July 4th.

We had a great 4th of July. It was especially great because my parents and little brother were in town so we could spend it with them.

It was also especially great because Trevor and I had been away from Thompson for a week. We went on a cruise to Alaska with his family, and although it was amazing, we missed this little boy a lot.

We spent the holiday playing with our cutie, barbecuing, and watching my brother Jonathan go crazy setting off fireworks since they are illegal in Illinois. Thompson on the other hand, wasn't so sure about the firework thing. He was more interest in playing around in the grass. We hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Nearly Nine.

We can't believe this little boy has been in our lives for almost 9 months.

Each day he looks more and more grown up, more and more like a boy and not a baby.

Each day he seems to learn something new, develop in some way, and show more and more of who he is. He is a curious, sensitive, and happy little soul. He will play by himself just fine, but will always look up at me and smile every so often when I am in the same room. It doesn't take much work to make him laugh, and even less to make him smile.

 

Each day he makes us laugh at his silliness and his funny ways. He loves to sleep with his bottom up in the air. He is not very steady sitting up, but he somehow manages to get himself into that position. He still loves his push ups.

Each day we grow more and more in love with him and his sweet little self.

Amanda's wedding — or, the most amazingly planned event I have ever attended.

As I mentioned before, my sister got married over Memorial Day Weekend. She works for a catering company and plans events for a living, so lets just say this was the most organized, gorgeous, and delicious wedding I have ever been to. It kind of made me wish I could do it over again, she did such a good job!

The weather both the day before and after was horrible, but it was perfect the day of her wedding. Since it was so nice out, she had the ceremony outside.

 

 Her colors were sangria and apple green, which made for some really beautiful bouquets...

One dapper little ring-bearer with his purple bowtie and vest...

 

And one especially handsome little baby in his wedding duds.

Some more pictures of the day:
{most pictures above and below taken by keli b photography}

The whole marriage part of the day was nice, but the food, the food was unbelievable. Amanda went to culinary school so she doesn't mess around when it comes to knowing what good food is. Most wedding luncheon buffets have some nice sandwiches, salads, etc. Hers had a mini burger sliders bar with homemade kettle chips, tons of toppings, and hor d'oeuvres. Most receptions have a single buffet table, with a few standard offerings. Hers had four tables, with such deliciousness as artichoke beignets, beef tenderloin, dijon chicken puffs, lobsters ravioli, grilled cheese with tomato soup shots, a bruschetta bar, and every type of cheese and salami known to the Italian man. Yeah, pretty much amazing. And that is only like 1/4 of the things she had. 

And that didn't even include all the desserts either. Those were equally abundant and equally amazing.

Luckily Thompson was so exhausted he slept through the whole reception - loud music and all. That allowed me and Trevor to do something we have never done our whole married lives...

dance! 

We pretty much tore it up on the dance floor. Okay, maybe not, but we did get a few dances in, somewhere in between stuffing our faces. 

Congrats Amanda and Joe, and thanks for letting us be a part of your wonderful day!