Show Us Your Life - Wedding Party/ Flowers

It's Show Us Your Life day over at Kelly's Korner again! Today's theme is Wedding Party and Wedding Flowers. After I found my dress, we started working on a place to have the reception. We looked a few places, we thought about the Botanical Gardens or getting a beach house, but when we found the Dam Neck Officers' Club, it was too perfect. It had enough room for everyone we wanted, but had limited space to keep our guest list from getting out of control. It was recently redecorated, it was very well priced (which meant we could have an open bar!), and it was on the beach! After we found the club, picking the date was easy - they were available September 23!

The biggest problem was finding a place that would meet our most important wedding condition: Noelle had to be allowed! That ruled out some churches, and likely meant we'd have to get married outdoors. I am NOT the kind of person that would be okay with that, not because I don't think it's perfect (look at my brother and sister in law's wedding - perfect), but because I would be a complete ball of nerves worrying about the weather. And with my luck, it would totally have rained! But Brian's parents' church (which is where he went to preschool and church growing up) let Noelle in! Everything fell into place perfectly!

Our wedding party was pretty big, but we both wanted to make sure that we included the people that were most important to us. That meant that Brian had two best men (how do you pick between your best buddies?), and I had a Man of Honor. You'll see it all here....

The absolutely adorable and (newly) 2 year old Colin served as our ring bearer. Here he is with Uncle Brian. I can believe how BLONDE his hair was back then (a whole almost three years ago)! This was his first wedding, but now he's a pro!
Here are the guys! From the left are my brother Marc, Pete (co-best man), T and Colin, Brian, Dave (co-best man), Ryan and my brother Matt. Dave was going through a growth period in his hair. He threatened to die it red and show up to my wedding looking like Ronald McDonald. Fortunately he didn't make good on that "promise."

Brian and his Best Dog Noelle! I loved her flower collar. We just got her a black collar to blend in with her coat and the florist put flowers on that matched the bridesmaid's flowers. She looked so precious!

Here she is after her big walk down the aisle! She had to give Brian a kiss before she took her place (next to the water bowl we set out for her).

This picture gives you a few good views. You see the flowers up the aisle, the flower display on the alter, the flowers on Noelle's collar, and you can see Noelle sitting in the aisle watching the ceremony. Okay, she was watching Brian. She was such a special part of the ceremony!

My flowers with our rings in them! I loved them!

Colin running up the aisle!

The whole wedding party!

Me and the girls (and guy)! Instead of having a Maid of Honor I had a Man of Honor - my little brother! Marc and I are only 11 months apart in age, so we're pretty close. It just seemed more appropriate to have him standing up holding my flowers, moving my dress, etc.! He even woke up early and picked me up from my hotel that morning (my parents' house was flooded with family, and I wanted to get some good sleep the night before). He didn't host a shower (my girls did that), but it was perfect! From the left is my friend Darcy who've I've known since high school, My sister Katie, Marc, Brian's sister Allison, and my friend Carolyn, who I went to high school with, worked at the Waterpark with, and who worked for Clinique for ages, so she did my make up! My little cousin Madison was the flower girl!

Next week is the reception! We had a great time, so there will be lots of good pictures!

I Don't Wednesday!

It's time for I Don't Wednesday over at Jenna's Journey!

• I don't like onions. I loathe them. I don't like the way they taste, I don't like the way they crunch, and I don't like the way they make me cry when I cut them. And every time we have burgers, I intentionally wait for Brian to ask me to cut him a few slices, because I'm secretly hoping he'll forget.

• I don't mow the lawn. I simply tell Brian that my Dad never taught me how to (he didn't)! There was no reason for me to learn because I have two brothers.

• I don't make my bed everyday. Not only am I the first one up on the days I work, I'm also out of the house before anyone else is up. Brian doesn't make the bed, so it doesn't get done until I get home at noon....and a lot of days that doesn't happen....

• I don't like football. Or even understand it. I loathe Sundays during the fall when Brian and I make lists of things to do and he says "Do you think we can get all of this done before the one o'clock game?" Seriously!?! It's the stupidest game ever! But I am really looking forward to going to a Dolphins/Panthers game in November!

• I don't like to work out right now. Probably because I need a refill on my inhaler...

Our Afternoon at the Park

It was sooooooooooooo hot today, but I decided to take the kids to the park. Wyatt's been a little rambunctious the last few days, and I know that it's best for his energy level to get him outside, even it's just for even 10 minutes. He loves to run outside and I can totally tell a difference in his attitude when he gets some outside time.

Once the kids woke up from their naps we slathered on the sun screen and headed to the park. Wyatt had a great time running around and playing. He's definitely becoming more independent on the playground. Reese had a great time as usual, but she stayed in the shade!

We all went to the Home Depot tonight to get new shrubbery for front yard. I think we got enough to fill it up (the people who lived here before had a lot of stuff going on and created a pretty large bed, but it was out of the control after they left), but we'll probably need to fill in a few bare spots here and there. I guess we'll have to see! I meant to take some "before" pictures, but I never got around to it, so you'll just have to settle for "after" once everything is done!

The Ever Expanding Vocabulary

Wyatt's vocabulary is expanding everyday, and over the last few days he has been cracking Brian and I up with some of his new little phrases. A few things he's said lately:

Last night while eating his ice cream cone:

"It's perfect. Mmm, Mmm, Mmm."

This morning when he woke up:

"Hi Mommy. Where's Reesie Reesie? Gonna feed her and kick her?"

(For the record, I don't condone sibling abuse)

Today when I was laying on the floor he covered me up with a blanket and said:

"Night night Mommy. Have sweet dreams about Noelley watching you and tickling you and giving you kisses."

Tonight when I was tucking him in and a plane flew overhead:

Wyatt: "No. No planes?"

Me: "Sorry buddy. We live close to a huge jet base. I can't do anything about the planes."

Wyatt: "We're gonna move? Move away from the planes?"

He's so patriotic.

Reese's Birthday Party

So I've been thinking a lot about Reese's birthday party over the last few weeks. I've narrowed down some of my preferences: I want it to be green and pink with yellow accents. And I know I want it to be more "homemade" than Wyatt's was. But that's where I'm kind of stuck. I can't decide if I want an actual "theme" or if I just kind of want it to be polka dots or what. I've been perusing the web and I've found a lot of great ideas on Etsy (and I just had one! Now I just have to put it into action), but I'm having trouble putting it all together. I think I'm going to start saving the things I like and printing them and make an inspiration board. Maybe that will help me get going!

My biggest problem is that I'm not crafty. I like to make things, but I'm never satisfied with how they turn out. I'm afraid that I'll put too much time into something and then be disappointed with it. One of my friends is hand making everything for her daughter's first birthday and I am very jealous. I wish I had that kind of creativity or inspiration. But let's just say that I use this blog (in part), because scrapbooking isn't fun for me. Hours and hours spent on one page....only to be let down. No thank you. But I think I'm going to get some advice, I'm going to give her a homemade birthday party. And I've only got a month to plan it!

Eleven Months Old!

Reese is eleven months old today! I can't believe that in one month she will be a one year old. Time is flying by, and she is learning more and more every day. This month she obviously hit her walking milestone, but she's doing so much more!

Her vocabulary is getting bigger every day. She can say "Mama" and "Dada," and the names of all of her grandparents. She's been waving and saying bye bye for about a week and a half. She's also added "doggie," "ball," and "book" to her vocabulary just in the last few days. Whenever she does something great she claps along with us and says "yay!" If she wants something she points to it, and she and Brian play a little game where they point to each other and laugh.

She isn't completely comfortable walking by herself, but she's been walking all over the house pushing her stroller or her horse, and currently she's pushing around a box of diapers!

Over the last month she has also completely weaned herself. We were down to one feeding at night before bed, but we've stopped. She was still interested for the most part, but she was becoming more and more distracted (by her brother). At this point she's still getting my pumped milk from the last few months, and we've introduced Enfamil Next Steps as well. She hasn't had any milk but mine since she was born, but she seems to like it. Good thing too, because it was a free can that came in the mail. I'm hoping to only have to buy one can before we make the switch to the Horizon Organic milk that Wyatt uses.


I'm kind of bummed that I'm no longer feeding her, but I also feel pretty good about. Like I said before, this is the first time since 2006 that I haven't been pregnant or breastfeeding. And I've already lost three pounds! I don't even feel as hungry now as I was when I was feeding her. I told Brian last night that I think I've lost my appetite!


I am really looking forward to watching how much more she learns in the next few months. Looking back, this period is when Wyatt's language and personality started shining, and I can't wait to see what that means for Reesie!

Preparations are underway for her first birthday party, but have to set a date. We want all of our friends and their kids to be able to come, and since some work the same crazy summer schedule that Brian does, we may have to wait until September to party! I think it would be nice to align her party with her coming home date from the NICU as well, but we'll have to see!

Newborn
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
Four Months
Five Months

Six Months
Seven Months & Seven Months in Pictures

Eight Months
Nine Months

Ten Months

And here she is today at 10:07 when she turned 11 months old, playing with her horsie. She concentrates so hard on pushing this thing around the house!

My Wedding Dress

So Kelly is Hosting Show Us Your Life: Wedding Dresses today. I have to say I LOVED my wedding dress. It was actually the first thing that I found for the wedding. Brian and I decided to wait a few weeks to start planning the wedding so we could enjoy just being engaged. My Mom and I went to Karen Eagle (which is now closed) during that time period just to check things out. And (after a phone call to my Dad), we walked out with a wedding dress. We had no place to get married or have a reception. We hadn't decided on colors. But I saw my dress and it was the one. It was even the perfect size off the rack (and at half price)!

I only have the pictures because Brian and I (very recently) threatened to sue our photographer if we didn't get them. Until just this past April all we had were our proofs...no formal album or anything (and we'd paid for it). They went out of business just after the wedding and left us with nothing. Fortunately we found them and got everything (including the digital photos)!

Us on the way to the reception
Probably one of my favorites. Noelle was in the wedding, and as we walked out, she just kind of followed us!

The whole dress

The back of the dress and the veil. My favorite part about my dress was the ribbon around the bodice. I also loved how it came to a point in the back...it definitely slimmed out my um, problem area....

Next week we'll be sharing the bridal party and colors of our weddings!

We Have A(nother) Walker!

Reese is now officially on the road to walking at 10 months 26 days! That is exactly two months older than her brother was when he started walking. She can take multiple steps at a time, and then she gets back up and tries again! I think she's taken up to 11 steps at a time now. We got some video of her walking this evening, but if you're going to watch, I'd turn off the volume. A certain big brother isn't too fond of the attention his sister is getting from Daddy....

Wyatt Riding the Ladybug Car

Here's Wyatt at Busch Gardens on Monday....

A Few Random Thoughts

Don't get too excited...they aren't that deep...

• My friend Jessica is coming to town in a few weeks. We are super excited to see her (in all her unplastic glory), but I am astounded as to why she is coming to town. She's planning our 10 year high school reunion! Am I seriously now almost 10 years removed from high school? Parts of it seem like so long ago, and other parts seem like just yesterday. It boggles my mind how quickly the time goes by....
• I found out that I was pregnant with Wyatt three years ago tomorrow. That means three years ago right now I was gobsmacked with the idea that I might be pregnant. I was just sitting in my room watching Run's House. During the episode Justine found out she was pregnant, and during that episode there were probably about 5 commercials for pregnancy tests. At that point, I was pretty sure I was pregnant. And sure enough, I certainly was!
• So as of tomorrow, I will have officially hit a three year period of sharing my body. That's between being pregnant twice and breastfeeding...with no breaks in between. I was still breastfeeding Wyatt when I got pregnant with Reese, with no break. I am counting down the days until she is done (and she's pretty much almost done)!
• Do you know how stressful it is getting your house ready to sell? There are lists and lists of things to be done...we're tackling it day by day. Yesterday I dug up a dead tree and today I weeded the edges of the flower bed (it's a really big bed). I have blisters on my fingers, but it looks so much better. Now we just need to re-mulch and plant some shrubbery (that's just the one bed, there's so much more to do)!
• Looking at houses is not as stressful. When I was a little girl I used to design houses on notebook and decorate them in my head (except we didn't have Pottery Barn catalogues...I used the JC Penney's catalogue). I love the idea of moving and starting from scratch and bringing nothing in that doesn't need to be there. So fun!
• When I was at JMU I lived on the best hall ever (7C!). We had a blast, and we sang a lot. We had major karaoke jam sessions (with remixes :)), and there are a lot of songs that remind me of those fun times. And I heard a lot of them today, and it brought back the best memories. Fun times!

And that's all I've got. I told you it wasn't going to be anything too deep....

Busch Gardens - Again

We went to Busch Gardens again yesterday on Brian's day off. We decided to switch things up a bit and go in the opposite direction of our usual route. We got to the Sesame Street Forest of Fun first, and there was a show going on. Because Wyatt is petrified of characters, we skipped the show and went on a ride. After the water ride Wyatt said "No Sesame Street. No Sesame Street." So we left.

We stopped and rode a few rides that he'd never ridden before on the way to lunch. He had a lot of fun, and got very brave. After we'd been on a few rides we passed some airplanes. Brian and I saw them, but quickly decided that we weren't sure he was ready because he had to ride it solo and it was a bigger ride. Wyatt had a different idea about the planes though. He asked so nicely that we let him try and he did a great job! It had a control to make the plane elevate and he pulled on it before the ride started, but he stopped as soon as it started circulating. He still had a lot of fun.

After lunch we took both kids on the carousel. Reese had to pass a test to be able to ride a horse. They told me she had to take three steps - and she did it! She had a wonderful time on the horsie. We went to Land of the Dragons after the carousel and the boys were all over the place. Reese and I just sat in the shade and waited for them patiently. Wyatt rode a few rides over there, but his absolute favorite were these Ladybug cars. They go around on a track, but he legitimately thought that he was driving! He didn't stop smiling the entire time!

We saw the eagles, the "big bad wolf" (Wyatt's terms) and the Clydesdales on the way out. I think Wyatt would have an absolute ball if we went to Busch Gardens and only looked at the animals!

After dinner the boys went on a bike ride around the neighborhood on this contraption. Wyatt loved it. We then went to get ice cream at Handel's, and we got Wyatt his own cone. He did a really good job eating the ice cream, and we were really proud of him (you know, when we weren't shoveling ice cream into Reese's mouth - she loves that stuff!). Once the ice cream was gone and there was only cone left he looked into the cone and looked at me and said "I need more ice cream please, Mommy!" I told him that the ice cream was all gone, but he could eat the cone and he happily obliged. When I was putting him to bed last night I asked him if he had the best day and he looked at me and "Yes Mommy." He has no idea what he was saying, but it was so sweet!

Wyatt was shouting "No camera! No pictures!"
I actually got to go on a ride with Wyatt!

Waiting for Mommy and Wyatt

Drinking from her sippy cup!

Riding the horse

Posing

Shouting

Loving the ladybug cars!

Four Steps!

Reese took her first steps about a week ago, and tonight she took four steps! She walked from me to Brian, and she did a great job. She's been doing a great job pushing her baby stroller across the floor, and we were so proud of her!

Who didn't care about her walking? Her brother who tried every thing he could think of to steal the attention for himself. Once he realized we were ignoring him he stopped and praised his sister...halfheartedly...

Fun at Didi and Pop Pop's

We went to my parents' house yesterday to hang out in the morning before naptime. Wyatt was begging to swim, and he is definitely becoming more and more comfortable in the water. He swims around like a little fish, and he loves to splash. The only thing that bothers him are bugs. If there is a bug anywhere near him he asks that it be removed. He helped Katie make pigs in a blanket for lunch, and then enjoyed an ice cream cone (as did Bella, who followed him around and licked up his drippings).

Reese took a nap and when she woke up she joined us outside. My Dad put up a tent (that he apparently bought for some VMI thing for my brother years ago and had never used since) and Reese sat under it in her exersaucer. I started calling it her "red headed grandchild tent." She had a lot of fun eating, but she really loved watching my sister jump in the pool. She moved herself all around so that she could get a good view of Katie.

The active morning was just what they needed because they came home and napped like angels (they usually do, they just napped longer yesterday)!

Enjoying his ice cream cone and dancing
Reese in her tent

Reese and Bella!

At the Waterpark

The kids and I went to the Waterpark on Wednesday after their naps. I love, love, love going late in the afternoon. The park isn't too crowded and the kiddie section empties out pretty early. There's a lot of space to play and no real lines to wait in. Katie went with us (I can't take care of them both by myself at the Waterpark), which was great because she's pretty tall. Wyatt really enjoys the grape escape, but the water is 5 feet deep...which means that I can't even stand up in the water! At 5'9 Katie can stand and walk, so she took him down the slide. I stood right there telling her to make sure she turned to the left as soon as she hit the pool. I can't tell you how many little kids I had to go in and get over the 5 year period that I worked there just because they couldn't fight the current, but it was a lot! Wyatt had a blast playing on the slides and in the wave pool, and he always gets a good night's sleep after we go there. In fact, he asks me practically every day if we're going. I'm still trying to figure out whether it's a ploy to see Daddy, or whether he really wants to go play!

Wyatt and Katie on the Grape Escape
Dancing in the wave pool

My Blessings!

It's so fun for me to watch my kids get bigger. Wyatt is a hoot everyday with the things he says and does. He has opinions about things -opinions that he sometimes expresses very sweetly, and on a rare occasion he chooses to be a little more, ahem, vocal. He likes to be given little chores, whether the chore involves taking out a diaper to the garbage with Brian, or helping his sister up, he doesn't seem to care. He knows his routine by heart, and he can always tell me what he's doing next. At lunch he talks about his upcoming nap. When he wakes up he asks where his sister is and whether we're going to get her from her crib. Once he has his cup of milk and an episode of Caillou, he knows bedtime is just around the corner. This little boy thrives on his routines.

Reese is strictly routined as well, and I'm really starting sense that she is just as happy with it as her brother is. I'm currently teaching her that no matter how early she wakes up from her afternoon nap, in this house you still stay in your crib and play quietly until the two hour mark. The you get up and come downstairs. Wyatt is always in a much better mood if he relaxes quietly for a bit than he is if I just go get him as soon as he's awake. And that's after a 2 hour nap! Her personality is showing more each day. She's a bit of a troublemaker. She likes to get her brother in trouble. He may just be standing right next to her, but she'll scream just to see him get in trouble. And she laughs and laughs while he sits in time out and then tries to lure him out by picking up one of his toys. She's quite the little girl. For all her attempts to be devious, she is still incredibly sweet and loving. When I pick her up she lays her head down on my shoulder and while I pat her back, she pats mine. Everyday I find that I enjoy being their mom more today than I did the day before...and that really is a blessing!

The Rest of the Weekend

Sunday was pretty nasty, so the kids and I ended up hanging out at home all day. We played, watched Elmo's Potty Time (seriously, Wyatt loves it), and read books. I'm finding that if I pick up a book and start reading (even if it's one of my books - this is what I'm re-reading for the millionth time now!), Wyatt will run to the playroom and come back with 5 books in his hands. He'll sit next to me on the couch and look at his books. He obviously can't read, but he does sing his ABC's and point to letters. He's pretty silly!

That evening Brian and I went and looked at some houses. We haven't completely decided to move, but we did meet with our realtor last week and we're still trying to decide what to do. We've looked at the neighborhood before and we liked what we saw, so we went back. I guess we'll have to see what happens! We also went out to dinner and to a movie. We saw Public Enemies, which I would not suggest to anyone. It was terribly slow and boring. Brian liked the action scenes, but even he thought it moved to slowly! I Vanilla Sky'd it, which means that I hated it and contemplated leaving. Sooooooo awful (and that's coming from someone who loves Christian Bale)!

We woke up on Monday to a cool and cloudy day. It rained for a little bit, but we decided to go to the zoo since it wasn't persistent. Wyatt had a great time visiting his animal friends (he seriously asks about them almost every day), and Reese was really aware of what was going on this time. She really enjoyed looking at the animals too!

The boys entering the zoo
They both really loved the prairie dogs! A baby came right up to them to say hello!

This is Wyatt with Mikayla. She really liked Wyatt and called him and ran up to him every time they saw each other. I think she's an older woman. This is where they first met...

The boys watching the lion sleep. He was all by himself. The babies that he and his "wife" had last year were sent to Oregon last week. She had new babies a couple of months ago so she's still in hiding with them!

Being a dad to newborn lion cubs is easy work!

Reese and Mommy at the zoo!

Wyatt and Mikayla checking out the lovebirds. Seriously. This is where they said their good byes.

After the zoo we went to Doumar's for some lunch. It was Wyatt's first time actually getting something to eat and he loved it. Especially the limeade! Both kids were fast asleep by the time we got home, and Wyatt took a pretty long nap. Reese has three new teeth coming in right now, and that was the only time she really seemed to be upset. She ended up sleeping for about an hour, but that was it. Fortunately she was still cheerful!

The 4th of July!

On the 4th of July we went to Waterpark. Rather than rambling on about our day, I'll let you see the pictures!

Wyatt was able to go down a big slide with me! They got new tubes with bottoms, and little kids who are life jacketed can ride them!
I'm not sure what was going on here, but he looked too cute! I think he might have been talking about fish kisses.

Piper, Wyatt and Reese

Piper dropped the rings!

The girls chatting

Friday

Even though Friday wasn't actually Independence Day, it was the observed holiday so I had the day off! The kids and I went over to my parents' house for lunch and played the day away. Wyatt had so much fun swimming in the pool. He really enjoys swimming around, and I love his life jacket. It's really giving him the ability to learn to swim using his arms and legs. I'm hoping to start some sort of swimming lessons with him soon (we have a lot of friends who currently coach or have coached), but in the meantime I want him to learn about pool safety. That's why we've set some pretty firm rules:

• Two people always have to be home when the kids are swimming - that's why the kids and I don't use our pool when Brian's not home.
• Wyatt is only allowed to enter the pool from the stairs - that way he doesn't think he can just run out the back door and into the pool.
• His life jacket stays on if he's near the pool.

We love having a pool, but it is one of the main reasons that we're seriously considering moving. It's great, but it's not worth not having a backyard or the worry that is causes when you have little ones! Plus Brian's working so much during the summer and we have the two person rule, so it hardly ever gets used.

My parents watched the kids for me on Friday night while Brian worked and I went to a barbecue at my friend Darcy's house. We went to high school together and she was in our wedding. She is a Red Sox fan, but I can forgive her that minor flaw. Even though she's living in Richmond I hardly ever see her! Several of our friends from high school were there, and it was really great to be able to sit around and catch up. And Darcy's mom makes some delicious food. I don't think I stopped eating the entire night!

He's a little water baby!

My little Puff addict waiting for a fix!