Life With the Ladniers: Six Years

Six years ago today, I married my best friend.

Though we've been together for 12 years total. You can read about our story here. We've been through so much in the past 12 years. High school, college, graduations, job interviews, jobs we've loved, jobs we've hated, supporting one another's dreams, etc. We aren't perfect, no relationship is, but we have worked hard over the years to stay head over heals in love with one another and to make our own happiness together. We had plenty of time to "get to know one another" (as everyone advises before starting a family) and we've had a lot of fun:

Out Honky Tonkin' in Nashville, TN
(The weekend before we found out we were pregnant)

But, out of all of the years we have been together, this past one has been the most amazing!

We found out we were pregnant (after almost 2 years of trying...)

In New Orleans, November 2011
8 months pregnant!!

And finally became a family!

We feel more complete, and more in love with one another, now than we ever have before. I am so lucky to have a man like David in my life. He is sweet, romantic, smart, and strong. He makes me laugh and he holds me when I cry. He is my Love and now we have our Ayden, who is our love personified. Making a little person together has been our greatest accomplishment as a couple to date and I can't wait to see what the next six (or twelve) years have in store for us and our little family!

Now... You may ask, how did we celebrate? Well, it wasn't your typical date night, that's for sure! David and I decided that we just weren't ready to actually leave Ayden with anyone yet. What good would a date be if all either of us would be able to think about was whether or not Ayden was crying his little head off the whole time? We also thought that a movie, which was our original plan, wouldn't be the best thing to do since we wouldn't be able to talk or hang out at all. So we decided to do yard work!

Hahaha, I know, it doesn't sound like much fun but it actually really was. We had a lot of it to do and it had been weighing heavily on us, as all of our neighbors had prettied up their yards weeks ago. We have to keep up with the Jones'! :) We needed to trim all of our bushes, weed, plant flowers, mulch and we still had some work to do for our vegetable container garden. We decided it would be wise to use our eager babysitters to give us a chance to knock out our outdoor to dos. We worked together for most of the day and got to talk and hang out. We got plenty of alone time and they even stayed so we could shower, together ;), without having to worry about Ayden needing us in the middle of it. We got plenty of time to talk and "reconnect," though neither of us have felt disconnected at all since Ayden's arrival. And now we can let out a sigh of relief and enjoyment as we look at our own prettied yard: