Happy Father's Day!

Besides Michael, I don't think there are too many men hanging out here on my blog.  Just in case there is--Happy Father's Day!

I got Michael a gift for Father's Day.  It was in the works for months.  Before we left Columbus in December I thought it would be a good idea to stock up on some Ohio State baby clothes.  The only problem was I didn't know if we were having a girl or a boy. The girl stuff was super cute.  The boy stuff was pretty cute as well.  The gender neutral stuff was just "eh".  I decided to wait.

So when I went back to Ohio for my shower, my sister and I hit the mall.  One of my first stops was the Buckeye store to get Michael's gift.  The girl stuff was SO cute that I couldn't decide... so I got two.

A cheerleader outfit (size 3 to 6 months)

and this fun polo dress (size 12 months)

Even though we don't have an "outside" baby yet, Michael is already a good daddy and I know he will get even better once Olivia arrives. :)

P.S.  Good thing it wasn't a boy.  What would we do with a sweater vest onesie now? :)

Wedding ABC's

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a fun idea.  So in honor of our 4th wedding anniversary, here are our wedding ABC's.

Attending:

Our venue could only hold 200, so I stuck with that number.  I invited something like 198 guests.  Some guests only were able to make it to the wedding and not the ceremony.  I don't know what the exact count was there.  The reception was suppose to have around 170, but some people RSVP'd and then didn't show up.  (Don't get me started on that!)

Bridesmaids:

I had one maid of honor (my sister Angella), one matron of honor (my cousin Erica), and 4 bridesmaids--my cousin Sonja, my college roommate Amanda, my roommate and co-teacher Laurie and friend Kristin.

 Catering:

We had to use the catering at the venue we chose.  We had a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres on the patio and then a buffet style meal.  Honestly, I don't know how the food was because I didn't eat much of it.

The cake was from a local lady who worked out of her home.  I got her information from theknot.com

 I was a little irritated that she put the monogram on wrong (and I couldn't switch it because the M had two prongs and the B only had one).  You'd think a cake lady would know... but I'm sure no one else noticed.  I blinged out the cake topper myself! :)  It was a small cake because I don't like cake.  It was basically just for cutting and for saving the top.  It was half coconut with pineapple mouse and half chocolate with chocolate filling. We had a cheesecake buffet with different toppings for our guests.

Dress:

My dress was the one thing my mom purchased.  We got it from David's Bridal.  I think it's very "me".  I always knew I wanted something that was big and poofy at the bottom.  I know that's not for everyone, but with my body type it's what I wanted.  I felt beautiful, but still comfortable.  That was important to me.  I didn't want to feel self conscious about my body.

 (I don't have any of those dress-hanging-on-the-back-of-a-door pictures.)
The dress came with a train or without a train.  I chose to go without a train.

Engagement:

We got engaged on June 25, 2006 after just two and a half short months of dating.  Crazy, I know!

We got engaged at Inniswoods Metro Gardens in Westerville, Ohio and then later had our engagement pictures taken there.

 The exact spot we got engaged--in the gazebo.

Flowers:

I was on a budget.  I wanted real flowers for my bouquet, but didn't want to break the bank.  I'm not a huge flower person (as in knowing names)--I just have a few favorites.  One that I knew I wanted to use were gerber daisies.  My other favorite flower is a stargazer lily.  I found a great (and inexpensive) florist through theknot.com and went to her.  We added in roses because they were a cheaper filler.  I like roses anyway, so it worked for me.  My bouquet had the three types of flowers and the bridesmaids had the same minus the lilies.  We actually used starfighter lilies instead of stargazer because the color was a little darker and matched my color theme better.

I loved it!  It's very me.  I wanted fun, not stuffy.

The only other real flowers I used were two huge displays at the alter that later got transferred to the reception and decorated the buffet table.  I used a lot of candles at the church and also at the reception.  I had two different center pieces using fake rose petals and also candles in the windows.

Groomsmen:

Michael had one best man (Phil) and five groomsmen--Jason, Tommy, Danny F., Danny S (his cousin) and Aaron.  He's known Danny F and Aaron since middle school and then went to high school with all the rest (including his cousin).  How rare is that...to still be best friends with the people you met in 9th grade?!?

Yes, half our groomsmen were giants. :)

The grooms cake was made by the same lady who made our cake.  We had it at the rehearsal dinner.

Honeymoon:

We went on a cruise to the Bahamas.

We swam with dolphins, scuba dived (ok, Michael did.  I laid on a hammock!), and went parasailing.  We had a great time.

Invitations:

I don't have a picture of our invitations.  They were pretty basic.  I printed them (and the escort cards) myself.  I do have a picture of the invites I sent to the girls for our morning brunch (and schedule).

Sorry the picture isn't the best--it's from back before I had a digital camera.

Isn't it cute though?  I love the matching envelope.  Yep-made that too! :)

Justice of the Peace:

My uncle Dennis married us.  He is my godfather and from a teenager I said he would be the one to marry me.  We had to jump through some hoops--it's hard to find a church these days that lets you bring your own pastor.  Plus, he's not licensed in the state of Ohio.  Someone else had to sign the marriage license.  All in all it worked out.  It was important to me and is one of the many special elements/details of our day that make me happy.

Keepsakes:

I'm not sure I have any keepsakes?  I have things from my wedding, sure.  I'm just not sure there is anything I would label a keepsake.

Ladies night:

Since half of my bridal party lived out of state, my bachelorette party was pretty small.  I'm not much of a "partier" in the traditional bachelorette kind of way, so it all worked out.  The few of us that were there had a great time.

Music:

My nephews played the violins while guests were being seated.  The ceremony music was all on C.D.  One of the moms of two former students of mine sang.  The song I chose was actually a duet, so she sang with her step-dad.  They sing a lot together in church and she said it would be a good fit.  I loved the song and I thought they did a great job.  We had a deejay for the reception.

Newlyweds:

I don't know what this one means?  I don't think we are considered newlyweds anymore.  I think we were great newlyweds though.  Everyone says the first year is the hardest.  I thought it was pretty easy.  I remember saying often, "If this is the hardest, then we are in for one easy ride."

 Old, New, Borrowed, Blue:

Old was a handkerchief that my aunt had given me when I was a teenager.  She brought it back from one of her travels (I can't remember where at the moment).  I carried it with me.  New was my dress, shoes, and jewelry.  Borrowed was my cousin's veil.  Blue was on the bottom of my shoes.

   (Once again, sorry for the poor picture quality.  I had yet to steal Michael's camera :)

Photography:

I really liked our photographer.  Turns out, he's from Wisconsin! :)  Photographers are so expensive! I found a lady I liked online.  I emailed her and she was not available on our day.  She gave me two recommendations.  One of them didn't return my email, so he was out.  We met with Chris at his studio (he does more commercial photography for work).  We saw examples.  He was willing to work with our budget, gave us a discount if we paid in cash, AND threw in our engagement pictures for free.  I didn't want all the stuffy you stand here with this person and you stand here with that person.  I wanted him to capture the day.  I think he did a great job.  Oh, and I loved that I got two photo albums of the proofs (that don't say PROOF all over them) and then the C.D. with rights to print whatever we want.

Question popping:

Isn't this the same as engagement?  He asked me on Sunday morning, June 25th.  After church we went to the park.  It was close to our church and we had already been talking about our wedding.  He said we should check it out and see if we wanted to get our wedding pictures taken there.  We walked around a little bit and he asked if anything looked good to me.  We were by a gazebo and I said that it would be cool to take pictures in the circle of the gazebo.  Then, he popped the question.

  Reception:

Our reception was at Bent Tree Golf Club in Sunbury.  Really, I chose that place because it was the only place we could afford.  It was nice though.  My only complaint is that it was SO hot.  They must have been having air conditioning problems, because someone went to a wedding there a few weeks after mine and said it was comfortable.  Oh well.  Everything can't be perfect.

All my EU friends at the cocktail hour

The bridal party came in to the Price is Right theme song-name tags and all-and did something funny (or where suppose to anyway...we had a few bumps on a log!)

I'm pretty sure everyone was laughing and having a good time, which was my goal.

We came in to the Ohio State fight song.  I love this picture.  It cracks me up!

Michael and I took dance lessons and danced our first choreographed dance to Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.

Check out that perfect form

After that, we ate, did the cake cutting, did the father/daughter dance (to My Wish by Rascal Flatts), and then danced the night away!

 

Michael actually dancing... one of the only songs he danced to :)  He didn't even want dancing at our wedding, but he did it for me.

Looks fun, huh?  Yep... it was! :)

Shoes:

I don't have any pictures of just my shoes.  They were from David's Bridal.  I literally bought them because they were the right height.  My dress didn't need to be altered at all.  I liked them though.  They had bling.

Trash the dress:

I didn't do this.  My dress is currently in a cedar closet at my bosses house.  It still needs to be cleaned.  My spray tan melted right off in the heat! :)

Unique:

I think lots of things about my wedding were unique.  I did what I wanted to do and didn't do what I didn't want to do--no matter how traditional.  I made everything myself and planned everything on my own, down to the very last detail.  Some you've already seen.  Others:

I made the rose and lime displays (4) the morning of the wedding.  

Our guest book was a scrapbook

Instead of bubbles or bird seed, I made these wands with bells on them

 I dyed my crinoline pink

The church we got married at had a rule that you had to have an aisle runner... so I painted mine.  You can't see the green very well, but it had a little border too.

Then it got cut and hung up behind our head table

Genius, right? :)

Vows:

Our vows were traditional with a twist.  I found some online with wording I liked better than the traditional ones, so that's what we used.

Wedding Woes:

I didn't really have any.  Everything went pretty well.

X-rated:

Again, I don't know what this is suppose to mean?  There was nothing x-rated.  We didn't even do the whole garter thing.  I'm not a fan.

Young kids:

My youngest niece Hannah was my flower girl.

My ring bearer was a little boy that I taught named Jeffery.  I also taught his older sister, so there was some history with the family.  This was my way of tying in being a teacher to my wedding day.

Seriously, isn't he the cutest?!

Zzzz:

We stayed and partied until it was time to close down the reception.

This is one of the last pictures of the night.  You can tell I partied hard.  My hair is falling out of it's do.  I am tired, hot, and sweaty.  I love the look on Michael's face in this one.  Such adoration.

We had a great day.  I get told even to this day that our wedding was one of the most fun people have been to.  Everything was done by me, and I had a blast doing it.  I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.  (To the same groom, of course!)

Happy Anniversary Love!

Oh how I love thee... (20)

...let me count the ways.

This week Michael and I will be celebrating 4 years of marriage.  There are many things I appreciate about him.  Obviously--this is post number 20 in the series and there are many more to come.  This time I decided to not go as "deep" as I always do.  

One of the things I love about him is how stinking cute he is.  Seriously, he's a hottie.  I remember when he asked me out.  I posted on my (old) blog "A boy likes me, a cute boy actually likes me!"  I felt (and even told him at one point) that he could probably get any girl he wanted and was shocked when he chose me.

His eyes are beautiful.  His muscles are yummy.  His smile is adorable.

What can I say?  I married up! :)

Note: I really wanted to post a picture of him from a few years ago--six pack in full effect and bulging arm muscles that I would repeatedly make him show off.  I knew he'd kill me though, so all you get are the pretty eyes and the oh-so-cute smile.  Sorry! ;)

Baby Care Class

Sorry for another picture-less post, but this was just too cute to pass up.

Yesterday we attended our last hospital class before the birth of our little girl.  This class was a 3 hour "baby care" class.  I didn't sign up for it at first.  It was about changing diapers, feeding and burping babies, giving newborn baths, and other basic infant care.  I figured that I had it all pretty well under control, even though I've never been soley responsible for a newborn.  I planned to just teach Michael what I knew.  After some thought, I figured it might be better for him to learn from someone else.  I don't want to be his "baby boss".

We showed up at class and there was a baby doll on our table.  Each doll was swaddled in a blanket with a diaper laying on top.  Michael was immediately intrigued.  He started checking out the diaper.  I made a comment about it not looking like a newborn diaper.  Then I saw a 1 and pointed out that it was a size 1 diaper.  Michael must not have heard me.  Either that or he didn't understand.  The 1 was on the right side of the diaper by the velcro tab.  He started looking around at the diaper.  Then he said, "Where's the number 2?"  I couldn't help it.  I had to laugh.  I told him that the 1 was the size.  There was no number 2. He said, "Oh, I thought it had step by step numbered directions."  LOL!  We both got a good laugh.  It's understandable.  He doesn't know about diapers--YET!

The class started.  There were 8 couples in the class.  The teacher began talking.  Everyone was sitting and listening.  Everyone, that is, except my dear husband.  No.  He was unswaddling the doll... checking out the diaper... talking about the eye color of the doll... moving her hat around... re-wrapping it in the blanket... holding it...  Can you tell he's a little excited?  I finally had to tell him to pay attention!! :) 

He spent the whole ten minute break smiling from ear to ear telling me how excited he is for Olivia to come.  He's going to be such a good daddy! :)

Ft. Worth Stockyards

The countdown is on.  As of this last weekend we had 8 Saturdays left to enjoy being just "us"... and that's if Miss Olivia shows up on her due date.  We figured we better get out and enjoy ourselves and maybe even see a little bit of Texas while we were at it.

I've wanted to go to a rodeo since we got here.  I've never been and it's something I've been wanting to do (even before we moved to the grand old state of Texas).  Lucky for me, there is one going on every weekend of the year in Fort Worth!  Fort Worth has a couple of different "districts" (I guess you would say), and one is called the Stockyards.  It has everything you think of when you think of stereotypical Texas.  We have seen very little of the stereotypes, so it was time to really experience Texas.

Fort Worth is about an hour drive from where we live in the northern suburbs of Dallas.  Every day at 11:30 and 4:00 there is a cattle drive down the streets in the Stockyard area.  We thought that would be cool, so we arrived to the area around 3:30 to find a place to watch.

Here's what we saw on our short walk to the place where we would watch

The General Store and Trading Post... of course! :)

The streets are full of shopping (all Texas style things for sale) and restaurants

These type of statues are all over

The Coliseum is in the background.  That's where the rodeo takes place every Friday and Saturday night.

You could take stagecoach or carriage rides

Some dude riding a longhorn...how odd

The cattle drive--I'll admit, we thought there were going to be a little more, but it was still pretty cool.

Yeah, he was a little closer than I would have liked.  Do you see him eyeing me!?!

After the cattle drive we had an early dinner.  It was a rustic type place.  I wasn't fond of my food, but Michael liked his.  Next time we'll definitely try somewhere different.

From there we headed out to the shops.  It's just one long street filled with all sorts of shops.  They all carrying pretty much the same thing--cowboy boots, cowboy hats, cowboy type decorations.  You get the idea.

I tried on a hat at the first store we went to.  I wasn't really planning on buying one.  I was more doing it to be silly.  Michael really liked it.  He thought I should get one.  Hats aren't normally my thing because of my oh-so-round face, but cowboy hats are a little different because of how they sit on your head (and you can still see my hair).  I didn't buy one there, but figured I'd keep my eye out for a cute one.  I live in Texas now.  I'm sure there will be a time when a cowboy hat will come in handy! :)  I want a pair of boots too, but I'm not buying them while pregnant.

I found a hat and Michael insisted that I wear it the rest of the day.

You know why I love it?  Because it has bling!!!!!!! :)

even along the sides!!

Photo ops through the streets and stores...

"Abe Lincoln"... he was used in some movie that had Sarah in the title.  I never heard of it, which is why I can't remember the name.

I couldn't reach the little window Michael looked out, so I had to look out the bars.

After we hit almost every store it was time to give my feet a rest.  I drank more water that day than I can even count, and my feet still swelled up.  I had 80 oz before we even got there at 3:30.  The waiter refilled my glass at dinner more times than I can even remember--4 or 5?  Later I bought a 24 oz bottle of water and then even later in the evening another 20 oz bottle.  It put my feet up at dinner and then again for almost an hour in between shopping and the rodeo.  It didn't matter.  A few hours of walking, 90 degree weather, and then sitting for a two hour rodeo had both my feet and ankles swollen nice and big.

The rodeo was great.  I wish I had all sorts of fun pictures for you, but they all move so fast that everything was coming out blurry.  Here are just a few of what I got.

 The "flag girl" riding to the National Anthem.

(I don't know what her title was, but she came out with a different flag in between every event.)

They actually prayed!! (which is why her head is bowed)

Bull riders getting ready

No bull rider made it the 8 seconds :(

It's a bit of a blur, but you can see the bull rider being thrown off.

There were lots of other events besides bull riding, but they were all too fast too.  I decided to put the camera away and enjoy the show.  I look forward to going again!