Recap of AA & Uncle Trae's Wedding

I survived the wedding almost completely unscathed! I say "almost" because I am still dealing with post-wedding bustle insomnia. I guess my body is still conditioned to the late-night demands it was functioning with last week (I don't think I went to bed before 2am all week long...which is not normal for me!) So, since I'm awake at 2:30am and blogging generally wears me out, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone by filling everyone in on the events of the weekend.

First off, it would be an understatement to say that my sister looked breath-taking...but anyone who knows her wont find that at all hard to believe.
The cake turned out better than I had hoped (thanks to some help from my good friend, and former cake decorating partner in crime, Katy Garner). Mom G helped me hand-roll homemade marshmallow fondant pearls earlier in the week (the rest of the cake is iced in buttercream), Mom R and Grandmother watched both kids all day Thursday while I baked and decorated the cakes (making good use of all 4 ovens in the church kitchen, which, as a bonus, meant I didn't have to move the cake after it was decorated!)

And in case you're curious, I wasn't in the least bit bothered by watching it be hacked to bits and served on plates. It thrilled me to watch people eat it and smile.

Norah has now officially joined the ranks as a veteran flower girl. She bonded almost immediately with Trae's cousins' daughter (an 8-time flower girl vet, herself), and Keri took her under her wing.

AA put her foot down and insisted that N have her hair in her "trademark" pigtails. (Which I was thankful for, because when her hair was styled like Keri's, she really didn't look like herself, at all!)

I got so choked up when N walked down the aisle calm as a cucumber, dropping petals (mostly one at a time...at a MUCH slower pace than Keri, but it was sweet). For being just 2 and a half, I thought she was beautiful, brave, and did a great job. Thanks to a suggestion by my cousin, Melissa, we put fruit snacks and candy in the bottom of her basket, so that when she reached the front of the chapel she could just sit down and eat them. This worked great for a few minutes, but I guess Foree's ceremony made her drowsy because she eventually laid out on the stage, on her stomach, spread-eagle, resulting in a hasty retrieval by Aunt Paige. (And I'll add, I was SO thankful that N's reaction to Paige's nabbing her was a whispered, "Hi, Aunt Paige!" and not a scream of protest like I had feared it would be) (The two cute girls on the left are Trae's twin nieces, Abbie and Gracie, who are three months older than N)




Even Eli got decked out for the wedding. His necktie (which cost a whopping $1.99 at the Children's Place outlet) was a big hit with all the ladies. (And let me tell you, he worked it--- little charmer that he is!)He even conned one lady into slipping him some cake! (By the way, the flurry of white in the lower right of the photo is Norah fleeing the scene.)




E was very aggreable about having his pictures taken (I got the feeling he knew he was the cat's meow)





Note: Eli's Daddy looks equally dashing in a necktie (and since that is a rare occurrence, I made sure to take a few photos!)

All-in-all, it was a great weekend. We're thrilled for Amanda and Trae as they start their new lives together and were thankful to be a part of their celebration.

Go, Red Sox?

As Eli persistently continues to add to his tooth-count (currently working on #6) and is becoming increasingly more mobile, daily, he and Norah are really starting to enjoy playing together.

I snapped a shot of the two of them before church last Wednesday night. I love that I don't even have to pose them to make it look like they're friends. (at least for now)



While dressing Eli in his baseball outfit (a gift from Uncle Billy & Aunt Jan that he's finally grown into!), I noticed some unseasonably warm (read: "impractical, but totally adorable") matching booties (also a gift). I couldn't resist putting them on to complete the ensemble, and much to my shock, Jason gave his nod of approval! (Eli looked a little apprehensive at first--like, "You really expect me to wear these in July?!")



But then the bold colors caught his eyes, and he was immediately smitten...














Yeah, I think he knew he looked irresistible. (At least to his mommy)

From the Mouthes of Babes...

I know I'm a negligent blogger. My little sis is getting married Saturday so things are a little hectic in Robinson County. I hope to be back to blogging full-force (with lots of pictures) in a week or so. Until then, bear with me and I'll do my best to blog when time permits (and if that isn't good enough, then the picture at left is especially for you).



N: "Look Daddy, my favorite fruit!"
J: "Where, Norah?"
N: "Right here!" (hands him a lollipop, which, in her defense did have a bunch of grapes pictured on it's wrapper)

Fish Tales and Curly Cues

Eli went in for his (belated) six-month well-check today. He is up to 16lbs. 12oz. and 26 inches long. In light of the fact that until they are old enough to be measured standing up, babies "height" is referred to as their "length", much like a fish, I thought it would be fun to post a picture of our "little lunker"



He is now up to F-I-V-E teeth (three on top, two on bottom) and lets just say, um...I'm well-aware that they're there.

At this stage, Norah hadn't even cut her first tooth. Of course, he passed her 1-year weight at 4 months, so I don't know why I even bother making comparisons (although, I still think they look alike!)


In other milestone news, Norah sat still and allowed me to curl her hair last Sunday. (This is exciting on two levels--the first being that she actually has enough hair to put in curlers, and the second being that she was very patient and still while I was working on her hair...believe me, it is usually a struggle just to get her hair in pigtails!)






Here she is being "very careful" not to loose her curlers. Is it just me, or does she look so grown up in this picture?

At 2 and a half years old, she is up to 29.5lbs and is 35.5" tall. (No more fish measurements for my girl). She's growing up so fast!

All Dressed Up (With Somewhere to Go!)

Jason and I are admittedly homebodies. Apart from church, we don't spend much time dressed up fancy-like, so when we had the opportunity to attend the wedding of a mutual, life-long friend this weekend, we pulled out all the stops. Norah and Eli spent an evening at Mimi and Pepaw's house, and Jason and I enjoyed a fancy, grown-up night out.

Our precious friend, Lauren Lucille Garner (now Vasser) was wed Saturday night in what proved to be a beautiful (and highly entertaining) wedding celebration.

Jason and I are not huge wedding goers, as a rule, but there was no way either of us would have missed Lauren's wedding. We've both known her forever, and at least one of us credits her with helping get Jason and me together as a couple.


As if that weren't enough of a lure to draw us out of hiding for the wedding festivities, so many of our good friends were there, too.

Including Jason's brother Grant, and our beautiful sister-in-law, Paige...




and our good-time friends, Jon and Amy Buchanan. (to whom I owe credit for almost all of the pictures in this post since I am a lousy event-photographer and Amy was kind enough to share)




Amy & Paige...and Grant (ever the goofy-faced picture crasher)









There was even a certified, ballroom dance instructor at the wedding, who gave instruction on 2 styles of dance (fox trot and swing) to all the guests. Jason and I tried the fox trot...but ours looked more like the fox trod on each other's feet! (We did, at least get in one, good, Texas Waltz before the night was through).

Thanks to the Garners for hosting a great wedding and reception, and thanks to the grandparents for allowing us a special date night!

From the Mouthes of Babes...

"Johnny Jump Rope"- Norah's term for Eli's new, favorite toy. (Incidentally, she is convinced that we're hiding that the true use of the Johnny Jump-up is an indoor swing, as she tries to go for a ride nearly any time we leave it unattended)

Sunday, Norah had discarded a big bear that she had been cuddling with. Eli was crawling around on the floor at the time. He had been playing with a red toy bird, but when he realized the bear had been forsaken, he decided to make his move. A couple of minutes after he had aptly coated one of its ears in slobber, Jason and I overheard this, "No sir, Eli! You play with the cardinal. You get a spankin'!" She then proceeded to give him two light smacks through his diaper and moved her bear to higher ground. Eli was amused by the encounter (thankfully, Norah knows better than to hit him hard) The funniest thing about the whole situation was her tone. It wasn't angry or spiteful. It was very much the "serious mom", scolding type of voice, with a a sprinkle of "You should know better" thrown in for good measure.

Fantastic 4th

We had such a fun family night for the 4th of July! After dinner, Jason and I decided to take the kids out to Research Park for a round of disc golf (something we haven't done in a long time). It was a gorgeous evening. There was just enough breeze to keep us cool, but not enough to hurt our game. And since Research Park is next door to the George Bush Library (our local July 4th Celebration headquarters), we also got to enjoy a free concert of several cover bands while we played.

The kids did great. Norah played disc golf with us for most of the round. Eli enjoyed the ride. He was so quiet for our whole round (at least an hour and a half) that several times I was sure he must have fallen asleep, but he was wide awake, taking it all in with a big grin on his face.

After getting our disc golf fix, we headed over the field that faces George Bush Library and staked out our spot for the fireworks show. We spread out a blanket and got comfy for the hour wait before the show. Thankfully, the library was still providing a free concert, and we packed a few things to help pass the time.

Norah enjoyed her mini kite thoroughly. She was so proud of herself, she kept shouting to anyone within earshot, "Look! I'm flying my kite!"




Eli rolled around, crawled, and smiled a lot. (Note: he's up to a whopping four teeth now, and he takes full advantage of each of them!)

We tried to get a family photo, but there wasn't anyone close by to ask, so we settled for a couple of partials.





We had debated all day about whether or not to take Eli to see the fireworks. He usually melts down at about 7:45pm, and the only thing that calms him is to put him in his bed. (That boy knows his bedtime and he lives by it!) Since the fireworks weren't scheduled to begin until 9:45pm, and they would be loud, I was really afraid he would just cry through them. Boy, was I ever wrong. He was completely enthralled. (And this was one of my favorite pictures!)

Norah's commentary during the fireworks was very entertaining, to say the least. As each colorful burst revealed itself, she'd shout, "Oooo! That was a pretty one!", "Ohh! Tha's a big one!", or my personal favorite description, "Ooooh! That was a messy one!"