Alison and James' Wedding

Seems like we only just got back to Newcastle and we were off to Hobart again, this time for a very special wedding!

A little bit of Elliott specific background first though. The little guys night sleep pattern had been going from bad to worse in the intervening weeks. We ended up being stuck in the habit of him falling asleep in our arms and then being put to bed, the problem being that this had become the only way he could get to sleep. The trouble is that he began to wake multiple times in the night, each requiring re-rocking to sleep, but then it was almost impossible to put him in his cot without him re-waking... go directly to gaol, do not pass go, do not collect $200 etc... (ie. start rocking again). With this routine we were in his room for hours on end each night, and there was usually a threshold.. about 4 am, beyond this he just would not go back to sleep. Of course the reason we got to that point was that Elliott was routinely vomiting in his cot if we put him to bed, not yet asleep, and let him cry for any length of time. We just didn't have enough sheets or wondersuits to keep doing that every night!

Anyway, being in that position most would be a little nervous about another trip away from home, however, Hobart agreed with Elliott and Elliott agreed with Hobart. The little guy slept like a champion, every night we were down there! A great relief to us, after a couple of months of nightly turmoil.


Now on with the good stuff!!!! The wedding... what a wonderful couple of days we had.It was Elliott's first wedding (of course) and he scrubbed up pretty well for it as you can see in the photos. Alison and James organised a fantasic couple of days that really gave all that attended a taste of what Tasmania and in particular Hobart have to offer. The wedding was on a historic ferry and what a backdrop, drifting down the Derwent river! The bride and bridesmaid were stunning, and the Groom and best man dashing, and together they threw quite a party at the Henry Jones art Hotel (we stayed in the swishest room that Elliott is likely to see for some time).


Another particularly nice thing was that so much family were together, including some Elliott hadn't met (and I had not see for many years). It goes without saying that the little guy won over some new admirers. Most agreed that he was even cuter in the flesh (especially Aunty Maureen and Aunty Joan)! Elliott got to spend plenty of time with his Nan, and Pa, Steve and Adel, Nicole, Dan, and of course Alison and James who were their usual generous selves, bending over backwards to make sure everyone had a great time. It was also great to get to know James' family a bit better. A special mention must go to Ali Walker, who had organised a baby sitter for the reception. I went up stairs and put Elliott to bed (with the usual rocking), and thankfully in true Hobart form, he only woke once and got himself back to sleep without any help. The baby sitter had brought some reading material and I think she probably got through most of it! We were a little on edge for most of the night (checking mobiles for a call or message... but none came. Eventually, after a few drinks we eased into the evening, and had a great time, drinking, chatting and dancing the night away. Sympathetic to our big night, Elliott slept through (can't tell you how amazing that was) and got us up at the very reasonable hour of 7 am. The next day we went to James' Dad's house for a BBQ lunch and spent a lazy afternoon chilling out, enjoying the endless volunteers keen to entertain Elliott, and chatting about the wonderful event the day before.

Finally, after spending most of the next day hanging out with the newlyweds we got a ride out to the airport and flew home (again Elliott was a great flyer, though this was the first trip where he had not fall asleep in transit). This was also the first flight he needed a nappy change... seriously, I don't know what they were thinking when they designed the pull-down change tables in the toilet (which of course are microscopic). We would have done better changing him on the pulldown tray you eat your meals off (more room). We eventually got back to home sweet home, hoping that our newly found sleeping habits would remain.

Sadly Elliott had other ideas but that is a story for another post (there was a time soon after our return when we thought moving to Hobart may be the only solution to a reasonable nights sleep)!