Hank Cameron Ewing

This is the little boy who stole our hearts.

Sept 28, 2008 - 4:35p.m.

7Lbs. 10.9Oz

20Inches long

13.75 Inch Head

Hank's daddy likes to wear all kinds of hats so we think there may be a custom fedeora or kangol on the way. Why else measure the head?

Dev did such a good job, pushing him hard to get him out. He is a good sleeper and a good eater and he got the best of both gene pools. What a cutie!

My precious little Dev

My little Dev is going to be a mom in the next few days. It is one of those mysteries of life that catches my breath. Because I am the last one in the family to be married and the last one to be thinking seriously about having children, I have watched this stuff happen to people around me, people I love the most. And inside me I am always a bit off guard by these momentous steps that happen so easily and naturally.
One day, when I was almost three, I was taken to the hospital to get a first look at my little sister. This glace at a little baby is my very first solid memory and I can actually draw that fuzzy feeling image back. She was all mine until eighteen years later when she met B and then slowly we detached and she became his.
Now, she is on bed rest, waiting for her baby boy to decide he is ready. She and B will be a mom and a dad, like our parents are for us. They will give him the best they can, raise him to be a good, strong, loving man and make sure he gets lots of tickles and raspberry blows on his belly, even when he is too old to allow himself to enjoy it. Maybe he will play drums like B did or violin like Dev. Ultimately, no matter how cute his name is, I will always call him something else, like I did with his mama.
And for now, he will have at least one cousin (shout out to JB) who he will grow up with and their lives will follow the same track of innocence, freedom, love and they will feel the same awe when life starts happening around them and then finally, to them.

Real Wedding Goodness

Today my photographer, Cheryl (inaframe.com) emailed me to ask if she could submit our wedding for the "Real Weddings" feature on Weddingchannel.com. She thought the mix of cultures and the art aspect we added to the wedding would make a good story.

Just yesterday I was sorting through pictures to put in a little "Just Married" photo album. There were too many of my favorites to fit in the book. I am so thankful to have such pretty pictures. In the moment, it just went by too fast, I couldn't take it all in. So thank goodness I get to relive it again and again.

Does everyone think their wedding was worth a feature story? I feel like it may be my dramatic streak but honestly....when I was planning the wedding I was like...black tablecloths at a wedding? graffiti? art? guys with dreds marrying curvy blonde girls? There weren't any pics that I could find for inspiration so as soon as I let myself be okay with our decisions, it all came together. In Magazine-Worthy fashion, of course.

Invest in the fat kind

Never scrimp and save and try to get by on "Low Fat Show Churned Cookies & Cream" ice cream. It was $2.99 for a gallon instead of $3.99 so to save a buck I bought the Safeway brand. I've tested other brands of slow churned at Dev's and they were yummy but....seriously, it is not worth the lack of fat and $1 difference.
This "ice cream" actually tasted warm straight out of the freezer. It was the frothy texture and fake-sweetness and it was no good.
Take me on my word.

They're just words but....

Over the weekend, I coordinated my brother-in-law's sister's wedding (my sister's husband's sister). It sounds complicated but we are actually close families since my sister and her husband have been together for 11 years. I volunteered to help Katie with her wedding to build my portfolio for my new event planning business. And also, because I had heard they could use the help.

At the rehearsal we ran through the processional order and proceeded to eat a 7 course Italian meal that ended with tiramisu. Ugh, it was delicious. Katie's fiance's family was there from New York so we were all very loud and animated and it was the best combo of Northwesterners and New Yorkers that we had at our wedding. The best man, complete with Long Island accent and Irish eyes twinkling, proceeded to both kick a bum out of the restaurant who was asking for money and soothe a little baby boy who would not stop crying. He also made me cry during his speech and then had me laughing my head off with an interpretive ribbon dance. Seriously! The photographer, a close family friend, danced with the bride and he was holding her so tight. His sister grabbed his camera to try to document it but she couldn't figure out how to work it. After the dance ended, he was visible choked up with tears in his eyes. It was the sweetest moment. A fantastic group of people.

Katie had asked me to show up at 3 on Sunday but thankfully I knew better. I got there at 11:30 and got to add flower arranger to my list of duties. Katie had asked me for the ceremony that we used so she could use it as a guideline. I took out some of our very personal things but left some others like the welcome and the ring exchange ceremony for her to use as guidance. She ended up loving it and using it for their ceremony. Asher and I sat there, a few rows back, listening to our words in another beautiful wedding and it all felt so fresh again. It was just what we needed and reminded us that it is me and him, better or worse, we gotta work it out. They are just words but they sealed us, and now Katie and Michael, together as family.

It is hard doing the coordinating. I am so sore today and very sleepy but I loved it. When I was planning our wedding I knew I loved it but I have had my doubts about whether I just loved it because it was my own wedding. Yes, my wedding was special beyond words but also I just love weddings and I am really good at planning and telling people what to do and where to go (bossy? yes, bossy). And I guess I never would have known that if I hadn't had my own wedding. So I'm going forward with it. And I have another wedding on October 11th, for a stranger I met on Craigslist, and now I am totally confident that I can pull it off.