The Cadillac.

Yesterday, Maddux tried his Exer-Saucer for the first time and let me tell you, this is the Cadillac of Exer-Saucer's. There are more bells and whistles than any 3 month old kid knows what to do with. He loved the thing. My little peanut is barely big enough for it so I had to wrap a towel around him so he could sit up straight without struggling. However, once we got him comfortable, he had a blast.

It didn't take him long to figure out that if he touched the green bug it would light up and sing to him...

And so he played, happily, for a good 30 minutes...it was fun watching him....

I love watching him try new things...the look on his face is amusing every single time. I can't imagine being a baby and being so clueless in this giant world we live in. I'm blessed to be the momma who gets to show him new things and venture out with him.

This week marks my last week of maternity leave...I'm trying to soak up every second with the little guy. I know going back is what is best for my family right now and I'll do it as long as I have to. My mother in law will be here next week with with him for 3 days and I'm SURE he'll love his time with Granny. He loves reading books with her. :)

Updates will come soon as we transition into this new stage of life. If you think of it, please say a prayer for us...it's definitely going to be a big change and take some getting used to.

Irene.

Yesterday I packed Maddux up and headed to the beach! Irene passed 240 miles off the coast of Jacksonville and I wanted to see the waves everyone was talking about. It was incredible. Considering the storm was as far away as it was...I can't imagine what the waves would have been had it been any closer!! We also experienced some heavy rain early morning (the outer bands of the storm) and gusty winds. I hope everyone along the East coast is faring well with the monster....she is large and ugly!

Maddux's first trip to the beach

These pictures don't do justice of how big the waves were

I have to admit, I'd like to experience a hurricane without losing power, with no flash flooding, and everyone being safe. Tough request, I know. In my first week of living in Jacksonville there was a tropical storm and at the time I thought that was horrible. Granted, it was my first week in Florida and Will worked at the station so he wasn't home at all...leaving me to worry!! Well, I survived it and once it was all said and done, I kind of enjoyed it....I'd do it again. Now if there is a category 3 headed for us...I'm out of here! :) Hurricane season typically peaks in September so we'll see what mother nature has in store for us this year....

Wedding Bells.

(Uughhhh - I was almost done with this entire post when I managed to accidentally delete it. Shoot. I can't retype it all...it will never be worded the same....grrrr)

Yesterday, I finished unpacking and did all of the laundry, including folding, putting away, and ironing. Who does that? I deserve a pat on the back for that.
As promised, the wedding post :)

It all started last November when I received a phone call from a VERY excited Jodi exclaiming "I'm engaged!!!". I couldn't have been more excited for her. All day I was eagerly anticipating that phone call as I knew it was coming. In January Jodi called me and asked if I'd stand next to her as her Matron of Honor - of course I said yes. I was elated that she asked me to do that - I was excited.

Fast forward, it's August, the night before the big day. Rehearsal was finished and perfected within 30 minutes thanks to Uncle Lee and his excellent ability to tell us what to do, where to go, and when to do it. We were ready. The group then ventured to dinner at Uncle Lee's house on a beautiful, warm, Michigan summer night. There was a taco bar, ice cream bar, and adult beverages. It was a night of socializing and laughing, most enjoyable. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Moving on, Saturday morning. Jodi's big day was finally here! We started off at the hair salon to get all dolled up...

We then headed on over to the church at which point Jodi looked at the radar...it was ugly. There was an unattractive line of thunderstorms making it's way right for Grand Rapids.

But we were NOT going to let that stop Jodi from enjoying her wedding day!!!!! It was time for Mrs. Burnett to be to get dressed!

The rain moved through, the ceremony was PERFECT, and it was time to party! Needless to say, the wedding party had fun on the party bus...we knew how to celebrate.

After a few stops on the way to the reception to take group pictures....

We arrived at Centennial where we celebrated all night long and had a good time doing it.

Jodi and Buck, we're so happy for you. We're blessed to have friends as wonderful as you. We can't wait for spring break 2012 and sure hope to see you before then! Loves!!

Pure Michigan. Part Two.

Yesterday I did not unpack one single thing. My house is a disaster. We didn't get in until midnight on Sunday making yesterday a difficult day. The kind of day I wish I liked coffee. Anyway, a little more about Michigan...

The Sunday of my sister's shower was when Will got in to town, man I was glad to see him. Not only did I miss him A LOT, but I realized how thankful I am for a husband who helps as much as he does with Maddux. Being a single mom would not be easy. Sunday night we ventured off to the cottage which I blogged about last week (see, I had a little time for blogging). We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there and probably could have used a couple more nights :) Anyway, upon returning back into GR we did dinner with our friends. My mom made a sliders bar, yum. All the fixins and toppings you could imagine! The next few days we spent time with family and friends. Here are some pictures of the different people Maddux got to spend time with (throughout the two weeks)...

 Grandpa singing to Maddux

 Meeting Uncle Nate and Aunt Steph for the first time

Spending time with family

Uncle Troy and Aunt Lis

Great Aunt Mary and Great Aunt Louise

Meeting Great Aunt Mary for the first time

Spending time with Chris and Will

Dinner with mommy and daddy's friends

Nana Jane and Miss Ann

 Snuggles with Kari

Maddux was a trooper. We were on the run non stop and he was always so well behaved.

On Thursday of our second week I got a chance to catch up with my cousins. My mom took Maddux while Will headed out with his buddies. The cool thing is between myself and my 6 cousins - we're all girls within 4 years of each other and enjoy spending time together. Here we are enjoying a girls night out (which doesn't happen often)! 

Amanda and Audra (sisters)

Lis and I

Kari and Kacie (sisters)

Martini? Yes please!

Cuzzie Love!

We had a great night together laughing, catching up, and reminiscing about childhood. I can't wait to do it again girls!!!

Tomorrow will be my last Michigan post....Jodi and Buck's wedding extravaganza!

 

Pure Michigan. Part 1.

Yesterday, my family returned home from our 2 week vacation to Michigan. Phew! Talk about a whirlwind, I can't believe it's over. It was filled with so many wonderful people and memories there is no way I can fit it all in to one post. Over the next couple of days I'll post about our adventures. Today I'll start with the weekend of celebrations...

It all started Saturday morning with a baby shower for Maddux. My best friend Kate wanted to throw me a baby shower and since I never made it up to Michigan during my pregnancy, we decided to do it this summer. It was a BLAST.  Kate had her house decorated in blue, served mimosas, and had a delicious spread of food.  The best part....we played "The Price is Right!". Kate and I always wanted to be on "The Price is Right" and since it never happened (Bob was out having a routine surgery...sheesh), she made it a reality in her own living room. She had baby items displayed and while her mom read the description we had to name the price. The person who was closest to guessing all the prices right won....you guessed it, a new car!! Yes, Kate had a little toy car for the winner :) Maddux got awesome gifts including a lot of books - we're pumped. Thank you to everyone who was a part of that shower - it was so special to me (and Maddux). Here are a few pictures from it...

 

After a nap, cleaning up, dinner, and a good West Michigan thunderstorm...it was time for Jodi's bachelorette party. Kate was kind enough to let me host at her house since clearly I don't have a house in Michigan. Jodi ended up having a rough afternoon so it was time to take serious care of the bride to be! I went with a "something blue" theme which was fun to decorate for (and convenient since the shower earlier that morning was for a baby boy). There were about 10 girls and we had fun. We sipped on blue drinks, snacked on blue candy, and had quality girl talk. Jodi opened her presents and right when she thought she was all through she had one more gift....her Maid of Honor Lauren drove in from Baltimore and surprised her!!!! :) She was shocked. It was fun to surprise her with that. Eventually we headed downtown and stayed out far to late - it was well worth it, we had a darn good time. I can't wait for her wedding next weekend. A little showcase of our bachelorette festivities....

Last but not least, we celebrated my sister's upcoming wedding with an English Tea Party! My amazing Aunt Mary and I planned all summer for this. Lis and her fiance Troy love England so we thought a tea party would be fun and English 'ish'. It started with cute tea bag shaped invitations inviting people to the tea party honoring Lis. We snacked on lots of delicious treats such as scones, chocolate covered strawberries, and home made tea party cup cakes made by my talented cousin Amanda. We all sipped on tea while enjoying a cold iced tea, water, or lemonade. After enjoying a light lunch we played a fun wedding game and Lis opened her gifts. My sister is going to be a stunning bride and I can't wait for her big day (December 9). I was delighted to be able to throw her a shower. Living 1000 miles away can make that difficult but we were fortunate to make it work! I love my sister dearly and couldn't be more happy for her and Troy.

By the end of the shower Nate and Stephanie, Lis and Troy, and Will and I were all in the same house...something that does not happen often anymore. We had to get a picture :)

More Michigan stories to come tomorrow....