Wild Wedding Weekend – The Wedding (Part 3 of 4)

Click here if you missed Part 1 or Part 2.

We arrived at the church around 3 for pictures.  Ari was able to run around a bit and play in the playroom before the ceremony.  Keira had a short nap then sat with me while we waited for the ceremony to start.  Of course, right as Ari was set to come down the aisle, Keira got fussy so I had to juggle her and the camera and didn’t get many good pictures (I was also sitting on the far end of the pew in case I needed to make a quick exit).  I’m hoping we’ll get to see the professional pic’s when they come in and order a couple.

Awaiting the big moment

Ari was a model ring-bearer and walked sweetly down the aisle with the flower girl.  He walked right up to Keenan and announced “I want Teddys!”  Keenan quickly quieted Ari with the Dum Dum he had in his pocket.  Ari was occupied with his sucker and the kneeling rail (sorry…don’t know the technical term) for all but the last 5 minutes of the ceremony.  Keenan directed him to me and he found his coloring book.  They wanted Ari to walk back up the aisle, but he was having none of of it.  We didn’t push our luck.

  

They took a few more pictures after the ceremony then we were off to the reception!

 

Wild Wedding Weekend – Pre-wedding Fun (Part 2 of 4)

Click here if you missed part 1.

Keira kindly woke us all around 6:30 Saturday morning.  The kids had their morning milk and we cleaned ourselves up enough to make it to the lobby for the complimentary breakfast.  Afterwards, we loaded up and went to the local park in hopes of wearing Ari out to get him a nap before the wedding.

 

Keira in the swing, as usual

 

 

 

 

 

Keenan and Ari on the rocket ship slide!

 

 

and rock climbing!

Thumbs up, dude!

We returned to the hotel to get Keira her morning nap around 10.  Keenan and Ari went to a store called Gander Mtn. (small-scale Bass Pro Shop) and to Lowes to sit on the riding lawn mowers – one of Ari’s favorite past times.  We met another groomsman and his wife for lunch where Ari requested to take a nap.  We got him back to the hotel as quick as we could, but of course it took him almost an hour to get to sleep.  We had to wake him just over an hour later to get to the church for pictures.  I’m sure he would have slept at least another hour if we could have let him.  Poor little guy.  At least he had some sleep this day.

Wild Wedding Weekend – The Rehearsal (Part 1 of 4)

For a two-day/two-night wedding weekend a lot happened that I want to document before I forget.  I thought I’d break it into separate posts for easier reading and because I don’t think I’ll be able to get it all written in one night.  I’m mainly typing this out for my benefit and memory so feel free to skip the babbling and go straight to the pictures! 

We loaded up the car Friday after lunch and took off for Sherman, TX (an hour and a half drive).  Our plan was to have both kids nap on the way, but with kids, nothing ever goes as planned.  Ari quickly noticed the DVD player and asked to watch a movie.  I thought he’d still nod off, but the movie kept his attention so no nap for Ari.  Keira did fall asleep, but for only an hour. 

We checked into the hotel, went swimming, cleaned up and fed the kids dinner before heading to the rehearsal at 6:30pm.  As expected, Ari started to nod off in the car on the 5 minute drive between the hotel and the church.  He was in a daze for much of the rehearsal and was very compliant with the 4-year-old flower girl who lead him up and down the aisle.

Around 7:45 we headed to the next town north for the rehearsal dinner.  Both kids fell asleep on the ride and didn’t even stir as we unloaded them and went into the restaurant.  One of the waitresses pulled out a couple of tablecloths and laid them on the floor for the kids to sleep on.  Keira lasted about an hour then woke up and ate a ravioli or two off my plate.  Ari stirred once, but didn’t wake up.  We made it back to the hotel around 10 and amazingly got both kids re-settled and asleep quickly.

Still to come – pre-wedding fun, the wedding and the reception.  Stay tuned! :)

Punk Girl

Keira is 11 months old today! The time has truly gone so fast and I can't believe she'll be 1 in just a month! I still think of her as an infant even though she's very mobile and independent. Maybe when she starts walking it'll hit me...

Here are some pictures I took of her the other day. Our neighbor bought her the shirt and I had to give her a little faux hawk to complete the look. In the last picture she's scooting towards me as fast as she can to get the camera. Too cute ;)

Summer Fun Already!

Summer's off to a great start for us. Ari's last day of school was Wednesday. Thursday night we went to a friend's house for dinner and a dip in their kiddie pool. The water was too cold for Keira, but Ari had a blast. We topped off the night with popsicles.

Friday morning we hit the sprinkler park for our second time already. The first time, I kept getting on Ari for putting the water in his mouth (the water is recycled) and putting his mouth on the spouts where the water sprays out. After downing his Capri Sun, he got inventive and put the straw up to the spouts! That's what happens when both your parents are engineers ;) This last time he took no time in remembering his little trick and asked for his CS right off. I made him wait a little bit, then he was back at it.

Sunday we bought a kiddie pool for our house for the summer. Ari's already loving that and asks multiple times a day to go in it. Yesterday he went for a morning dip and we left it out all day for the water to warm up. It was plenty warm after dinner and Keira didn't mind getting in this time. She had a great time splashing and scooting around. I think her swimsuit helps keep her from slipping too much. Ari prefers to swim in the buff if we're the only ones around.

The only downside to our summer so far is our new wake-up time. Both kids have decided that 6am is a great time to wake up! I'm still adjusting to this new schedule, but I think it could be good in the long run. I was actually quite productive today especially since they go down for their afternoon naps about the same time and sleep around 2 hours! I just need to make myself go to bed earlier :)

Dance and Scoot

The other day I caught Keira rockin' out to a commercial on TV.  She had her shoulders going and was rocking back and forth on her little bootie.  Every time the commercial is on she has to stop to dance.  Now that we have a DVR, we played it over and over for her the other day.  She didn’t get quite as into it as the first time, but it was still cute.  You can also watch her scooting maneuver.  She gets all over the house this way (hence all the toys on the floor) and is getting faster everyday!