A Wedding In the Making.

To My Little Sister...

Your shower is here, today is your day,
Whatever you want, we can do it the “Lindsay” way.



It all started ten months ago, when Jonny got down on one knee,
Over and over he practiced saying “Will you marry me?”
And sure enough, you said yes, and on your finger he put a ring,
“Engaged” went your facebook profile as you strutted your bling.
So today we will sit for lunch with the sweetest of girls,
You with lovely pink flowers, so pretty in pearls.
We will give you advice about the secrets to marriage,
Perhaps we will guess about when there will be a baby carriage...


(reading Linzaloo the poem at her very special shower)

The ladies that hosted the beautiful luncheon with Lindsay and Mom.









The beautiful bridesmaids... Lindsay could not have chosen a better group of girls!



The mommas with the soon-to-be bride and groom.





And later tonight, when some of these sweet ladies have gone off to bed,
The girls will slip on some little dresses, a tiara for your head.
A bachelorette party is in the making, the plans have been set,
Your demands for good food and drink have all been adequately met....

(Because really, what's a bachelorette party without a grand entrance on the red carpet?)





















Enough of Ms. Williams, we will then dance till will are dizzy,
And in just a few months, you’ll be rocking as Mrs. Izzy....





Soon enough, the big day will arrive and down the aisle you will walk,
Dad will be sobbing and then giving his expected fork talk.
And we will all raise our glasses and toast you and your mate,
October 23 will go down in the books as a very special date.
But today is your day, a day just for you,
Happy Wedding Shower to you, my favorite Linzaloo.



Love, Stephanie

Good Morning, Sunshine.

I love these summer mornings. These mornings when there is really nothing we must do right away so we wake up rather slowly... me with my coffee and quick email checks and my little one with his binkie in his mouth and blankie in hand. And while we are trying to restrict the binkie to only in his crib these days, we let these early morning moments slide.



Toddling around, he begins his morning, sometimes still too sleepy to stay completely upright.



Slowly, he does get moving... exploring, discovering, and getting in to everything he can get his little hands on.



A recent favorite? A miniature Radio Flyer wagon I use for my newborn shoots.... that he now pulls all around the house, giving all of his favorite balls a ride.



Round and round he goes... occasionally switching some balls out for others.



And now, when he takes a break, he just parks that little wagon right beside him.





It's going to be a good weekend.... but then again, how can it not be with mornings this good.

Happy Friday to you.

Celebrate the 4th.

Celebrate we did. And I'd love to be able to make a substantial, profound post right now with sentimental and silly stories from the big day, but I'm tired from today's fun of a wonderful newborn shoot, playing with my little one, and running errands for the preparation of my sister's bachelorette party this weekend, and frankly, I can' t possibly organize this mess of pictures. So I leave you with that excuse and these wonderful (unorganized) images from a day that was so worth celebrating. Happy 4th of July, Baby.



Of course, another watermelon creation from my momma.



Cheeeeeeesseeee (mosticiolli) face from the little man.



Sisters. Sisters that live too far apart from one another, but still maintain that unbreakable bond. Not pictured? Their rendition of "Be my little baby bumblebee" that they continue to sing (and dance) as they did when they were little girls in tutus.



World, meet my delicious creation. Unfortunately, it only looked pretty from the top view. Inside was a mess of yellow cake, strawberries, blueberries, cool whip, and strawberry ice cream. All things I love and all things that should not be put together to create a fancy looking cake.



My older brother, Jason. Currently embarking on a new journey in his life and doing so in rock star style.



On the left, Linzaloo. Miss "I'm-not-posing-in-this-one".





Family pictures.



And the preparation for a family picture... this one trickier as we try to pose the five great-grandchildren with their very special great-grandparents. Notice all of the women in the back getting ready to fire rapid camera shots.



The result. Not perfect, but we got the job done.



A toast with the most delicious beer of the summer. Michelob Ultra Dragon Fruit Peach.



Taking a breather on the pool table with Daddy-O.



We must have looked really cool because more and more people kept piling on the table.



Sweet child of mine (who doesn't love that song?). That absolutely loves smelling flowers.



One of the highlights of the day? The sparklers. Extra-long sparklers that should not be held solely by a sixteen-month-old.



He just really liked it. Actually, he's almost seventeen months.



Some calmer moments with adult instruction.











We then decided that something was wrong with these sparklers. Certainly this much smoke could not be good (or normal).





Us. Just like we should be.



And later in the night, after the little one was fast asleep, the adults snuck out for some fireworks and alone time....



We toasted the night...



And enjoyed its every moment.