Chris and Hilary’s Wedding
[another blog entry started and left in draft for too long, then quickly finished..this seems to be the nature of things]
As 
helloheather has said, the wedding "week" (or so) was rather crazy. We both feel that we weren't really /there/ and yet we were. I was unprepared for how much work being in a wedding and being a father was actually going to entail.
We drove down on Thursday and arrived during rush hour, which slowed things down. Nate slept twice in the car and, by the time we got to grid-lock, was starting to get annoyed with the whole "in the car seat" thing. I can completely empathize. After checking in we headed over to hilhas1 and gonj's house for dinner. They provided a really tasty tuna-pasta-curry meal. It was excellent and just the right amount of spice for me. Nate even tried some and seemed to really enjoy the flavor.
On Friday morning, helloheather's dad and step-mom treated Nathan and I to the Indianapolis Zoo. We had a really good time and Nate (as predicted) loved the animals he could get close to and that moved a lot: penguins and the meerkats. We were only there for two hours but, for Nate it was enough. He fell asleep in the car before we left the zoo's parking lot!
Saturday morning, Nate and I, along with Aaron and his daughter Charlotte, went swimming in the hotel pool. Much playful splashing ensued and only a little water was accidentally inhaled.
Photographs on Saturday started at 2 pm and the babysitter started at 4, so Nate had time to run around prior to the 5pm ceremony. And run he did. He had such a great time investigating the various rooms where the reception would be taking place as well as the outdoor areas. He "talked" to nearly everyone involved in setting up and, needless to say, was a big hit. (I credit helloheather's excellent choice of bow tie and sweater.)
And thank you Sue who arranged the babysitter for the children of those in the wedding. This was a wonderful addition to the day. As helloheather and I were both in the wedding, not having to wrangle a very exited child and stand up for hilhas1 and gonj was a relief. As helloheather mentioned in her post, though, his absence was a perfect example of the forces of supply and demand. We did not bring Nate down to the reception until after we both had a chance to eat, which is about the point at which everyone else was finishing. The constant flow of people wishing to see Nate was a bit too much for him, especially after a quiet time of playing with his new friends in the babysitting room.
We ended up staying until 10. Again, as a measure of how much energy he exerted, Nate was asleep just after leaving the parking lot.
Sunday was a brunch at hilhas1 and gonj's house which was nice and then we left for home. I'll not get into the drive as it was painful, despite seeing new areas of IN and IL. Live and learn.
So, as was mentioned, the time was fast-paced and full, but good. I wish I had been able to spend more time talking with people at the reception, but that's ok.