More Firsts

Alma was able to attend her first wedding this past weekend ... our wonderful neighbors Randy and Erin were wed in Old Greenwich, Connecticut in a beautiful backyard wedding. 

Alma also enjoyed her first hotel stay and swim in a pool. 

What a great weekend!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year by going on a family walk over to Broad Street to enjoy the Mummer's Parade.

Our 2009 felt like The Year of Advent with most of the year focused on the arrival of our little Alma. (She was definitely worth the wait!)

However, in glancing at the photos we snapped this year, our year was more than simply waiting. We had a great year with family, friends, trips, work, outdoor adventures, weddings, birthdays and so much else. This might have been my favorite year ever ... I really enjoyed 2009.

Here's to a joyful 2010 with time to wonder at all the blessings in our lives.

Adam and Jen's Wedding

Adam and Jen's Halloween wedding was such a great event. Quite possibly one of the most enjoyable weddings I have ever attended and easily one of the greatest Halloween parties I've attended.

Jen was beautiful and Adam was all smiles at the ceremony in the little Lutheran Church in Lutherville, Maryland. Once the ceremony started, we were told not to take photos, so I didn't get to capture all of the magic.
After the ceremony, we went back to the hotel where the reception was being held to change into our costumes. Patrick, Carrie, Megan, Adam, Joshua and I dressed as the running of the bulls. I decided to be the bull, since I figured that I was the slowest in the group -- you know, being eight months pregnant and all. We made a grand entrance into the cocktail hour by having a grand chase. Then, later in the evening, we had another chase in which Patrick threw Joshua into the path of the bull (me), I gored him and then (pretend) stomped on him while he was laying on the dance floor. The crowd seemed to like our antics.

I got lot of comments on my speed as the bull. I have to admit that it was nice to have an excuse to run. I've been feeling very fit these days. My pregnant belly feels more like awesomely tight ab muscles more than the burdensome bump that many pregnant women describe. And with this cooler weather, I often feel like going for a run more than I feel like pigging out on food. Thank goodness I have prenatal yoga class four days a week so I can expend some energy. Revelers at the party had great costumes; like this group who dressed as a bouquet of flowers. Cute!

Friends, family, parades, weddings and babies

July has been a busy month for us. Here are some highlights:

Tara, my Minnesota friend who I knew in Seattle who currently lives in Portland, OR (tracking her has become my hobby!), came to visit us in Philadelphia on the way to her brother's wedding in NYC. It was so great to see her -- she is such a great soul. We spent one evening touring Eastern State Penitentiary. It was fun and reminded me of when we toured Alcatraz together.

For the 4th of July, we joined Brian, his son and my parents at a parade. I love small town parades! Here's Brian, Joshua and Charlie the dog enjoying the parade. Last weekend, I was a pregnant groomsman in Patrick and Carrie's weddings. It was so fun to hang out with "the boys" from college while Joshua had a fun time hanging out with the wives. Highlights included Carrie's butt-wiggling excitement during the ceremony, Adam's best man toast (gosh knows he's done them enough!) and all the little touches that Patrick and Carrie did to make the wedding really special. What a great couple and a good group of friends and family.My cousin Tara and her fiance Brian had their wedding shower in Clinton, NJ at my aunt and uncle's house. It was fun to see some of my Thompson relatives and meet Brian. We are hoping to attend the wedding but are unsure of how I will be feeling about the long drive up to New England at the beginning of September.
In super exciting news, Brian and Bridgette welcomed a baby girl this past week. While she was born 11 weeks early, she is a fighter and seems to be doing well thus-far. I'm shy to say more since they are private about baby-related news when it comes to their own family, which I want to respect. Please keep them in your prayers as she continues to grow and develop.

In more baby news, Joshua and I had our 20-week ultrasound today. The baby was moving around so much they had a difficult time analyzing all the body parts. The baby was tucking its legs over its head along with its hands and then spinning around a bunch. I don't even know how that is possible!! But things look great and the baby is on track growth-wise. My parents came along to the ultrasound, too, which was fun. This past week I have started to feel the baby move around more often. It's beginning to feel more real these days.

To Celebrate Our 2.25 Anniversary

The first dance at our wedding was Clem Snide's Bread. I love this song. Joshua introduced it to me one rainy day in Seattle when we had only been dating a month or two. Our Saturdays used to be spent making bread from scratch. It was always so neat to watch Joshua's love for making fresh bread for family and friends. And it was nice to laze around his apartment while we waited for the bread to rise.

When we had to choose a first song for our wedding, this was the obvious choice. It told of how we wanted to live. Off the cuff, in a relaxed manner and with some quiet days being together around the house. Granted, with how I pack our schedule, it doesn't happen as often as it should.
My favorite times and my favorite memories from our first 2.25 years of marriage consist of these quiet moments. And every morning when I walk downstairs to the mis-matching wonderfulness that has become our sense of decorating, the goofiness of our time together and the amazing energy I get from being in such loving relationship, I fall more in love with Joshua and our life together.

Bread

‘Coz you are the bread
And it’s never work
And warm, buttered is good
Oh, let’s just digest

And the dishes are fine
They’re not goin’ nowhere
So keep your hands soft
For high fives and shakes

And the bathroom’s a mess
Tomorrow we’ll clean
And my window won’t shut
But the breeze does feel nice

And the stove can be used
To light cigarettes
Oh, let the tablecloth burn
It’s pretty that way

‘Coz you smell like bread
And now the pillow does too
Has everyone left?
Where they even here?

Listen to the song to understand how these somewhat silly lyrics can be a sweet love song.

More/our photos from the last month of excitement

Patrick and Carrie got engaged! Hooray! Patrick asked me to part of the wedding party, which is totally awesome. That is going to be such a rockin' good wedding because they are so totally in love and excited about everything.

Here they are opening their first official engagement gift when they came for Joshua's birthday party.


Joshua's birthday party was super fun. The house was a wreck from a crazy week and the dog was nutso (as usual) but we have wonderful and tolerant friends and family who helped us to celebrate Joshua's first 30 years.

Joshua really wanted to make his own birthday cake. In the tradition of funny birthday cakes, he made a beer bottle cake. Very impressive, right?! And super tasty thanks to Hershey's chocolate!



I know that we already reviewed this on the blog, but we have to touch on it again: the Phillies won the World Series! It not like other towns that win big games. This is Philly and their 25+ year streak of not winning ANYTHING major. And South Philly is where all the fanatical fans seem to be located. It has been great to be here for all of the excitement.

The night of the second half of the final game, everyone in the bar went crazy with every little thing that happened. Once the game was done, everyone went outside to celebrate. Tons of high-fiving and hugging as people seemed overwhelmed with emotion for their team and fellow Philadelphians. Even little kids were standing outside of their homes in their PJs and jumping up and down. It really was a cool thing to witness.

This Halloween proved to us how blessed we are to live on our street. Our neighbors came out in costumes with tons of candy and alcohol. One of the most beloved ladies on our street, Marie, who is over 80 years old, dressed up as a Native American so that she could go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Evidently her costumes are well-known and very anticipated each year. Our best friends on the block, Dottie and H, dressed their little boy up as a penguin, which was overwhelmingly cute. Randy and H put on wrestler masks and sipped wine through straws. Overall a very fun night although we cannot believe that we did not get dressed up this year. Next year ... next year ...



This past weekend, David and Jess got married! It was a beautiful ceremony followed by a kickin' party with (what felt like and might have been) 300+ of their closest family and friends. It is always so much fun to see the Whelihan side of the family and hang out with all of my cousins.

Summer Vacation: Seattle!

This past week, we have been enjoying the wonderful family, friends and weather of Seattle. We arrived Saturday night and then our week was as follows:

Sunday - Mass and brunch with the Fujimotos and ... the Cavaliers! Amanda and Lou, New Jersey folks, were on their way to an Alaskan cruise and we were fortunate enough to meet up with them. Mental note: Visit friends who live on the east coast.

Monday - Amy, Hayden, Joshua and I drive to Leavenworth and see Jenelle, my former boss and owner of Mapel Boutique, and set up camp at the Johnny Creek Campground next to the river. It was so nice to see Jenelle -- even though just for a short "hello" visit -- and to see how awesome her store is!

Tuesday - Rock climbing along Icicle Creek. While Joshua and Amy were doing a route, Hayden and I played bulldozers in the dirt and then beauty salon. Hayden's final look was stunning.

Wednesday - Hiking around Leavenworth and then driving back to Seattle. Gosh, what a beautiful place!

Thursday - While Joshua had groomsmen duty (golfing, bbqing, baseball-watching, drinking), Amy, Hayden and I went to the Seattle Sculpture Garden. With a great view of the sound and some neat pieces, it made for a fun day!

That night I got to play soccer and go out to eat with the PuddleJumpers. I miss playing with that team so much. What a great group of folks.

Friday - Sailing on Lake Union with Scott, Joshua, Amy and Hayden and then the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

Saturday - Patrick and Ann's wedding = Fun!

Sunday - Big pancake breakfast at the Fujimotos followed by a walk around Fremont, Dad Watson's and a nap along the canal/in front of Google. Joshua and I got on our plane going back to Philly around 8pm and didn't get into Philly around 10am due to flight delays. Joshua went straight to work because today was the first day of work for a new employee at CCOP.

Overall, a super fun week. Best vacation ever!