Smith Family: Ms. Katie and Irakli are MARRIED!

Ms. Katie has been a big part of our lives over the 18 months. We pulled Sawyer out of daycare at Frog Hollow about a year and a half ago. We worried over the summer about finding the right place to help us raise him while Steve and I would be working during the school year. We feel so lucky that we found Ms. Katie. I know that when Sawyer first started daycare I hated the fact that I was leaving him at a place where people who didn't even love him were getting his best hours. We interviewed many providers over that summer and when I was at wits end, crying at the computer, checking ads for daycare providers, we found Ms. Katie.

She blew us away with our first meeting and we worried it was too good to be true. We got a chance to meet a parent who found her indispensable to the point she was willing to drive all the way across Iowa City and to North Liberty to keep her child in care with her. We got to see Katie caring for children and witnessed her sensible approach to discipline. She amazed us when she orchestrated healthy snacks with 8 children sitting around her table and managed to engage all of the children in meaningful conversation and learning time. When Steve and I leave Sawyer and Veda with Ms. Katie each day we are confident that the time they spend there is with people who love them and who enrich their lives.

I think it was last October when Katie told me about the new man she met. Their romance unfolded very quickly and I worried about her at first as she fell hard, fast. She assured me that she had checked him out thoroughly including a legal background check. When the time was right, she introduced him to the daycare kiddos. They instantly loved Irakli. It is so sweet that when they see him they each light up and jump up and down shouting for "Uncle Broccoli." Sawyer and Veda were honorary attendants in Ms. Katie and Irakli's wedding this weekend. Their outfits matched perfectly with about 15 other kiddos, it was pretty precious. Some favorite shots from the day...