We’ve been cooped up, hibernating, waiting for wedding season to awaken, and alas it has!
We couldn’t have asked for a better couple, wedding, and location to start us off.
{the couple}. Only after a short period of time during Rachel and Rick’s engagement session, we just knew that they were going to be a piece of cake to photograph. They naturally feel comfortable in front of the camera because they are so naturally comfortable with each other. He is all about her and knows just what to say or do to make her smile or pleasantly smirk and they compliment each other so nicely. Gave me a desire to lower my camera to give Adam a quick smooch sorta feeling. Gag me right? Nope.
{the wedding}. Rachel and Rick decided to go big or go home, Vegas style. Vegas~ classy vineyard style. Yes, Vegas has vineyards and can grow grapes, who knew? Close family and friends attended making it real laid back and enjoyable for everyone. I usually stress to the bride that the day goes by fast so to take some small moments in-between to just take it all in. Really there wasn’t much of a need, everything was simple and set. She had her dress on, he had his tux, okay, lets do this.
Everyone was so nice and it felt wonderfully refreshing.
Oh to be showered with love and goodies from friends and family! I had been looking forward to our baby showers for quite some time as it meant it was closer to baby arriving and such a huge reality check seeing as our house was BABY-FREE. REALITY CHECK! Now we have a dining room table full of baby galore! I compare it to Christmas but all I can do is stare at it all so hurry up baby so we can put it to use and play!We incorporated photos of Adam and I when we were little and also both of our mothers when they were pregnant and at their showers.
These were hilarious to go through later! The “Wishes for Baby” were also funny and so kind.You can’t see her face but this is my friend Tosha, who was a month before me. (Past tense because Wyatt is now here!) It was such a blessing to be able to experience pregnancy with so many other women, to support each other, ask IS THIS NORMAL?! questions, the whole bit. Between friends and past wedding couples, total baby boom and it is awesome to see everyone take this next HUGE step in their journey.Now that was funny to see and made for a good winner and biggest loser! My mother-in-law was pretty spot on and won!I found a tutorial on Pinterest for these adorable owl heat packs as stocking stuffers but why not as little favors at a baby shower too?! Of coarse, I saved one for baby and I hope he likes it. Thank you Adam for making your yummy chai too!There were so many gifts to open so I totally whipped right through it because otherwise everyone would have to stay the night! Wow, there were so many cute and thoughtful things, again, thank you! Such a big reality check, we are so blessed! Like I mentioned at the shower, as a baby and toddler (probably past toddler too) I loved my baby doll. I once snuck out of the house to go to a garage sale around the block and bought her a kajillion baby bottles with my piggy bank money…so you could call this a childhood dream come true! I have always have known I have wanted to be a mother.Thank you Stef for the oh-so-adorable baby diaper cake, I don’t want to ever take it apart! She also surprised me with this AWESOME painting she made for people to add their thumbprint to the tree. Adam, baby and I are the owls on the swing, ugh, I just LOVE IT!!My dad provided the scrumptious cuppycakes and it was a lot of fun choosing what flavors to pick, I think we did a good job! Thank you to the all the ladies who provided a dessert. Love is indeed sweet!
THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO CAME & PROVIDED A HELPING HAND! WE LOVE YOU AND CAN’T WAIT TO INTRODUCE OUR BABY BOY WHEN HE ARRIVES IN NO TIME! A special shout out to Adam, Jordanne, and Ryan for snapping some photos and taping here and there so we’ll have something to show baby. Its hard to actually have photos of your own life events when you are the photographers! (Sorry Mom & Dad that we didn’t get one with you and thank you for hosting) Also, if you are local, check out Heathers Restaurant!
Last but not least, the flowers! Beautiful Ranaculus provided by my new beautiful friend, Rachel of Urban Flowers. Seriously, such a kind lady who adores flowers and is just as bright and positive as they are. …Oakley may have liked them too.
Thrown by Adam’s mom at her house, ANOTHER BABY SHOWER! Seeing that the party was for me and Adam was not there, unfortunately, there are no photos until the end when Adam came home. Let me introduce you to his mom, Lynn, and sister, Molly. The shower was fabulous and her friends and family were so kind! She even went to Jimmy Johns and made me a fresh chicken sub because she knows 1. I can’t have deli meat (nitrates are a no no for baby) and 2. Jimmy Johns is a key to my heart.
In a couple more weeks, believe it or not, I’ll be on my way to my 3rd shower hosted by Adam’s Dads side of the family! After that, lets hope I pop this little fella out!!
With the wedding season wound down, and with the Christmas holiday nearing, what better idea than to get some girls together and get crafty! With all those “Re-pins” of cute ideas on Pinterest we brought them all together and got to work! MIND YOU the headband was my 1st ATTEMPT so no judging with all the glue ok?! I think I got it figured out now! Thank you ladies for either bringing delicious food, crafts to share, or simply yourself, it was so nice to socialize with women! Thank you for going along with this being the 1st Pinterest Party I have hosted as well, maybe even picking a single DIY and having a tutorial would be cool to try too. It was nice to see what others were working on and learning something new. Being so busy with school and work it is was so refreshing! There is still more to do too! We still have to try out the paint on the mugs, along with many others-so when that happens I’ll be sure to post how it turned out. I really encourage women out there to do this, especially around the holidays too because to me, receiving a home-made gift is so much nicer! Store bought gifts and all the stress it brings to people can be over-rated during Christmas! Below are only a few things that were made from the day and a few of the gals before the party ended. Bummed I didn’t get a photo with everyone but I was so wrapped up in having fun that I didn’t take many! Tisk tisk.
Our first time being incognito at an airport capturing a proposal! To make it even better, she is my lovely cousin, Kirstin. We used to play barbies, have orchard adventures, play in the sandbox, rock out to Shania Twain, and now she was going to be proposed to! Kirstin had been in Ecuador for a couple of months working for a non-profit organization called Fundacion Runa Environment Education and was just on her way home. Derek created his mission. Dress up like a chauffeur, hat and all (yes, Derek, that was a good choice) with a folded sign reading Kirstin Miller on the top half and once unfolded, asked, “Will you marry me?”. Her flight was an hour delayed so we chilled out at one of the bars until then. Eminem music videos mixed with gory murder-solving shows was the choice on the t.v screens making for quite the setting of the mood, ha. Time was getting closer, Derek headed for the bathroom to fix his tie and tidy up while we scouted out secret locations to hide while we took photos. We all took our places and patiently waited for people to start walking down the escalator. My que was Derek’s reaction. I saw the smile and the sign unfold. It was go time! Congrats you two! She said YES…actually she said “Si”!
SIDE NOTE:
1. Little did I know the night was real warm, but we live in Michigan so I should have known. 2. We wanted to disguise ourselves as tired travelers.
Well seeing that I tend to be an old person anyway and go to bed at a decent time, I had the tired part down. My clothing on the other hand, yeah I tend to always be cold…leggings underneath sweats with two pairs of socks on, a tank-top, a long sleeve, a sweater dress, a long eskimo coat, and a ball-cap. I was ROASTING!!
Yesterday, the countdown ended and we had our ultrasound! We hadn’t seen baby since the 8 week marker when doctor thought we might have two little babies and we had to visit the ultrasound technician to confirm only one! I am 20 weeks and 3 days and baby looks like an actual baby and not a little peanut anymore!
We walked in the dark room and immediately told our UT that we did not want to find out the sex until tonight at our reveal party.
“Tell us when to cover our eyes and ears, because I will count the letters you type.”
She informed us that even if the baby’s “goods” were exposed we wouldn’t be able to tell (which I beg to differ as I will describe later). Then baby came up on the screen and wow, how cool and REAL! To see that little nose that I know will receive multiple kisses. It was so wonderful.
I totally give it to couples that decide to wait until baby is born but we wanted to go all out with family and friends and share that moment of surprise and excitement. Plus, it was an excuse to see everyone, get my craft on, host a party, and there is no question about wanting to find out.
Everyone incorporated the color of their guess with their attire and it was just so fun to see all the pink and blue.
(My Dad being excited for the fist pump)
Guesses were tallied, dinner consumed and the moment arrived. We stood in front of the booth and opened the box!
Having the colored balloons engulf you, with your spouse next to you, close friends in front of you, just filled my heart with joy. I was so excited and then BAM the tears came! What can I say, besides making for an ugly crying photo (not sharing), I just felt like for a brief second the world just stopped and I took that moment in and could picture our world changing when we meet the little fella, it was just a HUGE HAPPY REALITY CHECK!
We’ll also admit that if we had the choice, we were pullin for a boy. I had always wondered what it would be like to have an older brother and well, Adam just wants to do boy stuff with dirt and nerf guns. My guess was that baby was a boy and Adam’s guess was that baby was a girl. He later said he just didn’t want to jinx himself. Obviously, if pink balloons came out we’d be thrilled as long as baby is healthy but blue balloons, not gunna lie, was an extra plus.
Okay, so back to the Ultrasound. I only told a few people before the box was open but that very first look at the ultrasound I saw baby’s peepee AND I also heard her slip once as she referred to the baby as “he” (she was so nice though & there could be a chance that I may be wrong). I described the position that I saw baby in when I saw “it” and after the party ended I remembered the envelope we had given to the balloon blowers to refer to to see if there was a photo inside. Yes! There it was, just as I saw, baby bent over and a close up at that. I had a strong feeling before and my guess was always a boy, so I wasn’t bummed or anything when I took the little hints but it just meant I had confirmation that what I saw was what I saw! Plus, I could say, TOLD YOU SO! Heehee.
Again, thank you so much to close friends and family who were able to come on a Monday night so we didn’t have to hold out for the weekend. Thank so much for helping out with picking up, cleaning up, decorating, and cooking, or simply just being you. Adam, you did great on the backdrop too. (That was so cute to watch. He had plans to do other things but when he realized he could draw on the backdrop, he was sold and started to go to town. Love that. Then if it weren’t cute enough, Dad got real into it later and added some fun touches.)
Thank you everyone for the nice congratulatory notes and wishes. Sorry the clip on facebook went so fast, we were so excited! Later when I watched it, I realized there could be a possibility of a seizure from having to watch it 50 million times.
To our baby boy, everyone is looking forward to meeting you and getting for your arrival! We already love you so much! You were the life of the party! These are just a handful of the photos from the night!
