Sunday, October 31, 2010

Trip to Baton Rouge: Pre-Wedding Pics

I decided to split my post about our trip to Baton Rouge into pre-wedding and wedding pictures. I just have SO many pictures, and this makes it a bit easier for me to separate my thoughts. And for the record, most of the pics in this post are SOOC (straight out of camera). I realized I just don't have the time right now to edit 200+ pictures, so I decided I'd just post most of them unedited. It's my reality right now :) Enjoy.

Brayden and I headed down to Baton Rouge the Sunday before the wedding. Drew wasn't able to take off much for work, so since I knew I would have to drive down there regardless, I decided I'd at least make my drive worth it by spending a few extra days with my family. Brayden did remarkably well on the way down. We bought a DVD player for the trip-- I HIGHLY recommend a DVD player for anyone traveling with kids. Best money you'll EVER spend. We split the drive up by stopping in Little Rock on Sunday, and then driving the rest of the way on Monday. One thing I can say: I don't plan on traveling much with two children. Haha! Just traveling with Brayden and a dog it adds about 3 hours to the trip, and even though Brayden did well, that's a 12 hour trip that gets LOOOONG for anyone in the car, much less for someone traveling with an infant.

Tuesday B and I went to the outlet mall with my mom. They only live about 20 minutes away from the Tanger outlet and I wanted to check out a couple of the kids stores for some good deals. The only deal I really found was for Brayden; I found cargo shorts for B at Children's Place for $3.99, plus I had a 20% off coupon. So basically I got shorts for next summer for $3! Can't beat that! After we shopped, we headed to Sam's for icee's and pizza (yes, the craving runs in the family!) and then went home for naps. Tuesday afternoon I was able to take some family pictures for my Uncle Paul's family. Uncle Paul actually lives in Arkansas near us, and they've been the ones to help out with Brayden so that Drew and I could travel the past couple of months. I was so excited about doing this shoot-- my Aunt Kelly really wanted pictures in a southern setting, and some family friends that close to my parents live in an old Sugar Mill plantation home. It's nearly 200 years old, and the surroundings make for a GREAT place to take pictures. Here are some of my faves from the shoot:


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Brayden came with me, and mom and Laura helped watch him while I shot. This was taken before my Uncle's family got there. B was mesmerized by the pond that was there in the backyard.
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Aunt Kelly wanted a couple of shots with her dad in them. I just LOVE how this one turned out... especially the way Aunt Kelly and her dad are looking at each other. THIS is why I love photography :)
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My "little" cousins... not so little anymore :( I'm pretty sure Brayden thinks they are all his big sisters. He loves them all SO much and they are SO great with him. So blessed to have family live close by!
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It was hard getting a smile out of Sophie... she wasn't that into the whole being a model thing.
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Sweet Sarah :)
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Bethany. I love this picture because she was laughing, so her smile seems so real to me (unlike a fake posed smile).
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This is Hannah. I love how this picture turned out-- the lighting, the background, everything is perfect!
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Wednesday was a lazy day for us. We really didn't have a lot going on. Megan didn't really want a true bacellorette party, but Laura and I wanted to do SOMETHING for her, so we took her out for a drink and dessert. We went to this place called BJ's in Baton Rouge and got Pizookies. At first I was skeptical. OMG. If you live or are ever in Baton Rouge, go to BJ's and get one. It's basically like a cookie baked in a mini pizza pan topped with ice cream. I got the white chocolate macadamia nut and it was AHHHHMAZING. And I am not ashamed to say that I ate the whole thing. We had a good time chatting and having sister time.

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Mom and I took Brayden to the park in a vain attempt to entertain him (Wednesday was a fussy day for him). Oddly enough, he really didn't want to have anything to do with the park, which is really not like him. Though, I think it had more to do with the fact that there were some school aged boys playing soccer, and he was much more interested in doing that than going down some silly slides :o)
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Love, love, love my sisters!


Thursday the day was pretty laid back, but it was rehearsal day so we had to get some stuff ready. Meg and Ben gave Brayden his gift for being the ring bearer. When Meg had asked me what to get him, I immediately told her Hot Wheels. He's really into cars right now, and let me tell you, the gift did not disappoint. We got a babysitter to watch Brayden for the rehearsal and dinner, and headed out to the wedding site and then to Bonefish Grill for some YUMMY food and good toasts. Drew flew in late on Thursday, so it was a LOOONG day.

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Opening his gift from Aunt Meg and Uncle Ben
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Notice how the dogs are just as intrigued as Brayden.... always in the middle of the action... haha!
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Me and Laura at the beginning of rehearsal
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The Sibs (Laura, Meg, Me & Jeff)
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Megan and our Grandma Laura
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Because I promised Laura that we'd put this on the blog... what are sister's for anyway :) Love you Meg! haha!
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Just one more day!
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Meg and Dad getting instructions on what to do.
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Bethany and Hannah came with Uncle Paul to the rehearsal dinner
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Getting words of wisdom from Dad
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Drew captured this shot after everyone had gone to bed. The guys stayed up... and this is what happens. So lively this bunch of men in our family... LOL.


Friday we all just relaxed and had fun as a family. Friday morning, Drew got to see Brayden's love for the piano in action...

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And for everyone thinking he may be the next Mozart or Bach, I wouldn't hold your breath. He was more interested in getting the orchestra to play music so he could dance (my parents have an electronic piano). 
 

Like I said previously, B is really into cars. He's also really into tractors (basically anything with wheels). My dad has a riding lawn mower, and he found it the second day we were there and would constantly point to the garage saying "da dactor?" wanting to take a ride on it. So Friday, when Drew was there, Dad and Drew took Brayden on a ride on "da dactor." I'm pretty sure B thought he had died and gone to heaven. Even after about 30 minutes, he still didn't want to come inside.

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I wonder who's having more fun, Poppa D or Brayden???
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Friday afternoon was a bit scary. Drew, my mom and I were all in the kitchen and we heard a big crash in the living room. It was B, who was playing on the piano. I got up and immediately sprinted around the corner in the kitchen. Problem was, I was wearing flip flops and there was a large puddle of water on the floor near the sink. As I rounded the corner, I slipped. And fell. Thankfully I softened the blow with my left knee and then right hand, then landed on my belly on the floor. Pretty sure my mom and Drew both had heart attacks. I just laid there thinking "oh my gosh. I just fell on my belly. I'm 34 weeks pregnant. And I am out of town. Are you kidding me?!" After I fell I laid on the couch for two hours doing kick counts and making sure that I didn't start having contractions. Thankfully he kicked great, and I didn't have any more contractions than normal. Thank goodness (although I did find out this week that if you fall and you are as far along as I was that most doctors want you to go to L&D to be monitored for a bit. OOPS.). We wrapped up Friday by celebrating Drew's birthday as a family (a great tradition my family has always had).

Saturday was wedding day. The wedding went off without a hitch, we had LOADS of fun, and Brayden did fabulous. More pics and a post to come on all of that later.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

This is What Happens...

This is what happens when you go to the bread store and your mom is pregnant...

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Not a bad snack for an 18 month old, right?!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

His Royal Cuteness

He may be a handful...
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But it's better than having my hands empty!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Weekend in Review: Pumpkin Patch

Our weekend was relatively uneventful. I was an MBA widow for a majority of the weekend, since Drew has a final and presentation on Monday. Brayden was relatively cooperative for me. I say relatively because, if you include Tuesday in the mix, that extreme can make any day seem like a good day. Most of the weekend was spent gearing up for my sister's big wedding which is right around the corner. I had alterations appointments for my dress (crossing my fingers I fit in it by the wedding!), stuff to drop off at friends houses who have willingly offered themselves for errand running for me since I am getting overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list before Connor arrives, and of course, our annual visit to the pumpkin patch.

Last year when we visited, Brayden wasn't even sitting up on his own hardly, so it was more for our enjoyment than anything else. This year was a different story. I dressed B up in his Carhartt's and headed out to meet up with Drew on the way there. We arrived around 4:30, which was a perfect time to take pictures. Brayden LOVED being able to run around in the open fields. I was SO thankful for the Carhartt's because he fell down so many times, but the dirt just blended right in with his outfit, so pictures weren't ruined!


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We started out in the wagon...
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Didn't last long though :)
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He LOVED walking around on his own... I wish this picture was crisper. He was on the move so much that most of my pictures are of him either moving or from the back!
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"Hey Mom & Dad! Look what I found!"
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"Here Dad, I'll share!"
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"Do these people seriously think that they can plop me down and I'll just smile?!?"
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"I think this one is the one!"
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Helping Daddy cut the pumpkin out of the patch
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He was so serious about doing it on his own
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Looking for some approval from Daddy


After we picked out our pumpkin, we frolicked in the grass maze.


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That's my boy, happy when he has anything that resembles a weapon!


It took us a while to get back to the front of the farm... someone was INSISTENT that he be the one to pull the wagon.


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No trip to the pumpkin patch is complete without a little drama... he wanted so badly to pull the wagon, but it was so heavy he had a hard time with it. It was just a little frustrating for him. Clearly.


On the way back to the front of the farm, we found a hay tunnel...


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When we finally made it to the front, we went on the hayride. Brayden loved it. He loved it so much in fact, that when we got off, he screamed bloody murder.


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My fave picture from the day. I know I am biased, but is he not the cutest little farmer you've ever seen? Complete with some straw for his mouth :)
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This straw stuff is serious business folks.
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Daddy put the straw on his head... not so sure about what to do about that!
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He wanted SO badly to drive the tractor.


We were worried that the trauma of the hay ride ending would ruin his barrel ride fun. He was literally screaming at the top of his lungs before the barrel ride started, and I was sure that we had wasted $2. But the minute the tractor started, he was happy again. I was a bit nervous the whole time because it went a little faster than I thought it would, and we weren't able to ride with him, so there was that slight chance he could decided to stand up, jump out and get run over. I tried to keep up, but alas, my pregnant belly has gotten the best of me when it comes to speed, so Drew grabbed the camera and ran behind the barrels snapping pictures. Since it was going so fast, and I didn't have a chance to change my camera settings, a lot of these pictures came out blurry, which is a bummer.


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When the barrel ride ended Brayden thankfully got out without fussing too much. We took some more pictures next to the growth chart (such a fun thing-- I don't think they had this last year, but we're sure to snap this every year now!) ,



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plopped Brayden down on the big pumpkin (and he wasn't that happy about that!),


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purchased the pumpkin we had picked out, and headed home. Drew went back to work to study for his final, and B and I headed to a local Mexican restaurant to watch the rest of the Razorback game (sadly, we lost) and eat dinner.

And that, my friends, was basically our weekend. Hope everyone has a great week!
 

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