first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage...

This is one of the first pictures I have of Beau and I.  It was the night I got my first digital camera, my first Canon, and the two of us sat on the couch in his apartment and played with all the new settings.  I'm not sure what else the night entailed, but I do have a few pictures of us drinking chocolate milkshakes at Perkins in the wee hours of the night.  Those were the days of college, late nights, freezy pops, and head-over-heels...

Fast forward three years.  A wedding, a honeymoon to the Riviera Maya, followed by a summer of grilling out, drinking wine, and playing Scrabble by candlelight on our back patio.  Those were the days of married life, date nights, Jack Johnson, and faraway dreams of houses, babies, and family vacations to the zoo.

Three years later.  Our world of just two welcomed a new baby, one that instantly filled our hearts with more love than we dreamed possible.  We became a team, and learned that more happiness could be found in a baby's giggle than a million fancy date nights in a row.  Those were the days of late night bottles, dirty diapers, and lots and lots of snuggling.

And now, nearly two years later, Beau and I are filled with memories of a life together as we celebrate our five-year anniversary.  Memories of how we started, how we've grown, and what we've learned together in the last eight years.  We went on our very first date exactly eight years ago tonight, and when I think back to that night, I laugh at how young we seemed.  And now, three years of dating and five years of marriage later, it's amazing to think about our journey.  I feel so blessed to have found this amazingly smart, witty, and handsome man of my dreams eight years ago, and can't wait to see where life's journey takes us in the next five years.
 

Happy Anniversary, babe.  Thanks for being an amazing husband, father, and best friend.  Now bring on the Riviera :)