Sunday was our sixth wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to the pumpkin patch with the boys and cousins. 🙂 For our five year anniversary, we took a trip to New York just the two of us and had so much fun. This year, with a new baby and COVID, we got take-out sushi, popped a bottle of champagne, but switched to bourbon after one glass, and just enjoyed a dinner together after the boys were asleep.

I thought it would be fun to do a little Q&A on our last six years together with both Nathan and me. When I pitched this idea to Nathan, he was excited to finally be included in the blog. 🙂

What’s your most favorite memory from our wedding?

Lauren: My favorite memory was our last dance of the night where we were by ourselves, all our guests had left, and we were just surrounded by the people who worked at our reception venue, as they were cleaning up.

Nathan: So the last dance is definitely one, and it’s my favorite thing from our wedding. But the story that I most tell people about is, well two stories. But the first is you rapping Iggy Azalea “Fancy.” And the second one was our last dance with everyone before they went out and we did our final alone dance, where we danced to “Don’t Stop Believin'” while our friends formed this huge circle around us, and we danced in the middle.

Best advice you’d give a newly married couple?

Nathan: Am I speaking to the guy or the girl or both?

Lauren: However you want to interpret the question. I think what I would say is. I guess, two things: one, there will be times where you feel loved and in love, and there are other times where you have to make a conscious choice to choose to love that person. It’s a rollercoaster, and it doesn’t all just go straight up. And the second thing, is that I don’t think you can be successful going into a marriage thinking you can change the other person. The only thing you can change is your mindset.

Nathan: What’s the saying? That guys going into the relationship not wanting the girl to change, and girls go into the relationship wanting to change the guy and he won’t change?

Best advice you’d give a couple bringing home their first baby together?

Nathan: I feel like I’ve done this a lot recently. <<Side note: we have a ton of friends getting ready to have their first babies, and we are SO EXCITED!!>> So let me think about what I’ve told them. It’s going to be nothing like you can anticipate. Embrace the chaos. And hope the baby eats and sleeps well. But related to that, what I tell my guy friends is that in the beginning, there’s not a lot that you can do to keep the baby alive. So your job is to make sure the mama is less stressed, so that the baby eats well, and sleeps well. So, you can eat well and sleep well.

Lauren: I would add to that just a huge dose of grace and acceptance of the chaos. You’re just relearning so much in that time period: what each of you does around the house, how to take care of another little human being. All while not eating well, and not sleeping well, and it just requires a huge amount of grace for everyone involved.

And secondly, say “yes” when friends or family offer to help. Like truly help. Cleaning, cooking, etc.

Most stupid thing we’ve fought or argued about?

Lauren: I like things done in a particular way. I don’t know that I’d call those arguments, because you usually roll your eyes and don’t argue about it. So I can’t even think of the last stupid argument we had that we both cared about what we were arguing about.

Nathan: I don’t keep a memory of any of these things. It’s like in one ear, out the other.

What’s the first conversation you remember us having?

Nathan: When I first started full time at {Employer} in Fall 2011, we had a happy hour where a group of us had broken off from the main company event. And you were there, and I was sitting next to you, and I knew pretty much everyone that worked at {Employer} having interned the summer before, but I didn’t know you.

Lauren: Because I didn’t start until the winter after your internship.

Nathan: Yeah. Right. I just remember talking to you, and you saying literally nothing back to me. And I was like, “Okkkkk…well, nice to meet ya.” And moved on.

Lauren: That makes me sound like an awful person. So, your first memory of a conversation between us was actually not a conversation.

Nathan: I guess yeah. Pretty much.

Lauren: My first recollection of a true conversation was quite a bit later than yours. It was the end of summer 2012, we started officially dating in fall 2012. And we were about to go to a free concert with the rest of our coworkers, and you started the conversation saying how much you liked Taylor Swift’s new song. Which was “We Are Never Getting Back Together.”

Rapid Fire…

First one to say “I love you?”

Nathan: Me. But you were ready to say it before me.

First one to apologize during an argument?

Nathan: Well, you are.

Lauren: I agree.

Most patient?

Nathan: Me. That shouldn’t even be “Most patient.” That should be “Who is patient and who is not.”

Most organized?

Nathan: Me.

Lauren: Absolutely not. That’s not even close.

Bigger spender?

Nathan: It’s you. Because of how much you spend at Amazon. But neither of us are big spenders.

Better cook?

Nathan: You, for sure.

Lauren: I’d say you. Because when you commit to doing something, your instincts are way better. But you cook far less than I do.

Nathan: True. Because I have an interest in understanding the “why” behind a dish.

Cleaner?

Nathan: You are.

Does Harrison act more like you or like me?

Nathan: Well, that’s tough. He definitely received his “hanger” trait from you. He is more outwardly loving than I am or was, which he likely gets from you. He’s more stubborn than I think I was, which I think is from you.

Lauren: Whaaaaat?

Nathan: What he got from me was his general willingness to disregard boundaries or parental suggestions, which is not the same thing as stubbornness.

Lauren: Well, I’m glad we agree that the trait that is making his 2’s hard came from you.

Happy six years!

Wedding photos by McBride Photo Design