Joel & Morgan Get Hitched

On Labor Day weekend Matt and I had the joy and privilege of watching Joel and Morgan say "I do!"

What a beautiful wedding! Few dry eyes remained in the audience. Congrats to Joel and Morgan and so thankful that they're able to make this commitment and show their love for each other. Hopefully the rest of the country will follow suit soon.

Matt was the best man and i know it meant a lot to him to get to stand next to his best friend on this important day in his life.

The venue 632 on Hudson in NYC was beautiful and so elegant. Food was great, company was great, and cake and dancing of course were great as well.

The Ceremony:

The First Kiss:

Cake Cutting:

The obligatory Vandy group shot:

Lots of good friends and good times:

You know it's a good night when all the shoes come off:

Chattanooga Weekend

A few weekends ago we headed to Chattanooga with Lucas' favorite girlfriend Emma and the rest of the Shoemakers for a quick getaway. We left Saturday after soccer and then spent the afternoon at the aquarium.

Arriving at our hotel and ready for a fun weekend

That's a lot of kids in one dark "troll" cave



Enjoying the water play area outside the aquarium



Petting the stingrays

One fascinated girl

The hotel had a fabulous indoor/outdoor pool which the big kids (and the husbands) enjoyed immensely.

We did pool all evening accompanied by some Mellow Mushroom Pizza and beer and again in the morning with self made waffles in hand. Good times all around. I'm sure we'll be back soon if our schedules allow.

And our little ones enjoying each other's company:

Peter showing Haley how sitting is done

Mini Kickers

A few weeks ago we had a big day for the Israels. Lucas had his first day of soccer (and I'm officially a soccer mom). Lucas is a Minnesota Thunder along with BFF Emma. The mini kickers were not quite sure which way to kick or even if to kick the ball but they were so cute. Matt is so giddy too which is adorable. He's been wanting a kid in soccer since I told him I was pregnant. He just wishes he could be coaching. Maybe next year. But Lucas did a great job even though he did want to bring his own ball into the game instead of playing with the one the other kids were playing with.
Haley's big news was that with a little help of the soft grass at the field, she sat all by herself!!!
So stink in' proud of my kids!
And last but definitely not least. Matt and I had our first celebrity spotting in Nashville! Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's daughter Sunday Rose is playing in the same league as Lucas and they were on the field right behind us about 20 feet away! Had to try really hard to stay cool.

Before the first practice, I got my sweet boy to let me get some pics in his new gear:

Getting first instructions from their coach:

Finally kicking!

A quick pep talk

Sweet Kids:

Huddle and "Thunder" cheer

Haley - 5 Months

Our Haleybug is 5 months old! I can't believe how time is flying. She is turning from an infant into a little girl. I feel like we can see her changing and growing up in front of our eyes.

With 5 months came:

-- Solid food
-- Smiles and more smiles
-- Believing that big brother Lucas absolutely hangs the moon
-- Sitting better and better (once even all by herself ... on some soft grass)
-- Babbling and "talking" more and more -- she may take after her verbal brother
-- The love for toys (as shown in my newest photo shoot )

Our drool monster. But bows make it ladylike, right?

Even the pouts are cute. We're in so much trouble...

Taking after aunt Jenni? Practicing her stretches.

And good thing that Lucas built an awesome train track right before our picture session. Hales loves playing with big brother's toys and so far he's still willing to share. He says he has so much to teach "his baby."

The Real Thing

Now that HK is five months old we've moved on to eating real food ... well semi-real food. Lucas would like to squash up everything including gummy fruit snacks for the baby but so far we're still at rice cereal and carrots. I made my own baby food for the first time and I'm overly proud of the fact I steamed and mushed up carrots. Lucas never got homemade baby food and is a fabulous eater but I'm excited to dabble in the baby food making craze nevertheless.

First Bites:

My first batch of mushed up carrots. Appreciate my friend Christy for loaning me her baby food maker. Made it super easy.

Next up avocados, squash, peas, bananas, apples, and peaches. Yum!

Go Dores!

The first Vandy game of the season was a few Thursdays back. We lost ... in the fourth quarter ... obviously ... but we had a great time. Lucas was thrilled to get back out to see the marching band and HK got a chance to doll up in her first black and gold gear. She was unsure of all the noise and people at first but I think she got the hang of it.

A beautiful sunset behind the stadium. 

We met some of the Israel family at the game. A treat for Lucas to get to hang out with the grandparents and Uncle Dan! We did miss Uncle Mike though who missed the game due to dear Hurricane Isaac making it too difficult to travel. Hopefully soon we'll get another chance to see him.