Showing posts with label must. Show all posts
Showing posts with label must. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2017
face on a stick flowers dancing must be a wedding!
So the wedding: you guys, the wedding was awesome. Kristen was engaged for almost 1.5 years and her planning skillz made mine look like baby-stuff. Case in point: her itinerary was 5 pages long, mine was a little note card. Her monogram was literally everywhere, tiny details were sprouting up at every corner and there was not a detail missed along the way. Wow, that girl loved wedding planning....a girl after my heart [and yours, I'm sure].
I was a reader in her wedding which meant I had to get to the church early. Which, of course, meant I had ample time to snap a bunch of pictures at the ceremony before the chaos began. I have a thing for mosaics and religious icons are always interesting. Therefore, I like this picture:
Another thing I liked? Her color palette. Technically it was hot pink and black but her bridesmaids bouquets were hiding in a secret room of the church.....I spotted pink and green and immediately thought it was time for a sneaky picture. LOVE these flowers.
So before everyone else arrived, Hannah and I studied our readings. Kim looked on with wise eyes and wished us well. She was really soaking it all in and living in the moment:
Then finally it was time for the beautiful bride to walk down her aisle. I rarely get emotional at weddings but when the bride gets teary eyed it makes it hard, you know?
The ceremony was beautiful and then they sealed it with a kiss:
Off to cocktail hour! Kim enjoyed herself as you can see:
The reception was at a fabulous country club and we took advantage of the glorious weather on the patio before dinner.
Upon arriving to our dinner table we saw that Kristen, once again, outdid herself with decorating. Just look at these adorable place settings:
Oh, and her bridal bouquet was a highlight for me, too.
The head table? Stunning:
I was getting all artsy with the pretty candlelight and my 1.8 lens. That would be my cranberry and vodka which I thought fit the pink theme nicely, no?
So as you can see, Kim was a total hit. I am not joking when I say I might have 100 pictures of people with Kim. Here are some of the two of us as Nate played with shutter speed. I have to call him out and say that he gave up on the 'manual' setting really quickly and chose the easy 'auto' within about two tries. Also, as the lights got dimmer and dimmer we were FORCED to use our crappy built-in flash. I hate the stupid flash but could not manage without it. Oh, if only my new tripod fit nicely into my suitcase....next time, my friends.
So yeah, I didn't want to give into the flash just yet [but that's just me being stubborn]. So when everyone got these awesome fiber optic wands for Kristen and Will's first dance, I thought I'd play around a bit. I actually like this one of my crazy hubby:
And although it's far from a technically perfect image [way, way far from it] I really love this one because it is so wild and blurry. It just sums up that moment so nicely, in my opinion. Maybe it gives some of you a headache or a near-seizure. If so, I apologize:
Then this one just freaks me out. There are two of our little bride!!
Again, obviously blurry but kind of artsy, too. I like it:
The new Mrs. and Mrs. with Kim. I'm sure this one will be a framer, don't you think?
To illustrate our friends' obsession with Kim, here is just smattering of my pictures. This is Lindsey with her fiance John....wearing Kim's face as his head. They are getting married in August and I know you can't wait to see their entertaining pictures!
We danced the night away to a fabulous band and even made it up until 3 am. I really don't feel the need to post any pictures beyond this point in the night:
But if you are dying for more you can always go to my Flickr page. I find them all quite interesting but maybe that is because I know my friends. Man, I miss my friends.
And that was wedding #1 for this year. Many more to come. And now that I've purchased a cute clutch purse big enough to hold my camera and TWO lenses [yes, it's a huge clutch] perhaps I will tote the SLR along for the rest of the events. It's just too much fun, really. Except for when I woke up the next morning in a startling panic, worried that I'd lost a lens during the nights' escapades. Of course, I did not but still. It was heart-stopping at the time.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Mels Must Have Baby Products 9 12 Months Old
It's time for another post about Mel's Must Have Baby Products.
I started this series because have gotten several emails from readers/friends who are pregnant with their first babies (or just had their first babies) and they wanted my advice on baby items.
I started this series because have gotten several emails from readers/friends who are pregnant with their first babies (or just had their first babies) and they wanted my advice on baby items.
You can see my Newborn-3 month post here.
You can see my 3-6 month post here.
You can see my 6-9 month post here.
Luke is our 3rd (and final) baby and since he was born almost 4 years after Claire, I had given away ALL our baby stuff. ALL of it.
I wanted to be mindful of what I got for Luke knowing that it would only be used for him & then given away/donated. I only wanted to get the absolute necessary things to avoid lots of clutter in my house. I just can't handle clutter.
Here are my 9-12 month must haves:
Britax Marathon - This is hands down our favorite car seat to use after the babies are done with the infant seat. Both girls used them and now Luke does. At 5 years old, Claire still uses hers in my car. They are easy to install and one of the safest on the market. They must be comfortable because none of my kids have complained about riding in them for long periods of time. In fact, once Kate switched to her booster, she complained that her booster wasn't comfortable & that she wanted to sit in her carseat. They last for years & years. Can't recommend this car seat enough!
Egg Stackers Set- Luke got a set of these this summer and he LOVES them. In fact, the girls love them also! He loves stacking them and matching up the eggs. He plays with them almost everyday.
Push Around Buggy - We were given one of these when Kate was a baby and they are so fun. Perfect for when they are about 9 months old (and older!) It is a good alternative for going on a walk around the neighborhood or pushing it around the yard. All 3 of mine have loved this buggy.
PBK Chamois Stroller Blanket - Someone gave me this blanket after Kate was born and I always used it in her stroller when we went on walks. After Claire was born, we used it for her. Claire loved this blanket so much, it is now her "blankey". The one she sleeps with every.single.night. We have a blue one now for Luke (won't let him sleep with it yet) but it is perfect for chilly rides in the stroller now.
Old Navy Body Suits - After 3 kids, I can officially say that these onesies are the best. My kids wear oneies most days until they are 1 (I ditch the onesies after they turn 1) I love the Old Navy ones because they are totally affordable, so soft, and have totally adorable prints. I am a sucker for stripes, especially for boys. I think 75% of Luke's clothes have stripes (or plaid)
Gap Socks - These are my favorite socks for this age. At 9-12 months, babies are crawling all over the place, but these socks stay on. At 9-12 months, babies have discovered their feet and try and take socks off....these socks are really hard for them to take off. And, they have little grippers on the bottom, so as they are starting to cruise around & learn to stand/walk, these socks help them not slip.
Baby Food in Pouches - These were not around when I had the girls. LOVE them. So easy to bring on the go & not have to deal with the glass jars. I keep a back up in my car and one in my purse. By the time Luke was 1, he could feed them to himself (without making too big of a mess!)
Baby Food Pouch Spoons - I did not even know about these until my friend Becky was using them to feed her baby Evan at soccer a couple months ago. They attach to any brand baby food pouch! After I saw Becky use them, I immediately bought some the next day. Even though Luke doesn't eat out of the pouches that much, they come in so handy. I use them almost everyday when I feed Luke in the car after I pick up Kate & while we wait to pick up Claire from school.
Carter's Footie PJ's - I am a pajama snob. I only buy these fleece jammies for my kids. The fleece holds up amazingly and the price can't be beat. After I had Kate, I saved all her clothes and used them for Claire. I couldn't believe how well these held up through BOTH girls. And, if you know my kids, you know they wear jammies ALL THE TIME. Luke practically lived his first 6 months of life in these jammies.
Vans Slip On Shoes - When kids are first starting to walk, it is all about soft soled shoes. Kevin loves Vans, so he was thrilled when I got Luke these baby vans. I am a fan of Pedipeds (and still am!) but these slip on Vans are great also, they stay on Luke's feet and have the soft soles which is so important for those early walkers!
Green Toys Trucks - Luke is all boy. We have dolls out, babies, Barbies, trucks and balls and Luke is alllll about the trucks & balls. Love these trucks (and they are Green... is made from 100% recycled plastic milk containers. Got love eco-friendly toys!
Rattle Roll Push Toy - We don't have this toy at our house, but Luke has it in the nursery and the ladies there always say how much he loves it. Anything Melissa & Doug is my favorite. Always good quality!
Baby Bath Tub Ring Seat
- Luke is a busy, busy boy. Giving him a bath is a nightmare. He won't sit. Unlike the girls, they just sat & played with bath toys. All Luke wants to do is stand up & walk in the bathtub. So dangerous. Everytime I give him a bath, I end up getting soaked because I get in there with my clothes to try and keep him sitting (and safe) He doesn't like to just sit & play with bath toys anymore. I had to do something, so I bought one of these for Luke. If you have a wriggly kiddo in the tub, I recommend this! Any must have items for 9-12 months that I left out?
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