Aunt Nancy's Wedding

WARNING: This is a ridiculously loooooong post, full of pictures. You've been warned! ;)

A few weeks ago, the whole family travelled to PA for my Aunt Nancy's wedding to Brian. I was the photographer and also a guest, which is a tough balancing act, but I managed to work hard and have fun as well. It was cute seeing Alex all dressed up, and Jake was the life of the party on the dance floor. There are a million pictures from the wedding, some of which were edited, some of which weren't. In the interest of getting these pictures posted some time this century, I'm setting aside my normally perfectionist tendencies and just posting edited and unedited images here. Enjoy!


Married!


Alex all dressed up :)


Jake signing the guest book










Jake watching the first dance


Aunt Nancy gives my cousin Bec a big kiss after her really sweet toast


Jake and his girlfriend for the night, Beccah


Bec and Ali


Jake, dancing... I think...


Jake's other girlfriend, cousin Caley (notice how sweaty he is already!)


Uncle Danny made Alex cry :(


...and made Jake fake cry. Lol.


Alex, not crying this time


....because she figured out Uncle Danny is a funny guy


Daddy with his kids


Mommy (sweaty after running around shooting the wedding), Daddy, and Alex


Dancing fool


Alex with grandma, who took great care of her while mommy was working


Cousin Jess and Bill


Daddy, slow dancing with his little girl


Jake can't seem to limit his affection to only one two women.


The handsome hubbies (Bill, Rollin and Ralph)


Caley holding Alex


Love these next three




I think Brad is smitten :)


The WHOLE Valentine side of the family


LOVE. This. One.


I edited out a million shots of Jake. I didn't want the wedding pictures to look like I showed up and only photographed my kids. That's what this post is for, ha ha.


Peepa with his favorite (and only) granddaughter


And Geedah with her favorite (and only) granddaughter


Peepa manages to get Alex to join the dancing


Jake, Mommy & Daddy - every time we tried to get a family photo with all four of us, one of our children were otherwise occupied - lol.


I did manage to dance a few songs with my husband before the night was over! :) Too bad I was rocking the "work hair" - lol.


Congratulations Aunt Nancy and Brian! :)

Assorted Newish Pictures

Thank goodness for my camera phone, otherwise nothing would get recorded around here. :) Here are some recent ones I've sent from my phone but never got around to blogging...

Ralph and Jake went to the Yankees game a few weeks ago. And just last night, we saw Jake's favorite Yankees pitcher, Andy Pettitte at Longford's ice cream in Rye!



Alex at 8 and a half weeks, about to outgrow one of my favorite newborn outfits.



Same day, Jake and Alex in my bed. (Super soft pink blanket from Stos above Alex's head ;)



A few days ago, Jake wanted Alex with him in his toddler bed (soon to be converted back into the crib for Alex). He's closing his eyes because I opened the black-out curtains to get more light in the room for the picture. This was the best shot (out of 5 or so) that I could get.



Last night was the first night he slept in a real big boy bed - woo-hoo! So proud of my big boy, who seems to get bigger by the minute. Funny enough, he's sleeping in a bed that belonged to my grandparents, in the bedroom that belonged to Ralph's grandparents. Old stuff rocks :)

Alex talking and singing

NOTE: I re-uploaded these videos on Monday at 5:30pm since they didn't seem to be working

Just this week, Alex started conversing with me. It's the cutest thing, I love hearing her little coos and gurgles :)

My little 11 week old baby bear

I had a few minutes in between editing Aunt Nancy's wedding (almost done! pics coming soon!) and Alex's diaper changes to take a few quick pictures. She hates wearing hats, so this was a 6 minute photoshoot, literally. But I was happy with the results :) I love this little girl! Also got a great video of her "talking" today, which will be up here soon.

Home Improvements

Today our new countertop was delivered, replacing the metal-edged 1950's gold-fleck formica countertop. We also had a new undermount sink installed. Alex seems to like hanging out in the new kitchen.

Funny Jake Anecdote

I'm in the car with Jake and Alex, and I finally got to listen to MY station for once - Oprah Radio XM156 (instead of Hair Nation XM41, the 80's hard-rock hair band station Jake prefers...I wish I was kidding). So we're listening to Oprah, and they say a promo for tomorrow's show:

Oprah: "Tomorrow, all NEW. Four brothers found living in hell, nearly starved to death by their parents...."

I quickly reach to change the channel.

Jake, excitedly: "Are they talking about the Jonas Brothers?!"

Me: "Uh, I don't think so kiddo."

Alex's Accomplishments

Edited 5/5 at 10:44 pm - Alex was 12+ lbs at her 2 month doctor's appointment. She is 24 inches long (longer and lighter than Jake at 2 months). I would know the exact weight if I hadn't been stupid enough to bring two kids to the doctor for a check-up at the same time. Alex had a shot in each thigh, Jake had a shot in each bicep. It was NOT a fun day. :(


I figure it's about time that Alex gets a post all to herself. Allow me to brag on my favorite daughter for just a minute :)

Alex is such a good girl! For fear of jinxing it, I'm a bit nervous to let you know that Alex has been sleeping through the night - every night - since about 3 weeks old. She's amazing. I owe a lot of that to the good people at The Miracle Blanket. On the rare occasions she wakes up early, it's because, for whatever reason, she wasn't swaddled in her Miracle Blanket. This thing is just amazing. Have a newborn? Buy one. Know someone who is pregnant? Buy one. These things are awesome. I wish I was getting paid to tell you how awesome they are. Miracle Blanket People, feel free to pay me in product samples ;)

So our little girl is still usually the serious, mellow girl, but she is also smiling much more often, and not just when conditions are perfect. She is happy and smiley and sweet and content most of the time. We are so blessed. Just last week, she began laughing at things, which was really cute. Also, I didn't see her do it, but my mother-in-law was changing Alex when I was at a photoshoot and Alex rolled from her back to her tummy. Today, at 10 weeks old, Alex rolled from her stomach, onto her side, then onto her back. I remember Jake doing that much later...will have to check on that. We definitely have to keep a very close eye on this little roller!


So I leave you with this funny picture from our not-so-perfect photo session a week ago. For all of the things Alex is doing so well, behaving for her mama's camera is not one of them. But all said and done, I'd rather have a good night sleep than perfect happy pictures that came out just as I planned.

(P.S. - We go to the doctor in the morning for her 2 month checkup - I'll be posting her stats after the appointment.)