PSU Baby Shower!

Yay!  My baby shower with my and Mike's family and some friends was last weekend up at Penn State, and it was a blast!  Baby paraphernalia is soooooo fun!

My sister, my mom, and Mike's mom got it all together and it was such a perfect day.  From the venue, to the decorations, the gifts, and of course, the people, it was exactly what I hoped it would be!  There were 17 girls there including me, and then all of the guys came too and hung out in the other room playing pool, watching football, and drinking beer.  It was a great place to have the shower because we had a little section in the back with our own long table, area for gifts, and places to hang things on the walls.  And the fact that the guys could all come and hang out together was awesome too!

Onto some pics!  Luckily I have an amazing photographer for a sister, so I knew I'd get some awesome pictures from the day!  Here are some of her shots:

My queen seat

I loved this banner so much that I saved it, and now it has it's own spot in the nursery!

Yum!  The dessert table

The cute invite that Tina designed

The whole set up....loved it!

Baby Hetrick Bingo!  And four of those jars with the wheat sticks made their way to the nursery as well

Gift display

Loved this clothesline of mini baby clothes!  Tina did such a great job!

Me and the baby shower organizer extraordinaire

The whole crew

Snail puppet from my BFF....a huge hit!

An absolute necessity for any girl in our family

My moms Christening outfit...which became mine, then my sister's....and now my daughter's!

Mike's mom gave him his Christening outfit too

These are Mike's old baby shoes, which...yup, made their way to the nursery

One of the games we played where everyone had to cut a piece of string that was the size of my belly...closest wins.  Closest was my mom and Mike's mom!

Me and Mike's sister....both preggers!

Me, Mom, and Tina

Me with all four of my grandparents!  Love them all so much!

Mommy and Daddy to be!

I wasn't planning on putting that many pics on this post, but Tina sent me a CD of over 100 and it was tough to narrow it down!

As you can see, the decorations were adorable!  Tina made a bunch of little mason jars filled with wheat colored sticks, a cute Baby Hetrick banner, flowers in tiny glasses on the table, and a clothesline of baby clothes!  She is the best!  She also tied the pink and white balloons around my special chair!

I got lots of amazing gifts for our little girl, including the ones shown above.  The snail puppet from my best friend was a huge hit, as was the PSU cheerleader outfit (a "must have" in our family!), and a little blue onesie that says "My auntie is awesome".....guess who that one was from ;)

Then Mike and the guys popped over at the end to help load the gifts into the car, so Tina got a quick pic of the Mom and Dad-to-be :)

AND....we announced Baby Girl's name!!!!!!!!!  Her name is Adilyn Marie Hetrick!  We were having some issues with how to spell it and we're still not totally decided, but we are between Adelyn and Adilyn.  E or I.....E or I????  It's a tough call.   I think that it looks prettier with an "e", and most people agree with me, however, Mike thinks that it will be mispronounced more with the "e".  He thinks people will say "Ade-lyn" (like lemon- ADE).  But we pronounce it Add-a-lyn.  Soooooo, it's a tough call.  We actually handed out little cards at the shower and asked people how they would spell it and 14 of the 16 said "e".  So we're torn.

Mike actually came up with the name while we were on vacation with my fam in September.  I always liked Addison, and Addy is such a cute nickname.  He said that Addison was too popular.  But we had been tossing around using Lynn as a middle name since that's my middle name, and he came out and said, "How about Addi-lyn instead of Addison?"  And I loved it right from the start!  He was so proud of himself and he said "I made it up!!".  Come to find out that the name existed before he spit it out of his mouth and actually one of the doctors I work with just named her daughter Adelyn.  But I'm thinking that since Mike came up with the name he can spell it too.  And I do agree that her name will probably be mispronounced less if we spell it Adilyn.  Still a work in progress.

But I think (again, not a definite) we're going to spell her nickname Addy.  I think it's so cute for a little girl, and then Adilyn is so beautiful for when she's grown up.   Little Addy is kicking up a storm right now in my belly!  She must know that I'm talking about her ;)

Heading up to PA this week for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with my dad and step mom and her family and my dad's new cabin!  I haven't seen it yet and I can't wait!  There will be something like 25 people there in a 2 bedroom cabin with a loft.  Luckily, since I'm pregnant, Mike and I get a bedroom.  Pregnancy has its perks!

P.S.  These nosebleeds are really getting out of control!  I have one almost every day now and it's getting really annoying.  I bought a humidifier today and I just tried Afrin nasal spray.  We'll see if these things help, because this is becoming a nuisance!

7 Month Photos!

I can't believe that I only have 2 months to go before our baby girl is here!  It's wild to think about, and we are getting sooooo pumped! 

I am 31 weeks pregnant today and I'm so excited to be counting down the weeks, but I am definitely getting more physically uncomfortable.  It seems as though once I hit 30 weeks the discomfort really set in.

Number one, my nosebleeds are still in full force.  They are getting worse too, probably because it is getting colder and drier outside.  I'll have to try that Nasalease that someone suggested. 

I am also having a hard time shaving in the shower (especially because ours is a stand up shower).  I may have to move my stuff to the other bathroom temporarily where it is a tub shower.  I used to just lift my leg up and shave but that is really uncomfortable these days and there is nowhere to prop my leg up in our shower. 

On the same note, tying my shoes is becoming challenging as well.  Pretty much anything that requires bending over is kinda rough.  Like today I started my Christmas shopping, so I was at the mall for a good 4 hours.  Well, when I dropped items of clothing on the floor or if I put my bags down for a second, I really had to struggle to pick them up.  No more bending down real quick without a second thought.  Every time I had to pick something up off the floor I was distinctly aware of it and I'd stand there and dread it for a second (and debate leaving it there).  You don't realize how many times you bend over while shopping until you are pregnant and just that mere act exhausts you!

I also have been noticing that if I over exert myself I feel kinda sore down below.  Not cramping or anything, just sore and tired, like I need a break.  Today, after I had been walking around carrying bags (and bending down a lot) for a few hours, I just felt really uncomfortable.  And tired.  The tiredness is back.  Blah. 

And my back.  Oh my precious back, which used to serve me so well and never cause me any pain.  Well, it's a whole new back these days.  I realize that baby girl is putting quite a bit of strain on my pal the back, but jeez!  It is pretty much always sore, right in the middle.  Especially if I've been sitting or laying down for awhile.  Mike rubs it for me sometimes, which helps a lot.  And when we were at his parents house this past weekend I used his dad's foot massager on my back, which was awesome too!  Heat packs help a little bit.  I have yet to take any meds for it.  I know, I know...I could take Tylenol.  I'm just not really a med taker.  Not unless I am really miserable.  Right now I'm just uncomfortable....but it's teetering toward miserable.  No, that's being a little dramatic.  It's just a pain... literally.  Ha ha.

Last on my list of discomforts is the feeling that I am always out of breath.  I guess it makes sense given that baby girl is getting bigger and bigger and taking up more room every day.  But I feel like I can't do anything without becoming out of breath.  Bend over..out of breath.  Read out loud...out of breath.  God forbid, take a brisk walk...breathing like I just won a marathon. 

It's so crazy, because I knew in my head that these things would probably happen when I got pregnant, but it's a totally different thing to have them actually happen to you.  I feel like I am living in someone else's body.  I am used to being very active and jetting all over the place, and now I am starting to feel like a borderline invalid.  I feel like I am now experiencing what overweight people must feel every day of their lives.  It is so physically limiting and so frustrating. 

Not to mention that looking in the mirror is a whole new world these days.  Whew!  Like I said before, I knew these things would happen, but it does a number on your body image in the meantime.  My belly button is popped way out and it's getting really discolored as well.  Starting to get that line down the center of my stomach as well.  No stretch marks yet (fingers crossed), but I am noticing more varicose veins on my legs.  Nothing major, but there are definitely a few little new ones. 

Ahhh, well there is my gripe session.  Despite all of these things that I've been complaining about, I really, truly am enjoying my pregnancy.  I love feeling her move and kick.  It never fails to bring a smile to my face, whether I'm alone or in a crowd of people. Her kicks let me know that she's OK in there and it's so reassuring.  I will also admit that I like the attention!  I don't mind at all if my friends and family want to feel my belly (I have yet to have any strangers want to do it).  And all of those complaints above that I talked about?  They are all minor.  All of them.  And I thank God for that.  My pregnancy has been wonderful and I really shouldn't complain at all.  But I just had to vent a little ;)

So onto the 7 month pics!!  Like I said to Mike when we took them...only two more times of doing this and then she'll be here!

Yup, we added some decoration to our bedroom wall since last month!  I wanted to take it down for the pics, but Mike says it shows the progression of time in some weird way.  Whatever.

That is my view when I look down these days.  Had to throw it in to show that indeed, my feet are completely hidden from view.  No denying it anymore.  Ha ha!

7 Month Stats: November 16th, 2010

Weight: 151.4 lbs            Weight gain to date: 23.6 lbs

Waist: 36 3/4 inches        Waist gain to date: 7 1/4 inches

Breast: 36 1/2 inches        Breast gain to date: 2 1/2 inches

So that's my story.  Next post....Baby Shower!!!!!  It was such an awesome time and my sister made it sooo cute and fun and adorable with the decorations.  She put so much time and effort into making it special and I love her for it!  It was a perfect day!

30 Weeks and 3D/4D Ultrasound Photos!

Well, I am just about at 30 weeks, so I'm 3/4 of the way through my pregnancy!  Hard to believe, but at my rate of weight gain it's a good thing I don't have too much longer to go!  When I got on the scale at the Ob today she made me get back on "just to be sure".  How embarrassing is that???  I gained 10 pounds in the time between my last appointment and this one (less than a month!!).  Whew, that is scary. 

Anyway, everything else checked out fine at the appointment.  BP 108/71.  Hgb 11.2.  Baby's HR 143.  And apparently my overall weight gain to date is fine, I just gained almost all of it within the past month.  But like I said, I hope it slows down a little bit or I will really be a house by the end of this.

From here until week 36 I will meet with the doctor every 2-3 weeks, and then weekly from week 36 until the end.  It's getting close!!

Mike and I met with the pastor today of a local church that we've been attending to discuss becoming members.  We figured that we need a church to call our own for when Baby Girl arrives so that she can be baptized there, go to Sunday school down the road, etc.  This place is our favorite and it's literally within walking distance from our house, which is nice.

We also went over to Old Navy today and picked up these little gems for next year!

Yup, she's gonna be a Nittany Lion for Halloween!

And I couldn't resist this little Cindy Lou Who shirt for next Christmas Season....

Gotta love em!  The Lion costume was on sale for $4 too!  Added bonus!

Onto our most exciting trip of the day....our 3D/4D ultrasound appointment!  It was a very cool thing to do, and I would definitely recommend it to others if finances allow it.  There are several different packages that you can get.  Ours was $115, and there were more and less expensive ones available. 

With our package we got a 15 minute ultrasound (which doesn't sound very long, but it was long enough).  They confirmed that our little baby is, in fact, a girl!  Then they take a bunch of 3D pictures (the 4th "D" is real time) where you can really make out facial and body features!  It was very cool.  We think she has Mike's nose and he says she has his lips too.  His exact comment was "She has an upper lip, so she can't be taking after you."  He makes fun of the fact that my upper lip is tiny and disappears when I smile sometimes.  Sweet guy huh??  Gotta love him.

It was funny because she was trying to suck her thumb the whole time.  The ultrasound tech kept trying to get her to move her arm and she'd move it for a second, and then bring it right back up to her face.  She said "Looks like you might have a thumb sucker here".  To which Mike noted that he sucked his thumb as well.  I don't think I did.  So once again, taking after her dad! 

We were leaving and I said to Mike "Man, it seems like she's taking after you in every way that we've seen so far.  What is she gonna get from me?"  His response: "Um I don't know.  Her gender?"  Nope, she gets that from you too buddy!  Basic sex ed.  The male determines the gender.  I guess he meant that she and I are the same gender.  Haha.  I'm sure there will be plenty of other things that she'll get from me and I can't wait to see what they'll be!

Now onto some cool pics!

It's definite!!  Baby Girl!

That hand was always up by her face!

Here we got one where the hand was momentarily not obstructing our view!

Smiling!

Decided to kick herself in the face!

Grabbing her toes with her hand!

Hello again hand!

Yawning!

So Cute!

So like I said, we got 23 pictures total, but I won't bore you with all of them.  These are the best.  They gave us a little photo album to put them in and then a CD of the pics and a DVD to music.  Not sure when we'll ever watch that DVD, but whatever.  Also gave us a book about baby's first year and a diaper bag and travel bag.  Not a bad deal for $115. 

 Like Mike said, "Think of all of the dumb things we spend $100 on.  At least this is cool.  And how many times are you pregnant in life?  Let's do it." 

And I'm glad we did :)

Next up, Baby Shower in PA this weekend!  I'll post with some pics after that! 

6 Month Photos and Hello Third Trimester!

Ok, so I'm a little bit behind on my blogging; I took these 6 month photos over 2 weeks ago!  But, here they are! 

Check out that belly button!  Hellllllooooo outie!  It doesn't matter how hard I tried to cover that bad boy up, nothing worked  So, I've come to embrace it.  Whatever, I'm pregnant right?

Ok, so I debated not including this one because it's getting kinda gross, but I couldn't stop laughing because it took me a good 15 minutes to get this picture with my toes still in view.  Why I couldn't just admit to myself that I can no longer see my feet, I don't know.  But it was comical, and I finally got one with my toes peeking out from behind my enormous belly button.  Compare this pic to the same one from month four and it is amazing.  I still had my nice little innie belly button back then.  Only two short months ago.  Ahhh.

Here are my current stats:

October 13th, 2010
Weight: 143.4 lbs         Weight gain to date: 15.6 lbs
Waist: 34 3/4 inches     Waist gain to date:  5 1/4 inches
Breast: 35 1/4 inches     Gain to date: 1 1/4 inches (not gaining much ground in this department
                                                                             unfortunately)    
    
So, I am 28 weeks pregnant and counting and I can't believe how fast it's going!  I'm getting bigger (and more uncomfortable) every day.  About 2 weeks ago I started having back pain during the night that wakes me up and makes it hard to fall back to sleep.  I haven't taken anything for it, but I may try some Tylenol if it gets any worse and see if that helps.  I just flip from side to side and try to rub my back myself (which I'm sure would look comical if anyone were awake and looking), but none of that seems to help.  Usually sitting up and leaning forward in bed is the only thing that relieves my back pain, so I sit like that for awhile until I am really sleepy and then I try to lay back down and hope I fall asleep quickly before it starts hurting again.  Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy.

Still having those occasional annoying nosebleeds too.  I was at work the other night and we were trying to get a central line in my patient so I was wearing the standard hat, mask, gown, and gloves.  I'm just doing my thing when all of the sudden I thought, "Gosh, why is my nose running so bad?".   So I lift up my mask, and yup, it's covered in blood.  Lovely.  There was no way to be graceful about this, especially since the attending and fellow happened to look up at me right as I lifted up my mask.  Their reactions were priceless..."OH MY GOD!  Are you OK???"  Soooo embarrassing!  I casually excused myself to run to the bathroom and attempt to fix this problem.  Gotta love it.  But I returned to my patient's room a few minutes later with a piece of tissue shoved up my nose, and I was good as new.

Let's see, what else?  Oh yeah, how about this?...  Now that my stomach is so much bigger, I notice that if I am sitting down, my boobs rest on my stomach.  That's right, my boobs rest on my stomach.  How utterly disgusting is that?  I am soooo very aware of it every time it happens and I feel like a fat slob.  Ugh, for some reason, that just really really grosses me out.  So I wear a bra at all times, even chillin in the house, and even to bed.  When I wear a bra it doesn't happen as much, so I'll do anything to prevent that feeling of nastiness. 

Wow, this post is really just one big bitch session isn't it?  How about some positives that I've been feeling lately....

More baby movement!  That is always a plus.  It's such an amazing thing to feel her move and know that there is a real person growing in there!  And, I'm officially in the third trimester!  Only about 11 weeks to go before our little girl will be here!  I still can't really fathom that.  We're going to be parents....wow!

We bought our crib the other day, which was a journey in and of itself.  That crib has been the bane of my existence ever since we found it.  Mike and I went crib shopping at Buy Buy Baby weeks ago and found the perfect crib that matched the furniture that we already have in the room really well.  We were all set to buy it when we were told that we had to buy the floor model because that was all they had left.  And that floor model had a bunch of nicks and scratches.  So we declined and decided we'd find it online and buy it that way. 
 
Easy right?  WRONG!  That particular model is being discontinued so not many places had it.  But I found one that was only about $60 more than the floor model we saw, so I ordered it....only to get a phone call the next day saying "Sorry, but we just sold the last one". 
 
Ok, back to the drawing board.  Found another place that had it, but they didn't have the pieces to convert it into a toddler bed and a full size bed.  Oh well.  Ordered the crib, and then ordered the other pieces from yet another website.  Annnnnd then we get another phone call the next day saying "Sorry, but we don't ship, we only deliver.  And we don't deliver any further than 200 miles."  Well the place was in Texas, so we were definitely further than 200 miles.  P.S.  I had no clue that there was a difference between shipping and delivery. 

So now I'm really irritated.  The pieces for the crib that we ordered are on their way, but we can't seem to get the actual crib.  So we ended up coming full circle and going back to Buy Buy Baby and buying that floor model.  Because there was literally no other place online to buy it with the exception of one that was $300 more than the floor model we saw.  I couldn't justify spending 300 extra dollars just to get the exact same crib with a few less nicks and scratches.  The furniture that we are using for the baby room is really old anyway and has tons of nicks and scratches of it's own, so this crib will fit right in.  Haha!

Ok, so now we have the crib, fully put together in Mike's truck.  We get it home and get it in the door only to find out that it won't fit in the bedroom door.  Wouldn't you know it.  And, Mike doesn't have the right tools to take it apart.  So he borrows some tools from the neighbor and proceeds to disassemble the entire crib.  In the door the pieces go and back together the crib goes.  It was a fun filled evening, if you can only imagine.  Mike's last words were "We are NEVER moving out of this house, and this crib is staying here forever."  Like I said, fun times had by all.

So that was our crib extravaganza, but now we have it (and the mattress) and I can't wait to decorate!!  We bought a glider for the room yesterday which also, amazingly enough, matches the furniture really well.  So I think the major furniture shopping for Baby Girl's room is finished; it just requires a little help from Aunt Tina to make it transform from a boring ex-guest room into a fun, girly nursery!  She'll be here in December to help with all of that!  Yay!
 
Here are some before and after pics so far.  Before: guest room

Crib in progress:

Daisy tried to "help"

Crib complete!

And now we have the glider too!

So that is our progress with the nursery so far.  We're slow, but we're getting there! 

Time to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters!!  Happy Halloween everyone!!!!

I Love October!!!!

Taking a little break from baby mania for a minute to talk about how much I love the autumn season!  I really think that October is my favorite month of the year.  I know that I may have said that about May a few months back, but May comes in a close second to October.


I just got back from a nice little walk with my Daisy dog and it is just such perfect weather right now!  It just lifts your spirits no matter what kind of mood you are in.  I am in the mood to make a list, so here are all of the reasons that I love October!  And I made this post in a nice burnt orange color in celebration of the season!


-The weather!!  Finally not so ridiculously hot and you can be outside and thoroughly enjoy it!  Warm (but   not hot) during the day and a slight chill to the air at night....I love it!  Yes, it means that winter is just around the corner, but that is the only drawback of this season!


- The changing leaves


- Pumpkins


- Mums


- Hayrides


- My favorite burnt orange blanket that makes it's appearance on my couch for this season!  It's sooooo soft!


- Screens in the windows for some fresh air


- The first fire in the fireplace of the season!  We lit one the other night and snuggled together on the loveseat and I was in heaven!  There is nothing better than a real fire in a wood burning fireplace on a chilly evening.


- Apple crisp, apple cider, apple pie.....all things "apple"!

- Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.  I get a one every night shift that I work and I sooo look forward to them!  P.S. There are only 75 mg of caffeine in a tall, so it's fine to drink one a day during pregnancy.


- Warm comfort foods on a chilly evening, like a nice bowl of chili...yum!


- Halloween, which means adorable little trick or treaters, and ....candy, with a great excuse to eat lots of it!!


- Autumn scented candles like Autumn Wreath and Autumn Harvest.  There is something about those scents that is so warm and inviting and homey.  Reminds me of my grandparents house, which is a place I love!


- Christmas is right around the corner!  I know that ties in with the whole winter thing, but I do love Christmas, and it'll be here before we know it!


So there it is.  My reasons for loving this season, and especially this month.  Mike and I were taking Daisy for a walk last night and we were both marveling at how perfect the weather has been down here lately.  Low 70's during the day and low 50's at night.  We both asked outloud "Why would we ever want to leave North Carolina?"  We both really, really love it here.

Baby Registry Mania!

Ok, so I figured that registering for our baby gear would be slightly overwhelming, but I had NO IDEA what I was in for!  I've been inside a Babies R Us less than a handful of times in my life, and of course, it was never to look at anything for me.  So when I set foot in there last week all excited to register, I was hit with this paralyzing overwhelmed feeling that left me wandering aimlessly around until my friend (who already has 2 children) showed up to help me.  I mean, I had no idea how much stuff you need for a baby!  And the options seem endless!  A whole aisle of different types of bottles?  How do you know which is the best??

My friend prefaced the whole trip by telling me that there is no right or wrong when it comes to all of the baby gear.  It's really all about personal preference.  Well, that's all well and good, but how am I supposed to know what my personal preference is when I haven't had a baby yet??  Therefore, I essentially took her personal preference and ran with it.  She was a huge help and gave me lots of good tips.  So, for anyone registering for a baby shower for the first time, I'd definitely recommend bringing along a friend who's been there to help you. 

I decided that I was going to register at Babies R Us and JCPenney.  Well, my first mistake was not researching that well enough, because JCPenney doesn't have baby gear in the stores (at least not the ones near me).  It's all online, and I am not a huge fan of shopping online.  I like to physically see what I'm picking.  But the invites are printed, so Babies R Us and JCPenny it is. 

We started off the day at 9:45 AM at Babies R Us, and finished up there around 12:45.  Yes, 3 hours!  And I'm not even close to being done!  I saved all of the bigger items for when Mike can come with me.  I was about over it by that point anyway (and so was my friend's 2 year old daughter), so I profusely thanked my friend and we said our goodbyes. 

I took a nice little lunch break with another friend at Firebirds and then decided to hit up Target to grab a gift card for someone real quick..... yeah.  Soooo, that turned into me deciding it would be a good idea to register at Target too, since they have a fair amount of stuff in the store.  I thought it would be a good idea to list Babies R Us and Target on the invites for my work baby shower and Babies R Us and JCPenney on my invites for my PA baby shower.  Seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, not so much.  I should've stuck with one place.  Maybe two.  But not three.  Now I have no idea how to split up what I'm registering for where.  If there is something that I really want should I register for it at multiple places to increase the chance that I'll get it?  Or is that weird?  I don't know the answer.  Then I forget what I registered for where, so I need to go through and make some sort of system so that I can see and delete some items that I probably over registered for.

Some friends told me not to register for too much cutesy stuff, just the practical things that I really need.  I tried to do that, but I think I failed, so now I am fearing that I'm gonna get too much stuff that I want, and not enough stuff that I need.  So my goal over the next few days is to go over my 3 registries and condense down to things I really need. 

Then Mike and I are heading to Babies R Us on Wednesday to tackle the big things like stroller, car seat, swing, play pen, etc.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Mike is not known for being the most patient shopper on the planet, so I could see it leading to some tension.  But maybe not.  Wish me luck!

Wedding Weekend!

This past weekend Mike and I were up in Philly for my sister's wedding!  I can't believe the time has finally come, and now it's over!  It was such a fun weekend and the wedding was gorgeous!  It was at the Top of the Tower in Center City Philly and the views were amazing.  Floor to ceiling windows overlooking the whole city!  Let's get to some pics from the weekend!

The Girls getting our nails done!  This was the greatest place for a mani/pedi because they also did a hot stone massage on your legs and shoulders, and it wasn't very expensive! $50 total!

The happy couple before the rehearsal!

Tina with her bow bouquet

The bridesmaids with the bride on wedding rehearsal night

Hair before

Hair getting set

Hair after!!

Getting the dress on!

View of the back!

How beautiful is my little sister!

Full view of the back...that dress looked gorgeous on her!

Veil is on and we're ready to go!  That veil was 9 feet long, although you can't tell in this picture.  A windy day and a 9 foot veil?....I'm pretty sure the photographer got some hilarious pics of all of us wrapped up in it!

I went along with my sister, Jeremy, and the photographers to get some pics around the city before the wedding and was able to capture a few pics of my own.

Just chillin in the middle of Broad Street

Yup, just another paparazzi day.  Tina and J were like celebrities down there!  People were talking about it to each other, on the phone....some even took pics of their own!

Had to get one of these in the car.  How pretty are my sister's earrings by the way?  It's a little blurry and I'm sure she is cringing at the horrible quality of the pic, but we were in a moving car and I was using a "point and shoot" (as she calls the little digital cameras).

The girls before the wedding.  Don't ask why I'm standing with my legs like that when everyone else looks so ladylike.

Newlyweds!!!

I love this picture (although the horrible quality came back to haunt me again...damn those point and shoots!)

But, honestly, how happy do they look?  I LOVE it!!!

At this point my camera battery died.  Don't you love how that always happens at the wrong times?  But Tina will have more than her fair share of pictures.  Her photographer brought not one, but 2 second shooters.  And my wedding photographer was there as a guest with her husband (who is her second shooter sometimes), so they were taking all kinds of pics too.  During their first dance Tina and J literally had five professional photographers taking pictures of them! 

The whole weekend was such a blast, and the wedding and reception were gorgeous and went off without a hitch.  Everyone had so much fun and I am so happy for my sister.  There is nothing better than sharing the best day of your life with all of your favorite people in the world.  Everyone together in one place....nothing can ever compare. 

I have to give a lot of credit to my amazing husband this past weekend too.  He went above and beyond to make sure that everything went smoothly for Tina and J. 

From transporting alcohol,

to folding napkins,

to buying a gift basket,

to buying and delivering the bridesmaids lunch on wedding day,

to driving Tina and J around for their photos before the wedding,

to doing a reading at the wedding,

to secretly transporting the gift basket to the bridal suite after the wedding, 

to making 2 trips into and out of the city the day after the wedding to transport wedding paraphernalia and friends,... which came dangerously close to Steelers kickoff time,

and finally to driving the newlyweds to the airport at 4:30 AM on Monday morning. 

Mike did all of that.....and he never complained.  And that means the world to me.  It's things like that that remind me of what wonderful guy I'm married to.  I love you Mike.

Tina and J are currently having the time of their lives on their honeymoon in Hawaii!  They are now in Kauai, then to Maui, then to the Big Island.  They are loving every minute of it I'm sure.  It's the most beautiful place in the world and it revolves around happiness and love.  I haven't met two harder working people than my sister and J, so a relaxing 2 weeks in paradise....they both deserve every minute of it!!

Next blog post will be all about my baby registry experience, which took all day today!  Talk about overwhelming!  Until then...