amelia is one of my favorite girls from college, a staple at every sfsu house party and bar-hopping weekend i can remember (as well as those i can’t) from 2003 to 2005. much to my dismay, she moved from san francisco to pennsylvania shortly after we graduated and we hadn’t seen each other since … until last weekend <3

amelia and her fiancé chris flew back for a holiday weekend of fun festivities from bachelor and bachelorette parties to bridal showers and birthday barbecues. i was only able to attend her shower, but it was SO nice to see her. ellie got to meet her, too, which ignited some serious baby fever :)

like any good bridal shower, we enjoyed games, cupcakes, sunshine and laughter, and there were plenty of friendly faces watching as amelia opened gifts under an umbrella by the pool. the weather was perfect and a good time was had by all.

i looked into flights to philadelphia to attend her wedding in november, but we simply can’t spend the money right now. i’m really happy she came back here for her shower so i could at least help celebrate her that way <3 i love you, amelia bedelia!

yes, another wedding! ryan’s uncle bob’s stepdaughter crystal (did you follow all that?) and her fiancee-now-husband anthony got married on saturday in a catholic ceremony at st. bede’s church in hayward. happiness was written all over their faces as they exchanged vows in front of a large crowd of friends and family.

despite the long ceremony (nearly an hour and a half – whew!) ellie was amazingly well-behaved and we never had to take her outside. we had plenty of snacks handy and she was even fascinated by the spanish bible for a little while. gloria a dios en las alturas! ;)

the reception was held at the newark community center, and we felt like VIPs because uncle bob kept delivering bottles of wine to our table. score! :D dinner was delicious … there was even an entire roasted pig, which … i declined to eat. i’m sure it tasted good, i just don’t like seeing what my dinner used to be :\ ignorance is bliss.

one of the best things about the day was that ellie’s auntie danielle flew up from southern california to be there. we haven’t seen her since christmas and ellie loves her, so it was nice for them to reconnect <3

ellie had a bit of a breakdown near the end … it was a long day and she took an early nap, so i don’t blame her. we came home and let her run around for a bit, and when we put her down she fell right to sleep.

a very big congratulations to crystal and anthony. we wish them a long and happy life together :)

ten years ago we met, went on our first date and shared our first kiss. three years ago we walked down the aisle, made a promise and shared another kiss. today we sometimes forget to kiss, but we do when we remember! :)

happy anniversary(ies) to us <3

big event #1 : the wedding rehearsal
st. mary’s chapel, moraga

ryan, ellie and i left the house at 3:15 on friday afternoon to make matt & alyssa’s 4:15 wedding rehearsal in moraga. had we anticipated the horrendous traffic jam that was 580, we would have left at least 30 minutes earlier … we didn’t arrive at the chapel until nearly 5 o’clock. luckily we weren’t the only ones who found ourselves stuck in traffic, so the rehearsal was just starting as we walked in. phew.

big event #2 : the rehearsal dinner
piatti ristorante & bar, danville

after a quick run-through of the ceremony (ellie did great), we drove to a really cute italian restaurant in danville for the rehearsal dinner. leroy and bunny, matt’s parents, rented a private dining room behind the bar with four round tables and our very own wine & food server named doug :) all of us in the wedding party were in attendance (minus the tiniest ring bearer and flower girl who went home to bed), as well as all of the bride and groom’s parents and grandparents. everything about the evening was lovely, from the company to the conversation and the capellini pomodoro to the tiramisu. it was the perfect way to start the weekend.

big event #3 : the ceremony
st. mary’s chapel, moraga

there was NO WAY we were going to be late to the chapel again, especially when it mattered most. i got up early on saturday morning, went to the salon and got my hair done, came home and did my makeup and met the rest of the girls at st. mary’s at 11 o’clock sharp. ryan followed in a separate car with ellie when she woke up from her nap – yes, she went down for a morning nap, hooray! – and they got to the chapel about a half hour later. the ceremony didn’t start until 12:30, but there were pictures to be taken :)

everything about the procession went as planned. the groomsmen escorted the parents and grandparents, the bridesmaids followed, and then came the ring bearers and the flower girls. ellie walked down the aisle holding hands with kate, a super cute red-headed 6-year-old alyssa used to babysit. ryan ran as fast as he could from the vestibule to the front of the pews so ellie would see him and keep walking toward the altar. she did great! and she *even* sat through the ceremony with daddy, armed with all the ritz crackers she could eat :)

the ceremony was really beautiful. it wasn’t a full mass, so no one had a chance to get bored ;) the officiant, an irishman named father paul, gave a lovely homily about how saying “i do” really means saying “i will,” among other thoughtful words about love and marriage <3

big event #4 : the reception
shannon community center, dublin

the party, like most wedding receptions, was filled with friends and fun. we ate, we drank, we danced … and, need it be said? ellie was a perfect dream child. all she wanted to do was talk, laugh and run around. we left around 6:30, brought her home and she went right to sleep. nothing about the day could have gone any smoother.

the happy couple is now enjoying their honeymoon in paris <3 congratulations, matt & alyssa! it was a truly memorable weekend for all of us :)

[matt + alyssa = love]

this week is a whirlwind of appointments and errands and preparations for the events of this coming friday and saturday … and i’m not even the bride, ha! turns out it’s a lot more work being a bridesmaid AND the mother of a flower girl.

i spent sunday and monday at the mall in search of something to wear to the rehearsal dinner. today i went looking for a new pair of dress shoes for ellie (no luck, so i’ll have to go again on wednesday), and tomorrow i need to get a mani/pedi and my eyebrows done before i swing by matt’s mom’s house to pick up ellie’s dress. add all that to the usual mix of gymboree, naps and mealtimes, and you’ve got one busy momma.

the festivities commence friday afternoon at 4:15 when we meet at st. mary’s chapel in moraga for the rehearsal. then matt’s parents are hosting what is sure to be a lovely dinner at an italian restaurant in danville called piatti. ellie will be joining us at the chapel, but grandma shirley will be picking her up from the restaurant because her bedtime is promptly at 7 p.m. (thank you, grandma)!

saturday will be an early morning for me, as i need to be at victoria’s salon at 8:00 for my hair appointment. alyssa wants the bridesmaids to meet at her house and leave for the chapel by 10:15, but i might opt to finish getting ready at home and meet them there with ellie and ryan at 11.

i’m a little anxious (ok, VERY anxious) about how ellie might behave during the ceremony because it’s scheduled to begin at 12:30, the exact time she typically goes down for her nap. but i have faith in ryan that once she makes it down the aisle, he can appease her with snacks (and possibly a new toy) until matt and alyssa’s big kiss seals the deal :) and then, assuming she sleeps in the car on the way to the reception, she should be good to go until the end … or … almost the end … i hope. please?

and there will be photographs aplenty!

happy wedding week, matt & alyssa <3 we’re so excited for what’s to come!

the central reason for the timing of our big texas trip, our wonderful friends eric and tessa got married on march 6, 2010. when they first chose a date last year, it felt like it was soooo far away. but 100 days quickly turned into two weeks and all of a sudden there we were, just hours before the ceremony, watching tessa come down the stairs wearing her beautiful ivory dress, carrying a lavender bouquet.

the ceremony was held at a small park in houston and the reception at an old firehouse nearby. leave it to eric and tessa to have a wedding full of character and charm <3 it was beautiful! the weather was perfect and the ceremony went off without a hitch. even the KIDS did what they were supposed to do! ok, ellie wouldn't hold her pretty basket and jaden walked at a much faster pace, but if it weren't for such a gorgeous bride, they would have stolen the show :)

the reception was fun, too. lots of dancing and good times continued. we all decided we’d stay as long as the kids’ behavior allowed us, since it was an evening reception scheduled to go past their bedtimes. i think we managed to keep them pretty happy until around 8:30 or 9, and they fell asleep in the car on the way home.

congratulations, eric and tessa, and thank you for letting us all be a part of your special day. we love you!

this valentine’s day we took our second-ever trip as a family to tilden park. the first time, as you may recall, was ryan’s first father’s day <3 this time was especially special because ellie is older and more in awe of things going on around her, so we knew both the steam train and merry-go-round would be huge hits. here we are waiting for the train.

we were lucky enough to have ellie’s grandpa bill join us and take such wonderful pictures! this photo on the left is my favorite picture of the day of ellie and ryan on the train.

she definitely liked the merry-go-round better this time than she did back in june. we put her on her own horse this time, but she kept turning around and pointing to the dog!

we were going to go to the “little farm,” too (tilden’s take on a petting zoo), but we decided to wait until our next family outing when we have time to stop for lettuce and celery on our way … because then we can feed the goats! :)

we hope you had as good a valentine’s day as we did!