We can officially sit!

Kaileigh has been working on her sitting and crawling skills for some time now. Well as of last week, she officially reached sitting status! We can just plop her down amongst her toys and she is able to view them from a whole new perspective. Sure, she frequently does a face-plop, but she is proving to be a champ - and hardly ever cries when it happens. We were given a little popping car for her to push around, and she is successfully learning how to play with it. Nik and I are having such a wonderful time watching her develop all of these new skills! Here are a couple pictures of our genius baby!!!

Helping Mommy and Daddy sort the socks!

(Well, kinda)

Showing off her sitting... like a pro!

Chera and Eric's Wedding 8/8/09

On Saturday, August 8, 2009, my very best and longest friend, Chera got married. It was a beautiful day - with a beautiful garden ceremony - with the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. She really was a modern day princess! The day went so smoothly - all to Chera's amazing planning abilities! We started the day out with our hair appointments, then makeup, then a secret trip to the hotel to decorate the suite, then to the Delaney house to get ready for the ceremony. Champagne toasts were present everywhere - along with the customary green grapes! (From dance competition days.) Perhaps my most memorable moment was when we were all heading out to the garden where the ceremony was to be held; Chera was preparing to get into the horse-drawn carriage that would bring her there; there were five or six little girls outside the hotel. I whispered to Chera: " You know what is really cool? Those girls are now going to grow up dreaming to be just like you one day!" This moment will always stick out in my mind. The ceremony went on with great moments all along the way: "Going to the Chapel" playing as we walked down the asile (Chera and my first dance when I was 3 years old), Chera giving me a tissue because I was crying during the ceremony, and me dancing with Chera's train over my shoulder because the bustle had fallen out at a really good song! All in all, the day was just magical. I am so humbled to have had the place of Maid of Honor as my best friend took her wedding vows. I wish them the very happiest of years together!



The following 3 posts are pictures from the rehersal dinner and wedding day. Enjoy!

"Going to the Chapel..."

Rehersal Dinner - night before the BIG DAY

"The Dress."

Family: Chera, Danny, and Ricky

The Bride and MOH

Nothing makes a jean skirt more elegant than a nice garter!

Happily Ever After!

And the dress is on...

A beautiful moment!

FINALLY!





Mr. and Mrs. Eric and Chera Hunter!





To make the day even better: Aimee, Brenna, and Becky were there too!

Get this party started!

We had the coolest table! Cara and Billy Kopatz - long time friends!

Nik and Me with the man of the hour!

Just like the old days... with a few new young ones!

Chera and Baby Kate! SO SWEET!

(almost exactly 1 year older than Kaileigh - this is what she will be like next year!)

And of course... the very yummy cake!

HOME!

Kaileigh and I spent two wonderful weeks (Nik - 1 week) at home. We were able to visit with friends and family - something we value more and more as time goes on! Kaileigh really enjoyed her visit too. She is much more interactive these days and was so happy with all the people she was able to see. During our trip home, we spent time at the pools, went shopping, and Kaileigh learned a new trick - her "raspberry-sucky-face kiss." Something I am sure we will not forget! She also got so close to crawling... we are still waiting for it! But even two weeks proved to still be too short of a visit. We are so lucky to have so many friends and family members that love us - and we appreciate everything they do for us!

There seemed to be a bridal theme to this visit - of course because of Chera's wedding on Aug 8th. But also because I found out that 5 of my girlfriends are getting married next year! Congrats to Kristen and Drew, Tina and Aaron, Brenna and Jimbo, Danielle and Chris, and Kristy and Tony! We are so very happy for you all!! It seems that because of these nuptuals, our visits for next year are pretty much mapped out: 2 weeks in June 2010, 2 weeks in October 2010, and 1 or 2 weeks in January2011!

We would like to express a very deep "Thank you" to our parents for this wonderful trip. Thank you for keeping us, feeding us, and babysitting the "squirt" - you made it a REAL vacation for us! We love and miss you always!

The following posts are pictures from this past visit:

Our Visit Home cont.

On the plane...


Someday I will really really miss these moments!

Grandma and Kaileigh

Grammy and Kaileigh

Auntie Love!

Our Visit Home Cont.

A very happy Gabby and Kaileigh!

We loved spending time with Gabby and Papa!


Dancing in the Kitchen?? Not too sure!

Great-Grandma, Grandma, Daddy, Baby!

Grandma and Bill with the little squirmer!

Our Visit Home Continued...

Kaileigh, Nik, Grandpa, and Loren

Kaileigh and Leah - born 4 days apart!

Quite interesting...

Our girls are getting so Big!

Kaileigh and her Papa... she thinks he is pretty darn amusing...

but then again, I guess we all do!

Our visit home!

Kaileigh stopped by at our makeup appointment to give Chera a "goodluck" wedding smooch! She was her "Something Blue" ... at least for a few moments!

At Tiffany and Timmy's pool - Kaileigh loved the fountains!

Swimming!

Kaileigh is not too sure what to make of Big Uncle Jim!....

and Logan is not too sure what to make of Little Cousin Kaileigh!

More pool fun with Grammy!

Chera Comes to Alabama!!

I know this post is very late... but what can I say, it has been a very busy last couple of weeks. This post is dedicated to our wonderful friend, Chera's visit to Alabama. She took a few days to come to our part of the country right before her beautiful wedding. I cannot express how wonderful it was to have her all to ourselves. Chera and I grew up together (literally from my birth and on!) But since we have grown, life has taken over and we are not able to see each other anywhere near as much as we would like. She lives right outside of Boston now with her HUSBAND Eric and their very spirited dog, Lexi. While she was here, we were able to talk about the very close wedding details and she was able to spend a lot of time with Kaileigh. Chera is a wonderful Aunt to Kaileigh - she is very lucky to have her! We ate a lot of food and also had a champagne toast (with Nik's and my wedding flutes for good luck) to her wedding/marriage. We had a great time just hanging out. We can't wait for another visit - this time from Mr. and Mrs. Hunter!!!

Thanks for the visit Cher! We love you!