It's been a while...

Ok, so I admit I was trying to give up blogging about the wedding because it was stressing me out just a little, ok a lot. But in doing that I have stopped sharing fun family/friend fun as well. So, I am going to try to get back in the hang of things especially since I know I will want to look back on everything.

It's crazy to believe it's already February. Here's a little wedding fun we were a part of...

E Session ~ Claire and Dan

We felt very honored (and slightly embarrassed) to be a part of the website. It just makes us excited to see how the wedding pictures will turn out!

On a sad noted, I dropped my camera at the mall the other day. But in happier news at least I didn't lose any pictures-just might need to get an updated camera. Here are some recent ones from everything these last few months.

Let's start with the family...man, I'm a lucky girl to be aunt to the cutest kids in the world :)

This was before Auburn won the National Championship...She's two years old here. This is proof that brain-washing begins at an early age :)

More fun in the car on the way to Nonna and Bee Bop's house. I like to think she got her singing abilities from her aunt Claire. I swear when this girl's mouth is open, she is singing! I love it!

Baylor is officially a Nonna boy. I swear she whispers in their ears and I don't know what she promises or says, but they love her more than anyone in the world. Look at our little man, the reader. He's so big!

Here is my sweet little Owen pretending to be Bee-Bop. He's a mess!

I feel like an awful aunt because I don't have pictures of Sarah or Griffin, but that just means that I'll have to make up for it with lots of pictures next time!

Here are some pictures from Christmastime...

I love you, Will. 

Dan, on his first adventure to the tree farm with the Hudlows. Below is the finished project :) 

The bigger, the better!

I think it ended up being around 15ft tall with everything. 

There's still room for improvement for next year... watch out, Dan!

The next few pictures are from a ski trip taken with Dan's family and their friends. I have never been skiing. We'll just say it has not been the lucky sport for my family. I'd like to think of myself as athletic, but was apprehensive because my brother had broken his collar bone skiing and my sister tore her ACL. Good news, no casts for the wedding! We all survived and lived to tell the tales. I even have a video of me attempting to look like a professional skier. I guess we'll just say it's proof I still have a little agility left in me :)

This is a marathon entry...

I have to brag on Dan. 

Every year I wonder how Valentine's could get any better. I have never been a cynic, but growing up it was not my favorite holiday. I teased that it was a conspiracy by the card, candy and flower companies to make people feel obligated to show love to those that they might forget the rest of the year. Ok, totally cynical. It's true. But, I have to say loving Dan has taught me what love means and to appreciate days like Valentine's that give us another reason to remind each other that we are lucky.

Our first Valentine's Day...

Dan bought me a diamond necklace.

Our second Valentine's I was given a trip to Orlando, 

which in turn provided me with this diamond ring.

Our third Valentine's day, I was given an amazing day at Chateau Elan.

After balloons, roses, a ridiculously sweet card, spa treatments and relaxation, we had dinner at the Versailles Room.

I am a lucky girl.

Danielle and Jonathan's wedding

Danielle and I have been friends since the first grade. I thought she was about the coolest girl I had ever met, but I moved from Cedar Hill after 2nd grade so we didn't see each other too much. We have a lot in common, though. She and I both grew up playing softball, had siblings much older than we were, loved to sing and act as we both played very important parts in the Princess and the Pea :)

After high school Danielle and I kept in touch, but it wasn't until my family moved to a neighborhood near hers that we began walking on sunny afternoons and sharing about life with one another. She and I both got engaged on the same day. We originally thought about getting married the same day, too. She asked me to sing at her wedding-which was beautiful!

She and Jonathan got married in Gainesville at their church with the reception at the Smithgall Arts Center. I had never been there before, but it was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was perfect and all the details really made it a special day. Here is a link to more pictures from our mutual friend, Emily. Also, you can get some of Danielle's perspective here.

I am not a photographer by any means, but here are some of the pictures I was able to capture of the day.

First dance. Below is a snippet of their first dance. I totally missed the best part, but I tried to capture the end of it because they were too cute with all their moves. 

 She had really pretty centerpieces of different shades of pink and white hydrangeas and roses. 

  Daddy-daughter dance.   

                                                      Matt and Jeffrey enjoying the night.

Oh-so pretty cake from Celso's cakes. 

Cutting the cake and sweetly feeding one another. 

Taylor and Jordy-the next to marry!

High school girls...(Emily, I don't know where you were.)

Taylor, me, Danielle and Chelsi (also newly engaged)

Me and Jared

More high school weddings coming up in 2011...

Engagement Pictures

Before leaving for NYC, Dan and I met in Athens to take some pictures with out photographer, Alea. We wanted the pictures in Athens because that's common ground for us both and there are lots of different parts to the town to make for some interesting shots. She took a ton of pictures and I wasn't exactly sure how they would turn out. If you've never done this before, it can be pretty awkward. Let's be honest here, I was the awkward one. Dan was terrific. He was natural and fun-loving, but I had to be coached a little more. Alea was so patient with us and really tried to bring out our personalities.

You'll have to let me know which picture is your favorite! She said that she thought we'd like the pictures at the end of the day best where we are in the farm environment and she was right. I love them. She did a really great job. Here are some of our favorites...

We didn't finish taking pictures until after 6:30pm. It was a perfect day for pictures and I think she got some great shots. Thank you, Alea. Hope you all enjoy!

Baylor's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Baylor! October 15, 2009

We love you so much, little man. He's grown so big and strong this past year and can't wait to see more of his personality come out as he grows up. He had an adorable "Choo-Choo" themed party complete with a new train table and riding Thomas the Train. He had a great day, but was a little confused by the singing and cake. Here are some cute pictures from the beautiful day. 

The girls loved playing the playset Kyle and Dad built recently. 

Hill and Ella are too cute sliding together.

Dan kept the girls smiling and laughing. Working that southern charm again...

Happy Birthday cake!

He's looking at Ella and Gray here. I'd have to say he loves them. Look at those sweet eyes.

Just hanging out with BeeBop in the backyard. 

Such sweet kiddos. Ah, love.

This is how to describe beautiful and joyful.

He's so grown-up sliding by himself. (Well, Nonna gave a helping hand.)

Here's a video of the girls laughing it up. Remember when swings were this fun?

Baylor and Kyle laughing together before the party started.

Here's a video of Baylor's not-so-happy Happy Birthday song.

Little guy wasn't very happy with all the singing and cake. 

After we got inside things calmed down. 

Me? A conductor? 

Trying to get to his train set while the girls are playing in Hill's room. 

I can't believe our little guy is already 1 year old. That means that Hill is about the be three! It was such a fun day in "Amabama." Can't wait to see them all again soon.

New York Bridal...

When we started planning the trip to New York City we had to think about going to Kleinfeld's Bridal Boutique. I knew I could not handle the pressure of TV by being on Say Yes to the Dress, but it still sounded like a cool idea to go and at least try on dresses and see what they have vs. the south. I also looked in Brides magazine and found out about a cool event in the month of October called White Hot Hope where a portion of proceeds at participating stores go to support Operation Smile and other great causes for young women in need.

Here are some pictures of the event. They started off the event in NYC at an open house in Soho. We stopped by for brunch with Randy from Say Yes to the Dress. Other celebrities also were there throughout the weekend including Guiliana DePandi and the Cake Boss from TLC. They had free hair trials, free manicures, cake displays, dress ideas, photography suggestions, etc. It was really fun and a neat experience. Can't wait to see if they feature pictures in the next month's Brides magazine.

This cake was from the Cake Boss. Very classic.

Here are some other interesting cake designs. 

I loved this dress. It was a new dress from Peter Langer's collection. Very classy and elegant. 

Here's Randy explaining how to "Say Yes" to a dress.

He was very funny and passionate about what he does.

Yes, we decided to keep our appointment at Kleinfeld's. The people there were AMAZING. I cannot say enough nice things about everyone there. I worked with Jessica and Joan and they made the whole experience so nice and thoughtful. I was a little overwhelmed though and didn't even get to try on the dress from above so no worries-that is not my dress I am advertising. We did not get a dress at Kleinfeld's but it's not because they weren't incredibly accommodating or their lack of options. I am glad we went, but am SO glad I did not experience dress shopping on TV. It was the end of our trip in NYC. While it was a little stressful, I can now say that NYC is fabulous, but we've got just as many beautiful dresses in Atlanta. If only Pnina Tornai would design down here, too!