June 2009 (cont'd) - Father's Day

I had been thinking about and planning Father's Day for what seemed like forever! I was so excited to celebrate how wonderful my sweet husband is. I can't fully express how grateful I am to have such a loving, extremely hard working, and the best, most helpful, hands on daddy as my best friend and partner in life. I am in love with our relationship and am truly the luckiest girl EVER :) I love seeing him and CeCe together and look forward to seeing their bond grow over the years!

I like to be creative and thoughtful with gifts (when I can) and I think I did pretty good! Josh is a coffee drinker and has had the same coffee maker for several years. It's been a great one but it was definitely time to upgrade. So I got him a fancy one that grinds the coffee beans before brewing. The smell of coffee fills the apartment and it tastes awesome! I actually gave it to him a couple of weeks early because he ran out of coffee and I didn't want him to spend money on more since I already had everything. I waited until he went to bed and set everything up so that it would be ready for his cup the next morning.

(He's a bit animated in most of the pictures but I think he truly was happy with his goodies)

So the day before Father's Day came and I couldn't wait to give him the rest of his gifts because although most of them weren't technically for him....I worked really hard and was proud.

I got him a couple of small things.....some wine stoppers, a hat rack that hangs on the closet door (to keep them from being all over the apartment!), and a 13.1 (half marathon) sticker to go on the car.

And then I made CeCe's entire wardrobe for her first Cross Country season with Daddy! They turned out so great and I can't wait to see her in everything :)

(Thankfully I had Erin's creative mind to help me come up with the sayings!)

So then the actual day came! I made him pancakes for breakfast. Then we got ready and met Josh's dad at the cemetery to see say hi to Gaga (Josh's grandfather).

Afterward, we ate lunch with Josh's extended family then spent the rest of the day at his dad's hanging out and eating some more!

It was a great day! We love our special man :)

June 2009 - Brother's Wedding

Whew......I'm tired! The month of June was BBBBUUUUUSSSSYYYY! It was a lot of fun but I'm glad it's over! To keep this blog from being too long I'm gonna break up the posts by events.

First things first.....my brother's and now sister-in-law's (Nathan and Amy) Wedding! They have been together about 7 years, have a beautiful 19 month old daughter, and have been engaged for over 2 years now....so needless to say this was a long time coming! A couple months back, I volunteered to help them with whatever they needed to finish planning their special day. It was extremely time consuming (as wedding planning can be!) but so rewarding. I was able to spend so much time with them and I can't be more proud of where they are as a couple but even more so for how they were able to work together to plan their wedding basically on their own and on their own dime. I can't imagine accomplishing what they have, raising a child, working, and planning a wedding at 21 yrs. old! But they did it!

I helped with some of the small details but my main contribution came when helping plan their wedding shower, putting together their wedding slideshow, and helping coordinate their rehearsal and wedding day!

Everything turned out great, they were happy, had a wonderful time on their honeymoon to Cancun and now look forward to catching up on sleep!

I don't have many pictures of these events because I was working most of them but I do have a couple of their engagement pictures and Amy's bridal pictures below.

Catching Up....

I missed commenting about last week's episode of the Bachelorette so I'm going to combine the last two shows. I still really like Jillian and for the most part I like the choices she's made. But I'm ready for the season to speed up to get to the last few remaining guys because there are too many that annoy the heck out of me. Here is the breakdown of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

The Good (My favorites)

Jake

Ed

Kiptyn



The Bad (Well not really bad...but my Likes)

Robby

Reid

Mike

Michael

And the UGLY (Annoying and ready for them to GO!)

Juan
(He has this weird, creepy way of talking to her that freaks me out)

Tanner P.
(He's too country for me and he's a tad bit too crazy with his foot fetish)

Wes
(Another one that's too country for me and his song is TERRIBLE. I think the producers think so too...since they can only make it passed the first line!)

David
(Obviously has some anger issues and maybe a drinking problem. And if I hear "Man Code" one more time, I think I'm gonna have to throw something at the tv)

Brad
(Nerd alert! Glad he got sent home. On last week's episode, I heard "I'm the brains of this operation" way too much. And this week's...the kiss was too awkward between them. No chemistry.)

I think Sasha was a victim of the 'I haven't let anyone go on the one-on-one date yet so I have to do it to someone' scenario. I think Jillian focused too much on the fact that he hasn't been heartbroken just to have a reason to let him go. He is WAY better than the other 'uglies' I mentioned above. The only thing I'm not sure of yet about Jillian is why she's so hung up on the guys needing to have had their heartbroken. I mean I get it but I think there are other things she should be focusing on more.

Anywho...Can't wait for Monday to find out which bachelor has the girlfriend! It's gettin' good!

p.s. Here is the official recap of last week's episode.
p.s.s. Here is the official recap of this week's.

New Look

I have been needing to do something with my hair for a long time now and I finally did it! And I LOVE it! It felt so much better as soon as the first cut was made. Thanks to the BEST hair stylist ever, Jennifer, I got exactly what I didn't know I wanted! That sounds crazy but I had been trying to decide what cut to get for a while now and just could never figure it out. I came to her with 2 or 3 completely different styles and let her just go with it. It doesn't make me look 10 years old, it's perfect for summer, and especially ideal for being a mom with a daughter who likes to grab everything! It's also super easy to style which is wonderful. I feel much better.........bring on the summer heat! Thanks again Jen!

First Impression

So the Bachelorette premier has come and gone and to start I'm gonna say WA HOOOOOO! I think Jillian was awesome! She's gorgeous, funny, and obviously does great under pressure. Just when you think 25 is going to be hard to choose from they add 5 more. 30 is just way too many. I feel for her. ABC does a full recap of last night's episode here but this is what I think so far.

Favorites

Jake

Ed

Kiptyn

Kyle

Michael

Juan

Annoying

Tanner P.

Brian

Mathue

Wes

Liked but got let go already

John H.

I know my opinions will change as the season goes on. I think Jillian has a tough road ahead especially after seeing the preview for the rest of the season. BUT I can't wait. You know what I'll be doing on Monday nights! YAY :)

Bachelorette!

I am SOOOO EXCITED I can hardly wait until Monday when the new Bachelorette (Jillian Harris) starts up! I have been watching this and the Bachelor off and on since it started. When DeAnna was on the show I watched religiously and again when Jason was on. I thought Jason was stupid to let Jillian go but now I can't be more happier because I think she is fun and the perfect person for the show! Not sure what they will throw at us this season but I will be watching (and maybe even googling to find out all of the scoop!). YAY :)

First Mother's Day

Thanks to my sweet husband, I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! I got to sleep in, didn't have to even think about cleaning the house because it was taken care of, and besides having a beautiful daughter as the ultimate gift I got a full body massage and a Mother's Love ring (shown below held by CeCe!). I couldn't help but cry when I opened it...it was so pretty. This is the meaning behind the value of the ring...

Through all the trials and tribulations of growing up, somehow they manage to reach adulthood. Children move in and out of your life so quickly, it seems, but one place they stay forever is in your heart.

Sometimes I can't believe I am experiencing the wonders of motherhood. It has been so rewarding and nothing will ever compare to the love a mother has for her child! There is nothing better than seeing that darling smile first thing in the morning...getting to witness each milestone as it's reached...smelling her sweet breath...hearing the soft sound of her breathing in my ear when I hold her...listening to her talk...and watching every day as she grows and changes from once a little newborn baby into a beautiful, independent girl! I wish nothing more but for CeCe to always know and feel the love that Josh and I have for her. I'm so grateful to be able to share my life with such a loving husband and sweet daughter. God has truly blessed me!

I hope all the mothers I love so much enjoyed their special day!

Now I have to come up with something GREAT for Father's Day :)

We started cereal!

Today, we decided to try giving C some cereal to see how she would do. I had a feeling she wouldn't take to it right away and I was right. She did good though! I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast. It's only been 5 1/2 months and so much has already happened. It's amazing how much growth takes place in the first year. Before long she's gonna be crawling then walking all over the place then talking and telling us no all the time. I so much look forward to all of those things to come but I try to take in every moment now because I know it won't last long. She's my sweet little angel!

See more pictures and a video here!

So proud...

Most of you already know that Josh is a runner. He's been running since middle school, continued on through high school and college and has steadily stuck with it to this day. When we got together and up until the beginning of this year, he would get on a routine of running a certain amount of miles and/or days a week but then get sick or tired, take a break for a while, then eventually get back into it. But this year has been different. His New Year's resolution was to run every day. He got to 19 days I think, got sick, and had to take a break. This time it wasn't for long. He has really been committed to getting in shape and training. So far this year he has run in a marathon relay and a half-marathon.

Today, Josh also ran in the Lovejoy Country Run 5k! Dwayne, one of our best friends, ran as well. It was put on by Luke's Locker and benefited the Lovejoy booster club. It was such a fun time! They had a live band, a raffle, face painting, and a pancake breakfast. There was a great crowd and hundreds of runners participated...aged anywhere from elementary up to 70+!

So about the race...Josh does a full recap on his blog but ultimately he WINS his age group and brings home a medal! Wa Hoooooo :) He got 8th overall! AND I bought us 3 raffle tickets and we won! It was a gift basket full of Lovejoy stuff which was pretty cool.

Josh would probably say that he has a long way to go and could have done better but I can't be more proud of him! I admire his passion for running and his dedication! It is something he LOVES to do and it's wonderful to see the one you love do something that makes him happy! Somehow he always finds time for it before or after his long days of teaching and coaching. I love my husband so much! Great job today!

Here are some pics of the day :)

Focused before the race!

Getting ready to start!

Dwayne and Josh after the race!

A proud wife and daughter with our champion!

Josh's medal!

CeCe enjoying the day!

Me and C having fun together!