My Brother's Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. David Morkes~

On July 10, 2010 my brother and new sister-in-law, Cara were married. It was a weekend affair in the city. It was perfect. But, it didn't really start out that way...Rewind to Thursday morning (July 8th), Jacob woke up with a 103.5 fever. (Please Note: The wedding countdown was 2 days and Little Jake was the ring-bearer!) With no time to spare, I called the doctor's office, and we got in right away (the sooner the better on medicine if needed)- Thankfully we did go to the doctor when we did because little did I know, but my Little Man had an ear infection!!!! His 1st since he had tubes put in his ears 7-months ago. I forgot what it was like. Jacob really hadn't been showing any signs of ear issues...not pulling on them, sleeping great, eating fine, etc. So I was very surprised, yet relieved to know that was the culprit, and with a little antibiotics, Jacob would be back to normal in no time...hopefully, in time for the BIG DAY. The rest of that day; however, was tough. It took a good 8-hours for that fever to finally break, and the poor baby would NOT let me leave his side all day (which meant I could get NOTHING done for the weekend). By the next day, Jacob's fever was gone, but he was still extremely irritable. I was so nervous because Rocky was going to be with him all day (so that Jake could rest and stay on a schedule before they needed to head downtown in time for the rehearsal), I needed to be in the city by 11:30 that morning for Cara's Bridesmaid Luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel, which was beautiful...but I was so nervous about Jacob's well being for the rest of the weekend. Rocky and Jacob eventually made it to the city (it took them 3 hours from Barrington that afternoon because of traffic- whataboutit?!)- just in time for us to be 30-minutes late for the rehearsal- Jacob wanted NOTHING to do with walking down the aisle that afternoon...I was devastated...we were just going to have to see how it would go on the BIG DAY- he either was or wasn't- and there was nothing we could do...."Please God" I thought, "Let him be feeling 100% tomorrow." We stayed downtown both Friday and Saturday night, Wendy (Rocky's sister) met us downtown and stayed with Jacob that evening while we attended the Rehearsal Dinner. Wendy was fantastic- she stayed all weekend and watched both Jacob and Baby Mason. Jake slept great Friday night in his pak-n-play and woke up "100%" Saturday (July 10th) morning- ready to rock and roll!!!!! I left early that morning to join Cara and the rest of her bridesmaids for all the wedding festivities and did not get to see Jacob until the ceremony (as I stood at the front of the church hoping and praying he would walk down the aisle)...and all of a sudden everyone started to stand up and ooh and ahh and "oh what a cutie"- my baby was walking down the aisle!!! He was doing it!!!! And....smiling while he was at it. Tears started rolling down my face. Once Jacob made it to the front of the church, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa grabbed him, and then we turned to see my brother's face as he stood there waiting for his bride...tears of joy were rolling down his face as Cara entered the Church...my tears never stopped! It was the sweetest thing...all of it. Cara was the most beautiful bride. David looked so handsome and SO PROUD. And...my baby, well, I was the happiest mommy in the world. The ceremony was beautiful. The rest of the day/evening was amazing. The reception was at The Hilton Hotel Chicago on Michigan Avenue right down the street from Millenium Park- across the street from the lake- just beautiful. Perfect. Old Chicago. Gorgeous. The party and food were amazing. It was literally a 6-course meal. The orchestra was amazing, with a nice little surprise from a "Jersey Boy" fresh off of Broadway, literally! This was a dream wedding. Everything was so amazing. My pictures don't even give it justice. Can't wait for the photographer's pics. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. David Morkes. Welcome to the family, Cara!!!