March 31, 2011

Mister Blue Eyes




Kelli over at ForThisChildiPrayed.net is hosting a fun little "link up" that is right up my alley!
She's asking people to share a favorite picture and talk about why they love it.

I have thousands and thousands of pictures and really don't have just one...or two or even three favorites.  Any picture of my boys is special to me and I could never narrow it down!  I really wanted to find one for this link up though, so I opened my March picture folder (which so far contains 618 pictures), and after lots and lots of looking, finally found the perfect one...


I love this picture because it is completely natural and not staged.  I just grabbed my camera the other day (when Owen was looking particularly cute) snapped a few quick pictures, put the camera away and then went back to playing with my sweet boy.  That night I downloaded the pictures I had taken and this one just popped out at me.  It was one of the few that was actually in focus (something that is truly hard to capture when you have a baby making a b-line for you and your camera), but it caught my eye for several other reasons as well.  

I love the sweet, innocent look on Owen's face and the fact that his big, pale, blue eyes really stand out.  I love how his hair is swooped to the side giving him that real "little boy" look and I adore those little wisps of hair standing up on the top of his head.  I like how Owen's silhouette really pops against the simple, slightly blurred, background and how the focus is off center, which as Kelli mentions in her post, is often more appealing to the eye.

Of course my favorite thing about this picture is that Owen looks so stinkin' cute here and every time I look at it I want to hold him and squeeze him and kiss those sweet little cheeks.  And look at that...only about 7 hours left until I'll get to do just that, so I better wrap it up before that number starts decreasing. :-)

And don't forget to head on over to Kelli's blog and link up your favorite photo, too!

March 29, 2011

March 28, 2011

Wedding Pictures!!

Some of the fabulous wedding pictures courtesy of the very talented 

















and finally...
The Movie:  Catherine & Nick!





Rehearsal & Dinner Pictures


The happy couple!

 "Here comes the bride..."
Two cool daddios!
Me and my "little" sister!
 The memory table
 Some of the favors...plantable paper!
 Less than 24 hours away from being husband and wife!
 Ryan & Owen at the rehearsal dinner
 Austin trying calamari...off of a chop stick.
(Hey, sometimes you have to be creative to get your children to try new foods!)
 Bridesmaid, Amber, and her daughter.
 Some of the Italians...Ciao!
 Bobby & Elena, Catherine's future in-laws
I told you he likes drinking!!
 The delicious groom's cake!
Nick is Italian and this represents his favorite soccer team from Italy.
Ok, not the best picture of the four of us, I know.
Austin is still trying to thread calamari onto his chopstick, Owen is just a head, I have no idea what is going on with my hair and Ryan looks like he's about to fall asleep.  Oh well!

MIA

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger lately. I have some pretty good excuses though!  My little sister got married on March 19th in Columbia and things were busy, busy, busy while getting ready for the big event.  Of course me and my boys came down with yucky colds just a few days before the BIG day and up until the Friday before, we were in the middle of "operation get well soon!"

Man were we lucky, not only did we all feel much better by the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, but the wedding was a huge success!!!  Catherine was calm and relaxed and so beautiful and the wedding went off without a hitch!! The weather was gorgeous for an outdoor wedding, 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  The reception was so much fun and Austin stayed on the dance floor ALL night.  Like seriously...we couldn't even drag him away.  Ryan and I were bringing him cups of water and little snacks on the dance floor because he just couldn't stop!!  Owen made his rounds going from one person's arms to the next and was just soaking up all the attention.

While I was in Columbia the entire weekend tied up with wedding festivities, my sweet, sweet husband was taking care of the boys, driving them up and down the road from Greenville to Columbia and back, feeding them, dressing them, putting them to bed and being Mr. Mom.  Even better was that he didn't complain about it one.single.time!  He even managed to keep them both quiet and entertained for the entire wedding ceremony (with a little help from my friend Keri)! I really am incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful husband and father to our sweet boys.

So, the wedding was a success, the boys had fun and were healthy, and we were all happy to finally be home and relaxing on Sunday afternoon when...BAM...attack of the stomach flu!!  It started out pretty mild at first, Owen was the only one sick and the vomiting and diarrhea were manageable.  He was still eating alright and keeping things down for the most part, but it just kept going and going!  No 24 hour bug here...it was more like a 6 day bug!!  Thursday night it got worse, Owen started running a fever and dry heaving, so to the doctor we went first thing Friday morning.  As I expected, there was nothing they could do and we were instructed to just wait it out.  Friday and Saturday Owen was the most miserable, but by Sunday things were looking up until...BAM...Austin's turn!

We had finally made it out of the house on Sunday afternoon, both boys seemingly ok, and after the playground, Build-a-Bear and frozen yogurt at the mall, it was getting close to dinner time so we stopped by Olive Garden on our way home.  Austin, who had been fine all day, wasn't being himself and kept saying he was tired.  He wouldn't really eat or drink anything but was content to sit there and color while the rest of us enjoyed our meal.  A few minutes later he started whining and saying his stomach hurt.  All of a sudden we heard some coughs and gurgles and Ryan grabbed Austin out of his seat and the giant Olive Garden salad bowl just in time to catch the contents of his stomach as they made their way back up...at the dinner table.  We felt pretty lucky to have avoided a huge and messy disaster and most people around us didn't even notice what had happened....except for one unlucky table in front of us.  One lady had to get up and leave the restaurant and I'm pretty sure we ruined the rest of their meal.

So, in a matter of two months we have somehow managed to have both boys throw up at a restaurant dinner table.  There really should be a prize for such a feat....or we should be banned from taking our boys out to restaurants  for the rest of their lives....I'm not sure which one.

Both boys were in bed last night by 8:30 and slept like rocks all night long.  So far today, however, Austin hasn't been able to keep anything down.  So here I am on week #2 of diarrhea and vomit duty and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better (I imagine my turn is coming up next)...

So yeah, that's what's been going on around here....aren't you glad I shared??

Austin feeling not-so-hot...

Owen feeling much, much better....
and ready to get in trouble!
(Yes, he opened and climbed inside that drawer all by himself...silly little booger!)


**Better blog posts and wedding pictures coming soon!

March 17, 2011

Last Weekend

Since this weekend is quickly approaching (and it's going to be a big one), I guess I should update about last weekend already!  It was a busy one and a lot of fun.  So, here is our weekend in pictures:

 What a sweet big brother!  He insists that he pull Owen in the wagon now.
 We had lunch here on Sunday.  It's basically a cute little restaurant right on the downtown airstrip!
 We could barely get Austin to eat because he was so excited about watching the planes take off.
 Owen had his first bites of an ice cream sandwich.  
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
Austin and daddy watching the planes take flight.
 After lunch we headed downtown to check out the Children's Garden at Linky Stone Park.
Here is Austin next to the giant Pooh Bear.
 This is Austin trying hard not to smile for my picture!
 "Paying moosic!"
 Owen was very entertained by Austin's "moosic."
 Owen was totally cheesin' for this picture!
Austin is riding one of the 3 bears.
 My 3 sweet boys!
 Look at that little copycat in the background...
Brotherly Love!
 We figured we'd keep the day going by checking out the bounce houses at the Pavilion.
We also took in a little hockey game.

Followers



 
Designed by Munchkin Land Designs. Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.