Friday Cuteness

We will now interrupt your Friday with cuteness in the bath tub.
Thanks for your time!

The Wedding Day: Part Three: Delivery of a Bride

Here she comes!!

My sister approached the gazebo to the song "Soul Sister" by Train

And also the sound of her niece sobbing.....

She wasn't phased and at this point she actually added a little shimmy to her walk.

It was super cute, and we all giggled at her.


They were having a good time.

And now, the inner monologue of both Sister and Dad:
"Please don't stumble, please don't trip"

Successful navigation through the dirt path, over the wooden bridge and onto the gazebo floor!!
Then she was delivered to her intended.

It was such a lovely wedding.

Josh's best man, whom I call Other Josh, had to hold both rings as well as Kimmy's flowers, since I was otherwise occupied. He was a good sport about it.

I like this shot of Kimmy. This is the exact smile she wore the ENTIRE time she was getting legally, spiritually, emotionally and thoroughly entwined to her spouse.

They were so darn happy!!

Alas, I have no pictures of the actual ceremony. After Tim took this picture I shuffled Violet off to him and took my position next to the bride.

But trust me, it was lovely. Not unlike my sister.

The Wedding Day: Part Two: The Fall of the Flowergirl

Violet was really not into her dress the day of the wedding. It was nap time and she was not in the mood to play dress up.

After I got her dressed and calmed down(thanks to some Tootsie Rolls) we headed for the gazebo.

I was thinking it was going quite well.

Then she started to make noise, but just then a chipmunk popped out and she spotted him.

She loves animals. Had I popcorn or crackers or anything I would have bribed that little pipsqueak clear to the gazebo. But, alas, he skittered back off into the rocks.



But she was keeping it together.....for a bit.
Notice the smile on my face. I was sure we would make it.
Silly Momma.




Then she spotted the photographer and the people. That was the beginning of the end my friends.
I tried to get her to keep walking.
That failed fast.





So I scooped her up and started murmuring to her.
"It's alright. We just have to get over there to Daddy. See Daddy?"

"If I don't smile, I too will burst into tears."

"Daddy! Save me! Momma made me put on this dress and now I'm a hostage!"

Then we made it to our spot and she was wrapped around me like a scarf.

I still foolishly thought she might settle down before Kimmy made her big appearance.

"Momma will give you a sucker and a cake and a pony if you calm down."

It never did work, and for whatever reason I waited until after my sister got there to hand Violet off to her Daddy. The upshot is Tim was able to photograph my sister's approach to the alter. Violet did calm down.......after they were wed.

No one seemed to notice though. My sister was all smiles and all else went off without a hitch.

I know that my sister and all other involved parties had no expectations of Violet(or me for that matter) but as the sister of the bride and the Mom of the flower girl, let me just tell you I was a wreck. A good kind of wreck, but none the less.....

At the end of the day though we were all smiling and my sister got the big prize. Josh.

A List

1. It hailed a whole lot here this summer. I have been seriously procrastinating calling our insurance company. They replaced our roof last year due to wind damage, and I fear if I call them we will get some sort of black mark. We also lost part of our fence and got damage to the truck. I'm sure when I call, they will simply cancel me, hang up the phone and laugh.

2. When I leave my laptop on all day and it gets too warm, my keyboard acts up. That is currently happening right this minute. Typos are everywhere.

3. Many of you may recall my deep, unwavering and totally unhealthy love of TV. Due to a great many circumstances, I seriously downgraded my cable. I now have local channels and Food Network. I kept all the stuff Vee likes, but that's about it. I'm not struggling with this life change the way I thought I would.

4. Before Violet came along we spent several hundred dollars on some gorgeous stoneware dishes at Peir 1. They were everything we ever thought we'd need at our table. Then we had a baby, and I no longer took the time to be extra cautious or even (gasp) hand wash all my dishes. They started to chip and look sorrowful, and I began to have intestinal distress. I gave them to my friend, whose child is grown and gone, and spent $50.00 on 2 sets of plain, docile, boring white Corelle dishes. I couldn't be more pleased with this decision. Same goes for my intestines.


5. My husband painted what will be both kids room this week. There was a forest green wall from back when it was his office, and he changed it to a minty green. It has made such a big difference in the lightness of the room we had to take out the night light because it was waking Violet up.

6. My cell phone of 3 years died of natural causes this week. I am just glad the whole dish issue was resolved at the time. I will keep cars, clothes and cell phones for as long as life allows. I hate learning new gadgets and I could care less how "smart" my phone is. Even the lowest IQ cell phone has me licked. I just want to talk on it, and text and that is it. Well, I do like to have pics of my Vee and Hubbs, but after that, nada. By the grace of God and AT&T, I got my husbands new-ish simpleton special and he got an iPhone for cheap. This is a stellar accomplishment. As long as that iPhone doesn't lip off to my Corelle that is.

7. I am in my 3rd trimester. I know this not from a calender, but because I can't make it past lunch time without putting on my yoga pants. We are super excited to meet Mr Baby Brother, but are not any closer to having a real name for him. It may have to happen at the hospital.

8. Fall is coming. This pleases me deeply.

The Wedding Day: Part One

The morning of my sister's wedding was spectacular. I arose not too ill, which was wonderful since at that point in time, Baby Brother was still having me wretch several times a day.

Hhmmm....the word wretch in a wedding post...not so classy

This is the hair team. My good Friend Julie and one of her twin daughters.

It takes a lot to get a bride ready.

And while my sister sat under the dryer, this is what I was doing.

I want to take a moment to veer off track here.

For those of you who check in here often, I want to say, I really think about blogging more, but I blame Facebook. It is so easy to load pictures on there and it seems like I go there, throw a few pictures up and forget about my blog. If you are a FB friend, then you have already seen wedding pictures, since I put them up just days after the ceremony. But if you only come here you are likely thinking, "Where are the pictures and details of the wedding we heard so much about?"

Blame Facebook. That's what I do.

But back to Kimmy.

Her wedding colors were white, black, silver and red. Gorgeous candy apple, cherry, scarlet red.

The red was the show stealer. These are her sparkly red hair combs going in after lots of curling and spraying.

Next came the veil:

Ah, perfection.

I was supposed to hand bead this thing. I did about 5 inches and threw in the towel.

I gave it to my Mom, and she beaded the entire hem with tiny, sparkly seed beads.

But I didn't get an up close shot of it...oops!

But my brothers soon to be wife is wearing it in October for their wedding.

It will be her "borrowed" perhaps I'll shoot it then.

All done!!

Remember how I said that her wedding morning was great?

It really, truly was. When I arrived to get her from my parents house there was a deer in the back yard. It was peaceful, serene and lovely. It was a good omen.

We then went to grab a coffee on our way to Julie's house, and had a great time while getting our hair done.

We went back to the house, had a light lunch and sat around looking at old pictures and visiting.

Then we went up to do our make up. Kimmy wanted a vintage, Marilyn Monroe inspired look.

It all went off without a hitch. Which in make up, my friends, is quite something.

Here she is!!

So, she also had her lips in the vibrant red that was the scene stealer, but I didn't get a picture of that. Shortly after this shot, all heck broke loose and we were suddenly running late.




And this was the last picture I took of my sister as a single lady.

24 Weeks

As I sit to post this I am 27 weeks. I can barely believe I am nearing my third trimester.

Where is the time going? Tim took this picture before we had Violet's 2nd birthday party.

I was just a few days over 24 weeks.

I'll cover Violet's big day soon!

Until then, I hope you are all enjoying the last bit of summer. I know we are!!

"Rehearsal Dinner"

First let me say this: I have no cute posed shots of the couple from the night before the wedding. My sister is going to look at this picture and bemoan my choice to put it up. But I think they are cute. They always look like this in my opinion. Just not always with the sash and cookie.

And I can't very well start a post about their day without a picture of them, now can I?

The "rehearsal dinner" was actually just a casual BBQ at the happy couples house. We really didn't have anything to rehearse, as it was a small, casual, outdoor wedding. And Josh and Kimmy are the least uptight people about weddings.

It true. Joke as I might, my sister was never even close to being a bridezilla.

In truth, I was much worse. Hormones I think are to blame.

Here is another picture of the couple. They passed out their wedding favors the night before. One less thing to haul to the venue. One less thing to remember lest the weather should turn.

It would prove to be a good choice......

We all chatted while we ate, drank, and made merry.
In case you are interested, this is me grilling Josh's sister, Rachel, about the Jersey Shore. They live in Jersey, and I just had to clarify a few things after Tim and I watched the show on MTV.
Trash TV is my downfall people.






Here we are!!
And here we are!!

And here they are!!

Soon we will be turning our full attention to their nuptials, which are about 8 weeks away.

Jeff and Tammy had a sword fight. This is both normal and expected of our family. And we knew we shouldn't worry about Josh's family's feeling on this since I'm fairly certain his mom, Joyce, got these out. Josh's family is awesome.

And Joyce made cookies.

They were just as awesome.

And that's her in the background.

And Violet helped me break in my shoes.

It was a very productive evening in my opinion.

Especially since I now have a deeper understanding of the Jersey Shore.