Rosie was a lucky little girl. She took part in more memorable occasions and important moments in my life, than most children get the opportunity to. She line danced, two-stepped, slow danced, and even did the Hammer Dance in her short time here on earth.
Little did Foster and I know at the time, but little Rosie was making herself comfortable inside of my belly the weekend we got engaged. We estimate that she was conceived a few days prior to our engagement weekend, so she was present when Foster got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. This is also the weekend we met the Princes. We had an amazing time in Nashville! We two-stepped and line danced to the music, dined at one of the best restaurants in town, and stayed in the top hotel accommodations in Nashville, The Gaylord Opryland Hotel. (This picture is when Rosie and I revisited the engagement site with Auntie Bug and Auntie JJ in Nashville.)
The weekend following our engagement, we took a mini vacation white water rafting in West Virginia. We jumped off thirty foot cliffs, camped out, rafted down the New Gully River, ate amazing food, and drank a little too much beer. I know, these are all activities that you are supposed to avoid while pregnant, but I still was unaware of my condition at this time. However, this is the weekend that I started to wonder if something was wrong. I noticed I was using the bathroom a lot more than usual, and after eating pizza the first night, I had more gas than a teenage boy. My husband is known to be the gassy one in our relationship, not me.
Approximately 2 weeks later is when I saw that little pink line materialize on the dip stick. At this point Foster and I had already set our wedding date for September 18th, 2010. We discussed the possibility of moving the date up, but decided to tell our parents first, and ask for their opinion. When we told Foster's family, his father responded with, "How did that happen?"
In which I replied, rather sarcastically, "I am not sure, another Immaculate Conception. Come on, do I HAVE to explain the birds and the bees to you?" This caused quite a bit of laughter, lightened the mood, and then the family talked about the wedding date. His family agreed with the idea of moving it up.
My mom's reaction was priceless too. I decided to tell her first, and then my dad. I bought her the Willow Tree figurine of the grandmother, and told her I had a belated birthday gift for her. "Oh, good!" She exclaimed, "I was wanting another one of....." her words trailed off as she realized what the figurine was. She looked at me with her mouth wide open in disbelief. After the initial shock wore off about ten minutes later, she responded "Well, if it was Bug I might be surprised, but we almost expected this sooner from Erin," we all started laughing, and it seemed like the whole family was happy and excited about this baby. First order of business, however, would be getting a wedding together in 3 months.
We moved the date up to December 12th 2009. This would mean that my little girl attended the happiest day of my life. She had front row, center seats to the uniting of her mom and dad. Sure, I was disapointed that Foster and I paid for an open bar, and I had to rely on others to drink my portion of the alcohol, but it was worth it to keep her healthy. I also tried my hardest in most of my pictures to hide my 16 week pregnant belly by placing my bouquet in front of the bump, but I do still have a few pictures where Rosie made herself known: (If you look close, you can see the baby bump.) Her and I danced with her father on the beautiful wooden dance floor. He spun us, dipped us, and whispered how much he loved me and how excited he was to become a father. I am so glad she got to take part in that beautiful day!
When Foster found out he was going to become a father, he decided he wanted to raise his family in the same church. Prior to this, Foster and I had attended the Catholic AND Protestant church, sometimes attending both in the same day. We were okay with this for a while, but had decided it would be easier for us as a family to attend one church. He decided he wanted to become Catholic. When he started the RCIA program, I decided I would go through the classes with him. I stopped receiving communion on Sunday, and and decided that when he took the Eucharist and his confirmation, is when we would take it for the first time as a family. April 4th, 2010 Rosie, Foster and I received the Body and Blood of Christ together, and she witnessed her father becoming Catholic. One of Rosie's favorite things was church. She would flip and roll and dance inside my belly whenever we would sing. I am so blessed that she got to take part in that spiritual journey with us!
Last, but not least, Rosie was a very special guest at her Aunt JJ's wedding. I was the matron of honor, and was EXTREMELY pregnant at this point. JJ had originally had her date set for a Saturday in May, but decided to move it up to March. Thank God for little blessings, because knowing Rosie went back up to heaven on the 20th of April, her wedding would have been extremely difficult for me to attend. However, since she moved the date up, both Rosie and I were present. We stood by JJ and Mr. JJ as they exchanged their vows. We also made a grand entrance by dancing to M.C. Hammer's "Hammertime." Just imagine the site of a 7.5 month pregnant woman Hammer dancing into the reception! Rosie and I spent most of the time on the sidelines with our feet propped, giving our portion of the beer to Foster, but we had a great time.
Although Rosie's dance through life was cut short, she definitely got to experience alot. These are moments I will cherish for a lifetime, and every time I look at pictures from these momentous occasions, I will smile and remember she was there with us.
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