family time.

Two of our very favorite people got married on September 17. 

We didn't take that many pictures, so...no photos of the actual bride and groom. Oops. Here, instead, is a rundown of random family photos from the amazing festivities.

Our oldest nephew sat beside me - and sometimes on my lap - during the ceremony. 

Eventually he was bored. So we played. 

 I took pictures of him.

He took pictures of me.

Everyone was entertained.

Then, the parents wanted to get the immediate family together for a photo.

Now just Papa, Gangy, and the kids.

With 3 kids younger than 3, you never know what you're going to get... 

 

Love, love, love my husband. The best times happen when we're together.

 

(We tried to recapture our traditional silhouette photo, but it was too bright.)

Reserved table with one of my bests! 

(Speaking of "best," this was not one of my best picture-taking moments.)

 This wedding was one classy affair.

I helped glue these crystals. Fun to see them in context!

The food was uh-may-zing. Mmm! Appetizer buffet, complete with crudités,

fruits, beef and chicken skewers (and ridiculously amazing dipping sauce)...

Caprese salad, egg rolls...

Stuffed mushroom caps, bruschetta, crab cakes... YUM!

Then we danced and danced and danced and danced. All night. I can think of...only three songs we sat out the whole evening. It was so much fun - my whole body ached the next day. Loved it!

We are still waiting on additional photos from the day. 

More to come.

What's your favorite song to dance to?

one sweet day.

A tradition in our household is a date to a local charity event where they serve you all the chocolate your heart can handle. For me, this is like a waking dream. My husband knows this, and that's why he makes sure we attend said event every year. (The fact that he has a sweet tooth of his own does not hurt my cause.)

First, you eat some chili. Believe it or not, this thumbnail-sized bowl of chili is just large enough to justify the mass quantities of dessert that follow it.

 

Then, you peruse five or six tables, each one filled with delectable treats for your enjoyment. These treats are served to you by local celebrities. Some may scoff at this, saying that, living where we live means the term "celebrity" is a complete misnomer. But not us! R and I totally geek out, being excited about each star we see...and also acting totally above it all (purely for our own amusement) when we don't recognize someone. 

"Who's that? No one knows who you are, Lady. Get out of here."

See that gigantic piece of cake that takes up half of R's plate? That amount would typically feed eight people. But R met one of his favorite radio personalities at this event. The sparkle of admiration in my husband's eye was just darling. They bonded. Apparently, the way this guy (the celeb) shows his gratitude is in the form of giant cake slices.

Here is my first round of loot. See that layer cake on the bottom left? Mmmm, I went back for more of that. It was probably the darkest chocolate, most dense cake I've ever had. Plus, the top was a layer of ganache. Uh, yeah. As this is a family blog, that's all I can say about that cake.

Also, I will eat anything made of marshmallows. Any time. Marshmallows...I'm your girl. These little beauties definitely hit the spot. Caramel-covered marshmallows. Rolled in pecans. Get right out of town! 

And now, for the pièce de résistance. (Imagine an angelic chorus as you gaze upon this photo.)

There is an enormous chocolate fountain. (It happens to be owned by someone from my hometown. Holla!) They have all the dippables under the sun, from rice krispies to gummy worms. Me - I only wanted one thing. Just give me chips. The sweet/salty combo cannot be beat. I dream about these at night. Mmmm!

Bellies full. Only 364 days until we can do this again!

What types of food do you crave?

a fine time to forget your camera

We celebrated 3 years of marriage this Labor Day weekend with a 4-day vacation to our nation's state's capital. Little Ditty spent the entire weekend with her grandparents, Papa and Gangy. It was just the two of us, and we were going to make it if we tried.

There was a list of fun activities we wanted to experience before the end of "Operation Magic Recapture." A water park, Bingo night, van purchase, the zoo, an Irish restaurant, thrift store shopping and the "Superslide" were all on the list. Apparently, plans change. Some do, at least. We did O'Malley it up with a nice Irish dinner, went thrift store shopping, and went swimming (in the hotel).

We replaced going to the zoo with crashing a local wedding our first night there. For more on that adventure, we invite you to read this post. We decided to do that before we even saw the inside of our hotel room. Oh, yeah, I forgot about our hotel room.

Now when I say "hotel room," I don't mean it. What I mean is "bed with sink." We walked into the room and just laughed. Well, we smiled. We couldn't fit a laugh into the room.

In addition to the fact that we could sit back against the headboard and change the TV channel with our feet, the hotel was also under construction. Each morning we woke up to the sound of hammers and Spanish. The wife and I made a game of naming the construction workers that served as our hotel alarm clocks. One particular morning from our second floor room, the voices were unusually clear. I pulled open the curtains to see the waist of Guillermo working directly outside our window. I've never closed curtains faster than I did on him.

Our other accomplishment of the weekend was buying a van. It felt so grown-up to negotiate back and forth with the salesman. It was like a movie, including one time where he actually slid a piece of paper back to us with an offer written on it. No joke. I kind of wanted a cigar.

It really was a spectacular weekend. We made at least 34 solid memories, ate at least 6 pounds of unhealthy food, and laughed more than those three hyenas that bullied baby Simba. The magic was definitely recaptured. Thanks to our anniversary getaway, we are ready to tackle our 4th year!

Tattwo.

   

As one of my anniversary gifts, R got me tattoo money. I had been thinking for quite some time that I wanted another tattoo. (Basically, since I got my first one in 2002.)

A few weeks ago, the itch returned (again). After our anniversary, I made an appointment. Finally, on September 15, I went under the needles.

Stencil ready.

Rockin'.

The Baber's birthdate - all done.

Being the amazing decision maker I am, I could not choose between two tattoos.

So I got them both.

Blank canvas.

Stencil applied.

This font was chosen after days of procrastination and minutes of actual deliberation.

 (I know, it's not at all like me to jump in with both feet.) 

(Ok, I do it all the time.)

This was the most timeless of my possible choices.

Rockin' again. It was not bad at all, but apparently this was a more painful moment.

 Done! Well, almost.

Better.

From one to three in approximately 30 minutes.

I'm super happy about them both!
What a great gift. Thanks, husband!

 Also, Justin is wonderful.

What's your next tattoo?

my proposal: more years

Today, I celebrate two years at work. 

Two. Years.

For me, that is a LOT of time in one place. 

(Sometimes by choice, sometimes not.)

As a member of the marketing team at an engineering firm, I have: 

• Put together many proposals.
• Developed fun relationships with several left-brainers.
• Burned through approximately 10 red pens.
• Seen lots of ups and downs.
• Grown as a professional.
• Learned about things I never thought I would: pavement, wastewater treatment, surveying, roundabouts, highways, hvac...
• Learned more about things I've always wanted to: spelling, grammar, design.
• Been challenged.
•  Made wonderful friends.
• Had so much fun.

This is the best job I've ever had.

It's definitely the most..."me."

I am so blessed. Seriously.

To celebrate, R took me out to one of my favorite, favorite spots: Granite City.

He surprised us by ordering a buffalo chicken wrap.

(This is actually not at all a surprise.)

Sweet potato fries - Mmmm! And he shared them. So generous.

My special treat was this incredible salad.

Bruschetta grilled chicken. 

 

This is the stuff dreams are made of, people.

Oh, the flavor. It is an explosion of all things good.

Even Little Ditty couldn't resist.

 

After we got home, I realized I hadn't taken a photo of us. Oops. 

In a pinch and a blurry hurry, we didn't get many framers.

Oh, and I'll also be receiving a gift of my choice from my company. 

This day will be tough to top.

What do you love about your job?

eight months old

Our girl turned 8 months old on September 6. 

(We took these photos right before her bedtime. Note how comfortable it looks to sit upright in her nighttime cloth diaper. Oops.)

Now, she is too busy to really care about Mr. Grinch. During this photo shoot, she was more interested in "brushing" her teeth.

 

 

The tuft continues to grow, along with several other mini tufts that have sprouted.

Milestones this month include:

• Scooting forward - and she's fast!
• Moving like a crazy lady during naps and nighttime sleep
• Standing up (when placed) next to anything she can get her hands on
• Staying with Papa and Gangy by herself for a whole weekend 
• Teeth!

We are so blessed: Our baby isn't much for crabbing at all. She certainly does it when the teeth are bothering her, though. Sometimes the only remedy is going for a walk outside.

Teething has also made her a BIG fan of her pacifier.

Loves jewelry. And spitting.

Two teeth!