seriously, a baby model...

On Sunday morning, Adam and I were up having coffee, elise was still sleeping, and Ainsley was being super cute (although I would prefer she had been sleeping, too..). Adam grabbed the good camera (we love our SLR) and started snapping away at alert little Ainsley and a few of these turned out really well. Her true expressions were really captured and she's just so stinkin' cute and HAPPY all the time.

Straberries, Peppers, Grapes, OH MY!

So, in order to keep up with my "Tagged List" (see item # 7) posting from a couple weeks ago, Adam and I decided to plant a garden in the backyard. I can't keep flowers alive, big bushes and trees are too expensive (also related to Tagged List #2 ), so we figured we'd kill two birds with one stone... 1.grow something that looks nice and takes up space in the yard AND 2. get to eat it (hence, save $$) in the long run! So, we dug up all the overgrown, nasty flowerbeds that the previous owners left us and planted Grape bushes, Cantelopes, Watermelon, Strawberries, Sweet Peppers, Hot Peppers, a lemon tree, and spice boxes with onion, chives, and (my personal favorite!) cilantro. So, just 10 days into our endeavor, we already have one strawberry!!! (see picture above- it's still white/green, but definitely a strawberry!) So cool. There are clear little buds on the pepper plants and grape bush, too. (Personally, I thought grapes grew on vines, but this is a bush- I should probably do some research to see what it really is...). We've already used the cilantro which makes me so happy b/c I LOVE the smell and flavor, and the hot pepper plant came with a few peppers ready to be picked, so we've had those on turkey sandwiches all week. It's kind of cheating, but, whatever... it still came from our backyard. So, there you go. Working toward 'granola-ish' living, and saving money. you gotta love it.

One more set

After Ainsley spit up on that first outfit, I switched her to a clean onesie and hoped to get a few more pictures...however, the "window" was gone and she was no longer in the mood for a photo shoot. This kid can SCREAM when she wants to! once again, I KNOW the pictures are sideways, but I still can't figure out how to get the vertical images posted correctly...any experts on iPhoto, HELP! Ok, THANKS to Kristen H and Casey's friend Annie...the "Modified" file is what I needed to find. I knew it would be something easy, but now I've got it! I'll go back and fix all the former sideways pictures now. THANK YOU!

The truth behind "cute baby pictures"

So, as parents, we all want to send out adorable baby announcements, Christmas cards, etc...but it's HARD WORK to get a good picture of a squiggly, wiggly, unpredictable infant. . I was trying to get some more cute pics of Ainsley the other day during Elise's nap, and here are some of the options. Note we begin with color pictures, the spitting-up (total luck that I got that one!), and then I switched to Black and White so the spit up just wouldn't show up!! Is that gross? look closely and you can see the wet spot on her right shoulder! whatever it takes...=)

few more pics from the Wedding

March 29, cont...

Flowergirl...kind of...

Early October 2007 or so, Jen and Paul asked us if elise could be a flowergirl in their wedding along with their niece on Jen's side, Alexis (who's almost 6). I had visions of my barely 2 year old (at time of wedding) being a perfect little addition to the ceremony. She would walk down the aisle with a little bouquet, wearing a gorgeous dress, hair back in cute little bows and ribbons, holding hands with Alexis...all done to 'introduce' the Bride down the aisle...everyone would look lovingly at elise, she would be sweet, cute, and perfectly obedient as she stood at the alter to participate in the Union a new Husband and Wife. Adam tried to convince me that it probably wouldn't look like that, but I still had my visions of perfection...
Skip ahead to March 28, 2008. My adorable, outgoing 2 year-old had an idea of her own. During the rehearsal on Friday night, elise wouldn't even look at Paul or Jen. In order to make her comfortable with the church, I let her walk around the alter/stage area, practice going up the three steps to get there, etc...and we discussed how if she "walked with Alexis to see Uncle Paul and Jen", she'd get a lollipop. Sounded good to me- I was prepping her for the day ahead, going over it many times, etc...
Wedding day arrives. Saturday, March 29...elise looked great and was having a good day. Her hair wasn't cooperating that day and was a little scraggly. We had four lollipops staged around the room for her to go towards if needed...
The Processional begins, I (erica) head down the aisle with the bridesmaids, Alexis and Elise are holding hands well and holding flowers and Adam sends them down the aisle toward us. SHE MADE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN THE AISLE!!! SUCCESS! "Uncle Kelly" has lollipop #1 and she grabs that immediately. She then runs up on the alter and sits down next to the pastor. that's fine. Then she starts to lift up her dress and play with her tights...The bride's music comes on and everyone (thankfully) looks to the back of the church for Jen and her dad. I scoot over and grab elise to sit next to me. I give her lollipop #2. She drops her flowers. She stands next to me for 10 seconds. Then gets fidgety and starts talking loudly. I pick her up to calm her down, but she gets mad at me. I set her down on the step up to the alter behind me. She climbs up there and starts trying to run away from me to play....heading straight for the LIT Unity candle. I let her go for a second, then have to lunge at her to avoid setting the church on fire and ruining the 'unity' of the event. I grab her and try to hold her again, that doesn't work. She gets down and starts whining loudly and I hand her off to Adam and my cousin's wife, where Lollipop#3 and #4 are waiting for her. ALL of this happens BEFORE the Congregation even sits down! Jen's dad is saying, "Her mother and I give her away" as little bridesmaid #2 is handed off...phew! Exhausting. Alexis was great and stood perfectly still the entire ceremony next to the Maid of Honor. Elise sat with my cousin's wife and played with her new Dora sticker book while double-fisting lollipops the rest of the time... pictures afterwards were also a mess for elise, but the photographer putting a DORA sticker on his forehead was helpful! =) Overall, we call it a success b/c she made it down the aisle with Alexis and flowers, but it was a crazy attempt, too. We're Thankful that Paul and Jen had a great attitude and LOW EXPECTATIONS for the whole thing...it was fun and definitely memorable. =)

...Here Comes the BRIDE!...

This past weekend, my 'little' brother Paul married a wonderful woman, Jen, and it was truly an incredible event!!! I was honored to be a bridesmaid with three other friends of Jen's, Adam read Scripture, and elise was a flowergirl!! Our older brother Kelly was the Best Man, and he did a PERFECT job in supporting Paul and other Best Man-type duties! Paul and Jen had decided to have the photographer do pictures before the ceremony at Jen's parents' house and it was a GREAT decision. They were both so relaxed and got to just hang out with their closest friends. They had a special "reveal" moment with just the two of them- and we all know they both cried! (Jen is totally a Romantic and we all know Paul is a big Softie, too!). =) That time at Jen's parents' house was some of my favorite time of the day- we were all relaxed, everyone looked fanastic, and it was a great group of people all together just CELEBRATING Paul and Jen! I'll add more about elise and her flowergirl 'duties' later today during the girls' naps! (this picture of Paul is so precious. He was watching the photographer David get some solo shots of Jen...the look on Paul's face was awesome as he just stared at his bride- he didn't even know there were 10 other people around him!)...