Life Changes

2005 brought many changes. First, Nicole started consulting. Jonathan joined her at one work location in New Orleans for a mini-trip. Our vacation in Louisiana was well timed as Hurricane Katrina devastated the area soon after. In this picture Nicole tries to smile although every feminist tendency she has ever harbored was offended by the no-apologies testosterone of Bourbon Street (Jonathan doesn't appear too bothered...)

Other big news of 2005: Nicole graduated with honors as a Master of Human Performance Systems, with a certificate in Organizational Development. She received her diploma on May 8, 2005, and avoided the stifling heat of the day, which the other graduates had to endure for an hour as they waited outside for the graduation ceremony to begin, through her use of a wheelchair and disability seating. Although otherwise healthy, this was a requirement for Nicole because (drumroll please)...

Michael was on his way! Michael was due on Nicole's graduation day but, very consciensciously, waited until the next week to arrive at a healthy 8 pounds, 6 ounces. We stayed at the hospital for the full three days a c-section allows, and then brough home the cutest little baby we'd ever seen. We had several health scares with him. Heart problems - which weren't really a problem; strange masses in his chest scans - which weren't really a problem (or even real, for that matter); and Galactosemia - which was real, but Michael (thankfully) has the Duarte variant, a much more manageable metabolic issue.

Throughout the rest of this year we just enjoyed our new little family, spending time together and with relatives.

Invasion of the DC Cicadas

Little did we know that our carefree days would be invaded by millions of disgusting creatures: DC cicadas. They arrived en masse in 2004, and soon the air was filled with their bumbling bodies and constant screams. Jonathan joked that people should bring tennis rackets outside to swipe at the huge bugs as they flew by or stopped to land. Though Nicole never brought the racket, for several days she wore workboots rather than heals to work as she maneuvered over mounds of dead bugs that covered the ground. Ugh!

Three Years of Marriage

During our third year, Jonathan decided to switch careers and started a whole new batch of pre-requisites. His decision to pursue the field of Industrial Organizational Psychology was natural (he had, after all, introduced Nicole to the field back in 1999).

We took a few trips this year. Jonathan went to India for a few weeks (and, unfortunately, missed the best snow storm the DC region had seen in years), and we both spent time at Great Falls, Shenandoah National Park, and Assateague Island (the land of in-bred horses).

Off to Washington, DC

We left Missouri with high expectations for fabulous Washington, DC - despite Jonathan's first uttered words upon entering the Metro area, "I forgot how much I hate it here." We planned to complete our Masters degrees in DC and then settle somewhere out West. Nicole started her program in Human Performance Systems, sampled two different federal agencies before settling on a quasi-government workplace, and taught ballroom dance at a local studio. Jonathan started work as an accountant and began pre-requisites for an MBA program.

Four Months in Missouri

Our first year went by in a flash as we finished our undergrad and drove off to Missouri with nothing but what would fit in the car (and boy did we miss the couch). Dining on a card table with four plastic patio chairs, nobody seemed to mind that our gravy boat was a pyrex liquid measuring cup. Jonathan finished his training as an officer in the Army, and Nicole tried (in vain) to find a summer job to keep busy.

Hooray - Jonathan and Nicole Meet!

We've come a long way since that first meeting at the cantelope-eating party (say what you will, but when Nicole was at her grandparent's home and all the cantelope ripened at the same time, to do anything but host a cantelope-eating party would have been a terrible waste) or, depending on when you start counting, the other first meeting that Nicole can't remember... Through organizing weekly dances as friends (Jonathan called the girls, Nicole called the guys) and late-night telephone calls about relationships with other people, we finally realized that we were better off together (must have had something to do with Jonathan's ability to sing along with the "Chess" CD).