5 on Friday

5 on Friday

All I needed was another link up to get me motivated to write a post this week.

{one}

Macy girl is 11 months ((ok just re read this... hello!! she is definitely 13 months)) old now, and seriously she is the most hilarious person I have ever met. She cracks us up daily and every day is up to new shenanigans. We have tons of videos of her doing silly things, ones that I will cherish forever. I am not going to lie, I don't miss the baby stage at all!

{two}

I have a hair appointment and I am in the mood for a big change! I have soooo much hair and I am ready to get rid of some of it! Nothing crazy like a short bob, but hopefully I can pull of a cute shorter 'do with out feeling like I have a "mom haircut".

straight hair is a rarity

{three}

Macy had a lunch date this week with her boyfriend Hank. And she screamed at the top of her lungs the whole time. Not crying, just screaming. For fun. To entertain herself. Yikes, hopefully that doesn't happen often!

Macy and her future baby daddy, Hank

{four}

Half marathon training has been off to a great start! I ran 5 awful hot humid miles last weekend and I loved every minute of it! I haven't ran 5 miles in over 4 years! I can't wait to do it again this weekend. I have thoroughly enjoyed challenging myself daily and have that feeling of accomplishment.

Slow as molasses but I did it!

{five}

I took progress pictures this week was a)disgusted at what I looked like and b) proud of where I am. I still have 7 lbs to go before my goal weight, but I actually feel good in my summer clothes this year- a far cry from how I felt last summer. Post-partum bodies are no joke!

Do I spot some abs?!

Wedding Details Link up

In honor of my recent 3 year anniversary I decided to participate in my first ever link up with Holly and Mel! My wedding was a true dream come true, everything I could have wanted it to be and more. Except, of course, for 2 very important people who weren't there. With in the year leading up to our wedding Kyle and I both lost our mothers to breast cancer. So there were many aspects of the day dedicated to them. But ultimately we wanted our wedding to be a day of celebration of our union. And boy was it ever!

The theme I envisioned for our wedding was a classy "night club" feel. Unfortunately Pinterest was not around yet, but I had no problem finding inspiration from wedding blogs and google.

We got married at the Gillespie conference center and hotel in South Bend, IN. I really wanted to get married at a hotel because we had so much family coming in from all over the country. Plus, I didn't want anyone to worry about driving home after a night of fun. My wedding colors were a pretty pale aqua blue with silver and crystal accents. My main goal was to have a modern feel. I am not a big fan of flowers or anything cheesy looking. Once I saw the spaces come to life I was brought to tears. Everything I had dreamt of was right before my eyes.

Ceremony space, before the candles were lit down the aisle

Closer look at the crystal branches up at the altar

Candles lit down the aisle and silver trees with crystals hanging down

A pink rose sat on the first seat on either side of the aisle to represent where our mothers would have sat.

Reception room. The a&k logo was the same as the logo on our wedding invitation

A closer look at one of the tables. Those center pieces were all made by hand by me and my friends and family. About 120 man hours at least. But so worth it!

Another look at the reception site. In the top right corner you can see my favorite- all white dance floor with white leather couches.

If you know me, you know that I love to get glammed up! I wanted it all -the tan, the lashes, the blonder the better. I treated all my bridesmaids to get their hair and make up done and we stayed together in a suite the night before so we could all be in one location together the day of. The hair and make up teams came to our suite as well and we had it catered with lots of yummy food and champagne too. It was such a fun day getting pampered with all my girls.

LOVED my makeup!

Me and my girls all glammed up!

It was very important to me that Kyle and I did not see each other before hand. I am so glad I stuck to my guns even though my photographer did her best to convince me other wise. Yes I understand it takes time, but I will never forget the moment I walked down the aisle to see my groom for the first time that day and the look he had on his face. Priceless!

Dress was Alfred Angelo

So in love!



Of course we had to get the token group shot of everyone jumping. We had the BEST bridal party ever!

While we took our pictures our guests went to a terrace outside just off the ceremony room and enjoyed hor d'oeuvres, an open bar and an awesome local band, Alligator Blackbird. They are a 3 person band that play music like Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, etc and fun covers by T.Swift and Britney.

We did our first dance as soon as we entered the reception space. I had heard doing it then was the best time since its the only time all eyes will really be on you. In retrospect it was kind of awkward with everyone watching us and I am sure people were just ready to eat. The whole time we just talked about how awkward it was and that we had hoped it would end soon. I would say that would be one of my only do-overs!

First dance

We had a yummy meal of chicken and steak -I didn't want our guests to have to choose or deal with making sure people got the right plate so we offered them both. After dinner we did the cake cutting and then right in to the dollar dance. Instead of doing the traditional father/daughter mother/son dance we decided to do a dollar dance with all of our guests and donate all of the proceeds to breast cancer research. It was the most emotional part of our wedding, besides the walk down the aisle. The passing of our mothers was not just hard on us, but on every single person that was in that room. A definite favorite part of our wedding!

Cake was delicious-the cake itself looked a little homemade. Good thing it was a dimly lit room!

Alligator Blackbird playing while we ate dinner.

Once the dollar dance was over it was time to PART-AY! I changed in to a party dress, the DJ came on and the rest of the night was spent having a blast dancing, sweating off all of my makeup, and drinking one too many grape vodkas. When I uploaded the pictures to the blog for this link up I couldn't help but smile as I remembered how much fun it really was. Everyone was on the dance floor the entire night and our wedding coordinator told us that they had never ran out of Jack Daniels in one night before. Our college friends are crazy, so I was not surprised at all.

I am pretty sure we did the Cupid Shuffle 3 times. And yes, my friend Bill is really that tall.

Party on the dance floor was non stop until quitting time!

Hot mess express coming at you. I can't complain though- I had the time of life!

We had a photo booth which was fun for us and the guests, but to be honest we never look at the pictures. So if we needed to cut something- that could have been it. They were just starting to be the "thing" to do at weddings so you know I was on top of it!

Checking out the photo booth pics.

You may even recognize these faces too. Brandi and Sean and Tucker all flew up from Dallas. He was only 10 months at the time and did such a good job! Sean has been a family friend of mine since he was 9 years old. He lived down the street from my dad and step mom and he and my brother were best friends. Sean went on all of our family vacations with us growing up and was truly a second brother to me. It meant so much to me that they made the trip up with their baby!

Sweet sleeping Tucker on the dance floor

One of the things I really wanted was a nanny for the kids. For the most part, kids under 8 and weddings are not a good combo. For anyone. I wanted to provide parents with a date night and selfishly didn't want any kids running amok distracting me during our day. We used one of the smaller conference rooms and paid 2 professional nannies to watch the kids during the ceremony and dinner. After dinner the kids were free to come and go as they pleased. We had a wii, plenty of games, yummy food and entertainment for the little ones. I wish every wedding I went to provided that because paying for a baby sitter can be expensive and it is hard to enjoy ourselves while chasing our rambunctious 1 year old around.

Around 10:30 we had a hot dog cart come in with all of the fixings to help satisfy our guests' late night  cravings. It was so yummy! And everyone LOVED it!

Once again, I am looking like a hot mess by the end of the night.



These couches came in handy at the end of the night for sleepy little girls! 

When people say weddings are the best day of their lives- I see why they mean it! When do you have all of your family and closest friends all together in one room? I have loved this link up and remembering such a special day!


Final Dos/Dont's:

Do:
-Give your DJ a specific "do not play" list. And when he still tries to play "Grease Lightening" immediately march up to him and demand he change it. Not cool dude, not cool. Now play "Get Low" asap.
-Ask for help and put people to work. They are willing and there is no way you can do it all.
-Get married for the RIGHT reason to the RIGHT person.
-Make decisions on what you like. Not anyone else. It is your day!
-Get a videoprapher. Best money ever spent.

Don't:
-Get too wrapped up in the detials. We didn't have "favors" or go out of our way to do the little things. No one pays any attention to them, they are csotly and time consuming. Instead, spend your time and energy on one or two bigger things that people would remember. Like lighting. Lighting goes a long way!
-Leave too much last minute. Once your family gets in town make sure you have enough time to spend with them and enjoy your weekend.


Summer fun!

My favorite time of the year has finally arrived! I have to say growing up my most fond memories come from the summer months. My birthday is smack down in the middle (July 3) and there is not much else that is better than floating in the water and smelling like sunscreen. Last summer I was off work from May-August which was nice but I didn't get to a lot of the summer activities with a newborn like swimming or vacations. I have loved introducing Macy to new adventures and she has loved it too! So far we have went to Cassy's parents house in Brownsburg that we have lovingly dubbed "The Plantation" and we have had a lot of time at brother's pool too. The Plantation is a sprawling compound that consists of a pool, tons of animals, a movie theater and popcorn maker and the best part- Candy Land! (No, I am not kidding). Macy loves animals and I was not surprised that she was not afraid to stick her hands all in the faces of the horses, chickens and donkeys.

Not a huge fan of the float- she better get used to it!

Bathing suit- Check! Sunglasses- Check! Sun hat- Check!

Meeting the horses. Stuck her hands right in their faces

Loved the chickens too. And we got fresh eggs too :)

Can't forget the donkeys too. Esmeralda and Lyla.

Fun in her own pool at Uncle T's house

We also finally got Macy to her official one year check up. Her stats were a little different than what I had measured. She was 22lbs 4oz and 31 inches long. She got all of her vaccinations and took them like a champ! Cried for about 3 seconds and moved on to bigger and better things- a sucker! Worked like a charm! 

One year check up, doc says I'm "perfect"!

We are looking forward to a summer filled with fun and new experiences for this little pea!

Macy's First Birthday

Macy's first birthday weekend was absolutely amazing. We have so many special people in our life that really loved on her (and us) that weekend. It is definitely a time I will never forget. The weeks leading up to her birthday I had moments were I felt super sappy and would tear up as I reflected on the year that had passed. Obviously, I know that she will have a birthday every year (God willing) and I don't suspect each one will be as emotional as the first. Maybe it will, who knows!

Kyle's dad was the first to arrive on Thursday night. He flew in from San Antonio, TX to spend the long weekend with us. Her birthday being on Memorial Day weekend, it also meant that it fell on race weekend. Being from Indianapolis, we have a little race each year we like to call the Indy 500. It is kind of a big deal. So traveling here that weekend is VERY expensive (flights, hotels, etc) and inconvenient. It was also Game 1 of the Eastern conference finals for the Indiana Pacers. ((Love all of our Indy sports!)) So anyone coming our really had to make a sacrifice to get here.

As soon as Macy woke up on Friday morning (the day of her birthday) I went in and sang her Happy Birthday (on video, however no need to post). We snuggled and played and then Kyle's dad took us out to have a big yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Little known fact to me was that Cracker Barrel sells the stinking cutest baby clothes! I had no idea!



About to chow down on her favorite foods



Sweet hat we found in the gift shop that we had to have!

The rest of the day was spent getting good naps, running errands for the party, and laying low. That evening we went over to my brother's house and hung out with more family that was arriving in to town. My grandparents made the trip up from McMinnville, TN just to see their first great grand baby turn one. So special.



Opening a few early presents from Uncle T and Aunt Carol

Once the evening was wrapping up I was ready to head home and get a good night's rest. Kyle's brother and his wife were driving in from Chicago and would be staying with us so I wanted to be home when they got there. I also just wanted to put Macy down early so she had plenty of rest before her big day- and I needed my beauty sleep too! For some reason my brother and Kyle kept telling me to just lay Macy down there and stay and hang out for awhile. I was getting so frustrated because I was tired and wanted to go home. I couldn't figure out why they weren't being more understanding. Finally my brother told me that a friend of ours was on her way over to bring something that he really wanted me to see. I was so confused but finally succumbed to their insistent wish that we stayed a little longer. About an hour later my brother, along with help from his girlfriend, Kyle and his dad, got me in his living room and told me keep my back turned from them. I was so confused! Finally I turned around and saw family all standing in his living room. I lost it. Hysterically started crying. My dad, step mom little brother and sister had spent the last 14 hours in the car driving up from Dallas, TX to Indy to surprise me for Macy's party. That was the first time in my life I've ever been surprised like that, and for something so special! There were so many reasons why I knew they weren't going to be able to make it. My sister had Taylor Swift tickets for that weekend (her favorite), my step mom had just started a new job the week before, the kids were still in school, etc. They all sacrificed so much to come up here to experience Macy's first birthday with us. Something I will never ever forget.


Kyle and I with my family right after the big reveal.

Between the excitement of their arrival and having a houseful of people, sleep came at a minimal that night. But I couldn't complain because no sleep was worth the joy I had in my heart. Saturday finally came and the day we had been planning for awhile was finally here! My amazing friends, Cassy and Drew, hosted Macy's party at their huge home. We were so appreciative! My theme was chalkboard and bunting in the colors of her nursery- aqua and pink.



The mantel. The chalkboard was so fun to make!



Cake table with a framed picture of her invite



Close up of her chalkboard stats and her monthly pics on a banner



Cake table



Seating and high chair



My beautiful family! (yes we matched the party... on purpose)



My family! Somehow they figured out what we were going to wear and packed to match. Amazing!



Macy and her cake. She hated it. Wouldn't touch it.



Such a ham all day. Presh.



Cassy, the amazing hostess and Lauren, my party planning genius

The party was amazing. We had about 40 friends and family from all areas of our life intermingling and sharing the day with us. My cousin and her kids from Tennessee came up and our friends in Chicago came down- we literally had people from all over the country with us. I wish I had gotten more pictures, especially of everyone that was there but I had no time to hold a camera in my hand. All of these pics were stolen from others.

Macy was of course spoiled with everything from toys to books to clothes. She did great and I was able to lay her down in her pack and play as soon as it ended. Her party was everything I had every hoped it would be, and way more. Even though the decor was exactly how I imagined it in my head we could have had just a cake and it would have been perfect. It was the people in our lives that made it so special. I will make sure that Macy will always know how special her big first birthday was for the rest of her life. I know I will.