversary we were going to leave Audrey with her grandparents overnight for the first time and celebrate in style, just the two of us.
(Funny side note: Our fifth anniversary last year was the first time we let them keep Audrey. We went out to dinner and to the bookstore and were gone for a total of a couple of hours. It felt like an eternity.)
So, on Friday night, I started packing for our big weekend. There was definitely an hour or two that I questioned whether I was really going to be able to leave my baby. I knew, though, that it was never going to be easy. I was sure I didn't want to become one of those couples with teenagers who have never left their kids overnight. I ignored the butterflies and choked back the tears as I placed her favorite doll and a few books in her suitcase.
We woke up Saturday morning and finished packing the entire house, as is my usual tendency. We drove out to Davids' parents, feeling both giddy and nervous. After we set up her pack n' play, monitor, and sound machine, I went over every post-it note, the printed schedule, and the emergency info list. To her credit, his mom took it like a champ. They are well-accustomed to my OCD ways by now and understand that it has nothing to do with me not trusting their ability. It's more my feeble attempt at doing all I can to make sure things go smoothly. Am I a control freak? Uh...yeah. Anyway, with the debriefing finished, we sat down and ate lunch. After we finished, David was hinting it was time to go. He realized it wasn't going to get any easier for me and mimed the motion of ripping off a bandaid. I hugged her close, gave her a kiss and told her I loved her. I only teared up a little as we got in the car, and to my surprise, the tears were dry as soon as we got back on the interstate.
We arrived at the W Hotel and checked in. It's a little more trendy than we're used to, but we booked on Priceline.com, so you can only choose the location and star rating, not the exact hotel. It's a great way to save some money, though, as our stay was about 60% off what it would have been through another website or the hotel directly. We got settled and decided to check out the pool. It was pretty crowded and there weren't any empty chairs, so we went back up to our room and watched a movie. We had thought about going to see Inception with the rest of the world, but there wasn't a good start time that fit our schedule. It was much more relaxing to lounge in bed and watch one there, though. A whole movie in one sitting without being interrupted! Nice, huh?!
When it was over, we got changed and headed out for dinner. We walked around the mall a bit and then went over to Maggiano's. That restaurant has such special meaning for us - we celebrated many Valentine's Days, proms, and dating anniversaries there, David took me there the night he proposed, we ate there with his family when he graduated college, and our rehearsal dinner was in one of their banquet rooms. So many anniversaries, birthdays, and "just cause we want somewhere nice" meals have been enjoyed at Maggiano's, so it seemed like the perfect choice for another special night.
We ordered our usual - chicken parmigiana, fettucini alfredo, and garlic mashed potatoes - and split it all. We talked about the past and our goals for the future. We discussed our dreams and wishes for our next house (which is years down the road, but still fun to think about) and just shared our lives. I love that after a decade together (4 years dating + 6 years of marriage) we still have stuff to talk about. The food was delicious, too, of course, but the conversation and company were by far the best parts.
After we finished, we decided our night of gluttony wouldn't be complete without a slice of cheesecake form the Cheesecake Factory next door. We walked over, ordered one to go, and waddled back to the car. When we returned to the hotel, we changed into our bathing suits and decided to go down to the pool for a bit. It was less crowded and we lounged around watched the other couples and families. There was a baby there enjoying the water, which made me miss Audrey terribly, but we knew she was having a great time and was probably already fast asleep.
When it started getting dark and the fear of bug bites (I'm a magnet for any and every kind) took over, we went upstairs. I'd brought the journal that I wrote during our honeymoon, so we popped open a bottle of champagne, dug out our cheesecake, and read and reminisced and celebrated.
The next morning, after a less than perfect night's sleep (I was up from 3am - 5am due to loud neighbors, not my worries about AJ), David woke me up and said it was almost 9:00am. 9:00?! I hadn't slept in that late in 407 days! Okay, maybe when AJ was just days or weeks old and I hadn't set a wake-up time for her yet, but that would be after getting up 3-4 times at night, so it hardly counts. Anyway, we got dressed, checked out, and headed over to make our 10:30am brunch reservation. As is usually the case with breakfast, we couldn't hold nearly as much as we wanted to eat, but we did our best.
After that we went to the Container Store (heaven on earth to me) and the PGA Superstore (heaven on earth to David). We stopped by another place or two on our way back up to his parents', but were getting anxious to get there and see Audrey. When we walked in, almost exactly 24 hours after we'd left her, she immediately broke into a huge grin and walked over to me with her arms outstretched. I snatched her up and gave her a huge hug, certain that she felt bigger and heavier in my arms than the day before. We hung out there and played for a little while before heading home.
When we got back, we put Audrey down for a short nap and decided we'd catch one too. When she woke up, we went out to dinner and, since we'd skipped lunch and all, decided to indulge in Five Guys. As if the weekend hadn't held enough delicious calories. We got home, fed Audrey, and played with her until it was bath time. We wrapped up the night with story time and prayers, then we put her to bed. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend. She did great, I did great, and his parents did great (as if there was any doubt.) It was a much-needed break and I'm grateful to them for giving it to us. We'll be planning another one very soon.
So, in closing, I want to wish a Happy Anniversary to the Love of my Life! As I said when we toasted our six years, "Here's to six more." To which David replied "That's all? Just six?!" and I answered, "We'll see how the next six go and then reevaluate."
Rest assured, babe, I have no doubt they're going to be as amazing as the last.
