wedding

The Main Event

No Comments

I left you at the end of rehearsal on Saturday, going back to the hotel room with Emma for the night. Brian was a good sport (well, he had a fancy executive suite with his points, so no hardship for him). Sunday we woke up with plenty of time, and we had a hearty New Jersey bagel!

I went all out and got an everything bagel with cheese, egg and PASTRAMI. So very excited; so very good.

After breakfast, it’s finally safe to tell Emma: “It’s your wedding day!!!” We headed over to her friends house where we were getting ready for the day. It’s Sunday, so the hair and make up ladies come to us instead of the other way round.

We had quite a spread for lunch, and a great bridesmaid bartend-ress Shannon keeping us stocked up on Poinsettia Champagne Cocktails. Emma’s sister even played classical piano for a while while we waited.

Emma was last to go to get her hair done, but the bride is never late, the wedding waits for the bride, right?

We actually weren’t late though; we had plenty of time to get ready.

Emma gifted the bridesmaids with dark teal earrings and beautiful simple circle necklaces, as well as a clutch for which we chose our own fabrics!

Here are a few highlights of the wedding; visit Amanda Joy’s photography blog for more photos! (Used with permission)

Emma got married and danced the night away at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The hotel was classic; the appetizers were amazing, and the drinks were flowing.

Emma’s table settings were lovely: Long rows of tables with a natural centerpiece and candles. It was very romantic. Emma and Joe had a sweet heart table, but I am not sure that they were able to eat much anyway!

Did you know that they do things differently in New Jersey? They dance before, during, and after eating! But before all that, we had the toast.

Here was my short, but sweet, toast to Emma and Joe (the very end, I confess, was inspired by the end of the tv series In Plain Sight; but the rest was completely original)

I’ve known Emma a long time. We’ve been there for each other in the worst times and the good times, no matter the distance or time between us. And then she found her other half in Joe to share those important moments with. I have seen him become her friend and partner, in life and in love. I am so happy to be standing here today, celebrating with them in the very best time of their life. To old friends and new beginnings, congratulations!

I did tear up, for sure.

I was so excited to see friends from high school, Tara and Tracy there to celebrate as well!

And then dessert: cake, cookies, or chocolate fountain. Which do you choose?

All three, absolutely. And another drink while you’re at it.

Congratulations Emma and Joe! I hope you had a wonderful time on your honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands!

Continue Reading

life with baby

Splash Pad

1 Comment

The weather is getting hot again: Sunday we were supposed to go to the zoo but it hit 90! So we hit the Splash Pad (free!) with JP, Lisa and Jonathan instead.

Since we were going to get wet, I opted not to bring my fancy camera and instead brought a new waterproof video/camera that Brian bought for my birthday.

I know, another camera? Is it really necessary? Brian but it refurbished though and for the splash pad, waterproof was necessary! The video worked decent: It was a surprise to see that the sound was picked up pretty well and the video was brighter than it appeared on screen when I was recording.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W7aq6Q2L8E]

The still photos the camera took though weren’t too impressive. The camera couldn’t focus on anything close up, and the colors seemed a little washed out. Lisa’s iphone took better color, but mine had better focus (when it was properly in focus and not too close). It also had a slow reaction and saving time, so you couldn’t take consecutive shots without waiting for a little bit.

Jameson had a good time. He doesn’t like the sprinkler at home, so we were a little concerned that he would be terrified of an entire playground of sprinklers, but he did really well. He wanted to stay near us while he explored, but he was fascinated with all the kids around.

He even had a girlfriend for a moment when we first arrived. She wanted to take him around!

Jonathan also had a great time. He didn’t have any problem going off on his own (trailed by mom and dad), sitting on water, and trying to take the big kids’ toys!

Finally Jameson tripped over himself and had had enough of the splash pad. We toweled the boys off and headed back for a cookout!

JP made steak and chicken with a tzatziki sauce on the side, as well as vegetables and a gourmet style rice. We tried to have the boys eat at the picnic table which was hit or miss. Mostly miss.

They aren’t quite ready for that yet. Jameson wanted a whole mushroom rather than his halves, and then he wanted a whole piece of chicken (they were in big cubes since JP put them on kabobs), but he really only wanted to eat on dad’s lap, which happened again, my lap this time, just last night.

I think we need to get him a chair that will allow him to eat at the table with us and retire the high chair soon!

For dessert, we had a tasty but terrible-looking apple tart that I made.

The recipe calls for puff pastry dough, but Brian and I bought phyllo dough instead, which was not an adequate replacement.

It’s very easy to make: 2 granny smith apples, cored and cut into slices; 1 puff pastry dough, rolled out and sprinkled with 1/8 cup of sugar. Make a 1 inch border and poke fork holes in the middle all around. Put down apples, sprinkle with another 1/8 cup sugar. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

It tasted great, but we’ll try the correct dough next time. It was a touch hard to eat.

After dinner, we let the boys play (both sets: JP & Brian went off to brew beer). We were home by 9, and Jameson didn’t want to get up the next day. For once, we tired him out instead of the other way around!

Continue Reading

wedding

Wedding Rehearsing

1 Comment

Brian and I had a 7 hour drive to Emma’s wedding last weekend, so we were up bright and early, grandma arrived shortly after to be there when Jameson awoke, and off we went!

Her wedding was on a Sunday, so we left Saturday morning to arrive in time for rehearsal. It was a long drive, but my husband is a champion driver and offered to do the whole she-bang. As long as he got to stop at McDonald’s for breakfast. And the brewery he wanted on the way.

They usually have good food, so no objections here!

We stopped at Fegley’s Brew Works in Allentown, PA where Brian got to try a beer that several people had been telling him about. He’s an IPA/hoppy beer kind of guy, and apparently this beer was really good: Hop’Solutely.

Brian enjoyed the beer so much that after he purchased two cases (and then one more for good measure), he called our trip for Emma’s wedding a vacation!

Yes, a vacation for poor Brian, left alone Saturday night and all day Sunday until after the ceremony. He’s a keeper.

I knew better than to try it myself though!

On the way, I brainstormed my wedding toast. I knew she was having other family give speeches, so I wasn’t too concerned with length. I didn’t read anything online for help; I wrote my short but very sweet toast from the heart.

I may have gotten slight inspiration from the series finale of In Plain Sight. But otherwise, it was completely original.

Satisfied with that, I felt free to relax and read the second book of the Hunger Games for the remainder of the trip. Oh, remember my Amazon rant? Our Prime account was finally up and I just happened to think on that last week so we switched the main account to myself, and now I can access the Kindle Lending Library! WIN!

We arrived in time to stop at both our hotels before rehearsal to change: Emma had me stay with her the night before the wedding while Brian got a fancy executive suite for free with points. Jealous.

We practiced inside first since there was a Bar Mitzvah going on. Loads of fun here, can’t you tell?

Ah, that’s better.

If you haven’t noticed, I am not taking these photos with my fancy-pants camera. A good old point and shoot is much better when you are actually IN the wedding.

One of the things I remember distinctly about my rehearsal is that I had no photos of it. So I was determined to take some for Emma.

If you can’t tell yet, this is going to be a great wedding. However, I got very few photos of the event itself (for obvious reasons!). Therefore, you will have to wait a bit until the photographer puts up some of her photos so I can direct you to the professional ones.

Next week, I promise.

Meanwhile, Emma and Joe are at the British Virgin Islands, hopefully relaxing their hearts out. Congratulations!

P.S. I should mention the sweetest part of the whole event.

After rehearsal, we had a fabulous dinner, which included a well-aged red wine from France. Emma’s dad purchased 20 bottles some 20 years ago in preparation for her future wedding!

It was smooth and very good; enough so that I asked Emma what it was and got the story! How sweet is that?!

Continue Reading

general life, life with baby

Memorial Day & Work Updates

No Comments

Goodness I’m a little behind, aren’t I? Work has been very hectic this week, I have barely had time to do posts here or get ready at home because this weekend is Emma’s wedding!!

  • My friend and co-worker, Lauren (who’s baby shower I attended not too long ago!) had her babies on Memorial Day, at an unexpectedly early 32 weeks.
  • Currently, I’m a “one man show” at work and doing trying to do the work formerly done by 3 marketing people and scoped out to be the job of 5.
  • We also have a new intern at work, which is great and hard at the same time (I want to do right by said intern and provide her a learning experience here).
  • Recently, our corporate global president resigned, so there is some corporate upheaval, though everyone is staying very positive.
  • Agency and vendor changes this past month have left me running around, dealing with contracts and budgets and all kinds of new experiences.

 

But first of all, who replaced my baby and replaced him with a toddler? I feel like I noticed the transition happening in manner and new skills the past couple months, but all of sudden it’s his looks too!

Speaking of skills, Jameson is starting to get interested in buckles. He spent nearly our entire walk one night leaned over trying to buckle up the other seat.

No success yet, but I have never seen him so dedicated.

Memorial Day was so very hot and muggy, reaching the nineties. In Ohio humidity, that definitely calls for a drink or two for the parents.

Jameson and Lily hung out outside for a while, sharing popsicles and lunch. Jameson wanted to steal her cheese.

When they were bored of the water table (and the pool I kept dumping Jameson into but he didn’t quite appreciate), we went over to Lily’s to play with bubbles!

Jameson hasn’t mastered blowing the bubbles, he just takes the wand in and out. Lily, however, has been able to make a few bubbles all by herself!

Lily will be two in just a month and a half or so. And the summer, barely started, seems halfway over already.

P.S. For anyone curious how Lauren’s babies are doing, Morgan and Madelyn will be in the NICU for about 3-1/2 more weeks probably. They are working on developing big, strong lungs!

Continue Reading

life with baby

Camel Rides and Ice Cream Fun

No Comments

Saturday, we went to the zoo with JP, Lisa and Jonathan. The boys had a blast, but the parents even more so!

I was afraid of how hot it was expected to be over the weekend, but Saturday morning was relatively cool. Most of the animals we out and about, and while we didn’t drop by the bears this time, we did stop at the aquarium and playground.

The meercats were back in their habitat by the elephants!

Oh, and this time we had Jonathan and Jameson pose at the head shot photo spot; and Lisa was hilarious and wanted one of us as well. Oh yes we did.

I played around with aperture a lot at the zoo that day; the shaded daylight was perfect for photos.

Does anyone know what this guy is? I don’t remember, but he lived near the giraffe and zebra habitats. The framing in the front with the leaves really attracted me.

We also tried this monkey bench pose again. Can you believe it’s only been a month since we last took that photo? He looks so much older this month. Must be the new hairdo. Or hat.

Jonathan really got into it. He posed right up next to the monkey, laying his head on the statue and hamming it up for the camera!

After seeing all the animals in the central part of the zoo, we went up the long ramp to the aquarium.

Look how classy we are!

Yes, they posed for that on purpose, and yes, I did just post that on my blog. But oh, more embarrassment is to come!!

We spent a little time at the playground, playing on fake animals and Jonathan, of course, loved the slide.

We stopped for lunch, and everyone ate well. Jameson enjoyed his bologna, cheese and fruit and Jonathan had vegetable cream cheese on crackers

Note: this is a great idea which we will have to try to get vegetables and dairy in him at the same time as crackers which are always a hit!

Jonathan also gobbled up a peach, and was upset when it was gone, running over to the trash can to try and get it back.

And then… Lisa and I decided to ride some camels. Yes we did.

We did stand in line with all the kids and ride the camel. Yep.

And back to business, we hit up some more of the indoor exhibits. The monkey in this habitat stared straight at us. It seemed a little sad, but I think it was just feeling left out because two monkeys right past it were play wrestling like maniacs!

Our last stop at the zoo was the rainforest exhibit, which is always fun for Jameson. We put away the stroller and let him walk around.

We found that if he holds both our hands, he’s less apt to run amok. It helped that everything was exciting at the rainforest, and we consistently went the same direction he wanted to go.

After the zoo, we decided to stop for ice cream. Brian has been having weird cravings for pizza rolls and Blizzards, so this ice cream stop was a bit of a compromise.

It was so messy. Jameson had no idea what to do at first.

I am pretty sure that we will need to alternate who gets to have their ice cream and who watches Jameson next time. Up and down on the little benches, wiping ice cream everywhere, dropping his cone and then eating mom’s. Jameson was crazy.

I do think he liked the cone better than the ice cream itself though. He ate almost all of mine.

Continue Reading

house, life with baby

Sweet Sunday

No Comments

Without any ado: Happy Birthday Mr. Husband, sir. Together we make 60 years now of wisdom and awesomeness. 🙂

And now, Sweet Sunday.

JP, Lisa & Jonathan came over last Sunday for a small get together. We had ribs, beans, coleslaw and potatoes. Fresh salad greens from the farmers market the day prior.

And a whole lot of fun!

These were some of my most successful outdoor photos yet. I love the pictures of Jonathan, splashing away in the water table. They’ve both tried to climb up in it, so this weekend we are thinking of breaking out Jameson’s water bounce house since it is expected to be so nice and warm!

Jonathan adored the slides, over and over. He didn’t mind going too quickly down the slide. Jameson is quite a bit more hesitant on the slides now, wanting to hold mom or dad’s hand.

Jameson seems to be our climber, and Jonathan, the daredevil!

The boys are interacting quite a bit, though it takes just a little while for them to warm up to each other. Meanwhile, Jameson sees Lily nearly every other day during the week, and they are becoming quite familiar with each other. He gave her a “hug” the other day, by laying his head against her chest. He was too shy to wrap his arms around her like he does mom and dad!

New words this week is saying “Hi” and “Bye Bye” He could say bye bye over and over and over, it’s a new favorite word. At school, they are learning to sign “water” (how appropriate!)

 

In a bit of related, but unrelated news, our play equipment is all in the front yard, due to what’s going on in our back. Our HOA (Home Owners Association) sent us a rather formal, scary note about removing “unsightly objects”.

I don’t know about you, but I think those photos don’t lie. The play equipment doesn’t seem the least bit “unsightly” to me.

 

P.S. This weekend is going to be packed with fun! We are planning a zoo trip with JP, Lisa & Jonathan tomorrow morning; and celebrating Brian’s birthday with family on Sunday! And Monday? It’s expected to be hot, so it might be a great time to bring out that water bounce house (which should be big enough for adults too, no joke, I’m excited!).

Continue Reading

general life, life with baby

Bittersweet

No Comments

It was an outdoor weekend: perfect weather for it! And it was a bittersweet weekend.

It started out somber, of course. Brian’s grandfather’s funeral was Friday morning and calling hours Thursday afternoon and evening. He lived a long (91 years!) full life, the last of his siblings to pass away. We feel fortunate that he was able to meet Jameson twice.

Brian’s grandmother passed away several years past, and the service this time was similar to hers. The tough part was actually the military honor and playing of Taps at the end. It was beautiful and terribly heart-wrenching. He was a veteran of WWII.

We opted to leave Jameson at daycare for both calling hours and the funeral; I left to pick Jameson up Thursday before the second set. It was better that way since he wouldn’t understand or tolerate the sitting and standing (and lack of toys). While I’m sure he would’ve lightened the mood, it would only have been for a half hour before he became antsy, I’m certain!

 

But on that lovely Friday evening, Brian got out the “bounce house” for Jameson to try the very first time. Lily wasn’t happy about it (she may not remember, but she did go in it at her first birthday part last year). The pump does make a pretty loud noise though.

Jameson wanted me to go in with him every time, which after some 10 or so times got a little old.

By the end of the weekend, he finally did go in and through it all by himself! (With close watching by mom and dad, since the activity is for ages 3 and up)

We meandered (well, Jameson ran over) to Lily’s house for a while. She had all kinds of great toys for him to play with.

She has a Cozy Coupe (he does too, but he didn’t know it yet *wink wink*) and he spent time going in and out of that. And letting dad drive him up and down the sidewalk.

It was a great way to end the day that started out so sad.

Continue Reading

house, life with baby

Backyard

1 Comment

A couple weeks ago, we broke out Jameson’s new Sand and Water table. We purchased this one, with its classic lines and roadways, and nearly complete positive reviews. We’ve only filled it with water, but the children have enjoyed it a lot as just a water table!

Jameson and Lily love to laugh at (with?) each other now. One will start, and the other will squeal with them. Their laughter is catching for us too!

Jameson and Lily don’t seem to mind being soaking wet.

It’s so fun to watch them together and interact. When we say “hold Lily/Jameson’s hand!” they do! They also blow kisses to each other now.

Lily is a good influence on Jameson; he’ll sit still some when she’s around showing him what to do.

However, I’m sad to say that the backyard we’ve enjoyed so much already this summer is pretty well gone. We hauled all the outdoor toys into the front yard this weekend.

Details to come!

Continue Reading

life with baby

Flirting

No Comments

Friends Carrie & Matt came over last week with their son Nicholas. We had pizza, and Nicholas was an adorable well-behaved little boy, as usual!

He’s starting to walk, but he still loves sitting to sort and stack. His good habits rubbed off a little on Jameson, and they sat together sorting for a solid five minutes.

It was plenty time to get about 20 shots of them together playing. Forgive me for the sharp, heavy-handed black edges in these photos. They aren’t perfect editing. I was tired last night when I did it, and I’ll update them later.

Jameson also spent quite a bit of time flirting with Ms Carrie! He never smiles this big for me now.

He’s an outrageous flirt. And check out that awesome food-filled hair that sticks out on end!

(Great shot of that tooth gap too, right? It still makes my heart hurt)

He would look at Carrie specifically to see if she thought he was funny. First with his little new toy vacuum (which he loves) and then with the pieces of plastic eggs (still out, yes)

In the end though, he couldn’t win her heart and Ms Carrie had to leave. And Matt and Nicholas, too. But we had a blast! They just bought a new house, so we are looking forward to visiting them again soon.

P.S. I made the switch over to manual mode on my camera yesterday evening! I read an article yesterday and it finally clicked! I have shot a regular SLR in highschool, I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to really click with the DSLR. I’m committed now though. I expect photos to dip a bit in quality for a little while though while I get the hang of things.

Continue Reading

life with baby

Bubbles

No Comments

Jameson’s most recent word is “bubble”, said last Wednesday as “buh buh” and shortly shortened to “buh”. I have the feeling it won’t be long before he’s imitating all kinds of words. He said “bah” last night for “ball”; he’s just not consistent yet.

He and neighbor Lily were playing together outside, as happens now most nice evenings, and Kelly broke out the bubbles!

Even after tasting it a few times (eww), he continued to try and put the stick in his mouth. Crazy kid.

Lily likes to help him, pushing him up stairs and telling him “No Gi Gi” (like saying the letter “G”) when he is doing something he isn’t suppose to, which is often–you know, like eating the bubble sticks. “Yuck” she says.

His very first nick name, contrary to my many fears of “Jamie” (I really hate that for a guy, I just do), is Gi Gi. Too funny!

Continue Reading
1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 12