My Little Man Is A Page Boy

Well, I finally got a hold of some photos! I am very grateful to my mother in law for these pictures. I was unable to take any of my own that day, having my hands full with everything else. It's a shame, because I was hoping to get some nice ones of my family all dressed up - we need some updated family photos, and we hardly ever dress up this much anymore!

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pics of my kiddies at their aunty's wedding a couple of weeks ago.......

For the most part, the day went well. Little Man tolerated his gorgeous suit very well given the circumstances. We had a house full of people - not all of them familiar to him - and he really doesn't like buttons at the moment. He had to wear suit pants (fine, no worries), a shirt, tie, vest and jacket. Lots of buttons. He was tired by the time he had to get dressed, so that didn't set a good premise from which to start. But he did well. I staggered the dressing process a little bit to avoid issues, and that seemed to work. The shirt was actually a little too big - the sleeves were too long. We had to fold them back to make them fit, so we did this before we put it on him. Hubby actually put the shirt on him early on in the day, and then put his pj shirt over the top to stop it from getting dirty. This helped because it allowed him to get accustomed to the shirt before we bombarded him with a whole bunch of other button- bearing gear. The next potential problem was the flower. To avoid issues, we pinned it on the lapel before putting the jacket on him. He looked at it, and inspected it a little bit, but then decided the flower was ok. All dressed up, he was so adorable to look at!

When it came to walking into the chapel and down the aisle, I couldn't have asked for a better partner. He was so sweet! Walking perfectly in time with me. I was told later on that he had a little smile on his face too. We walked to the front, and I handed him over to someone in the front row who was ready to watch him with a bag full of goodies. Throughout the ceremony, he did very well, blowing raspberries and saying his new sound as loud as he could. Nobody really minded that I could see (and if they did, I didn't care anyway). I'm pretty sure that just about everyone there was aware that the page boy was autistic. He was happy and settled, so that was what mattered most.

The ceremony was beautiful, the happy couple exchanging vows, tears happening everywhere. Then the couple were presented as the new Mr and Mrs, and everyone applauded. It threw Little Man off his groove and a tantrum started. I'm not too sure what happened at that point - I must have been busy with the bride - but when I looked up, my sister had him and had Mr Monkey on him ready for the photo session outside. He was struggling against her and protesting loudly. I was very glad to have Mr Monkey on hand at that point. I collected the baby and handed her to my husband, and then collected Little Man on the way out where we congratulated the newly weds and set about organising photography. More about the details of the day in another post, for now, here are some pictures of the girls on the day.

My two big girls handled themselves so well. I couldn't be more proud! Miss Jane just shines at times like this. She is an entertainer, and loves to be the centre of attention. Big Miss though, she has a timid nature, and was quite nervous. I think it helped that her responsibility was to hold the Baby Misses hand and walk her in with them. It kept her mind off the fact that people were staring and 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over her and her sisters.

Baby Miss was so cute and happy, and kept trying to run ahead. Big Miss had an awkward time keeping her baby sister in time with them. But she did a great job. When they got to where we were, she looked at me with an expression of slight panic in her eyes - What do I do now?. We had rehearsed, but I think the actual event is always a little different in reality. I quietly indicated that she can now pass her baby sister to Nana, who was waiting there, and then come and stand in front of us (the bridesmaids). Throughout the ceremony, they were perfectly behaved. No complaining, no distractions. They stood so sweetly and attentively, perfect little flower girls. My heart was almost bursting with pride.

Baby Miss grew a little restless through the ceremony, but her brother's bag of toys also had some surprises in it for her, and that kept her quiet enough.

I can't say it was easy - it was quite a challenge having both parents and all children in the bridal party. But with a little help, we did it. Admittedly, I find it quite disconcerting when I don't know where my baby is or who has her, but at the same time, I am thankful for the extra hands nearby to help when needed, and ultimately, I knew she was safe.



xx