Jodi and Tony

Still playing catch up from the past few weeks...

Last Friday (also Avery's birthday), we had my cousin's wedding in Buffalo.  It was at 5pm so Gabe worked a half day and then we dropped off the kids at my in-laws for a sleepover (they were so excited!).  Then off to Buffalo we went!

They had the ceremony right at the reception site, but it was held outside. It was such a beautiful day out too!

Tony with the Mom and Stepmom of the Bride

My cousin Jessica and escort

Jessica's kids-Cayden and Madyson

Jodi with her Stepdad and Dad

Vows

Exchanging rings

The kiss!

The new Mr. and Mrs.!

After the ceremony, we went inside for the reception.

Family photo:

Aunt Pat, cousin Rachel and her family

They had a buffet dinner which was good and shortly after, the fun began!

First Dance

Father-Daughter dance

Of course we had to get a pic of us together since it doesn't happen too often!

We stayed probably until about 10-10:30 since we had to drive back home. We had a really great time! It was the first family wedding since ours and my cousin's back in 2008!  Congrats Jodi and Tony!! Beautiful day!

5 Years!

It's hard to believe that this was 5 years ago!

I so wish I could go back and re-live that day! It was so exciting and so much fun! It just goes by way too fast!

Happy 5th Anniversary my love! To many, many more!!

Four Years

Four years of wedded bliss....would do it all over again in a heart beat!

Three Years

I remember....


barely sleeping the night before. friends showing up at my Mom's to get their hair done. eating pastries. having my hair done. rushing to get my makeup just right. flowers arriving and I didn't get to really look at them. going to the bathroom before getting dressed and taking a deep breath and looking at myself in the mirror. my Dad showing up and I wasn't in my dress just yet. having my dress zipped up and feeling like a princess. pictures at my Mom's. taking a ride in the limo on the way to church so we could actually have some time in it! parking outside church and seeing people walking in. just my maid of honor and I sitting in the limo and waiting. getting the ok to come out and that the procession had started. waiting outside the church doors nervous and excited. standing with my dad at the end of the aisle. walking down the aisle looking for Gabe and when I finally saw him, I lost it. trying not to do the ugly cry. seeing him beaming and waiting for me. the mass-the readings, music we chose. saying our vows and exchaging rings. the kiss. seeing everyone at the receiving line. getting in the limo with everyone this time. pictures at the park and having it rain shortly after arriving and cutting our shoot short. seeing the reception hall all set up for us-beautiful. cocktail hour-too busy to eat. waiting to be announced and hearing our music play-got us so pumped up and excited. eating dinner and stopping to see all of the wonderful people that were there just for us. cutting the cake. first dance. dancing all night even though my dress was hurting me. having him by my side all night. never wanting the night to end.

Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. Three years....it feels like yesterday, it feels like an eternity ago (how is that possible?).

Best night of my life.


Happy Anniversary Gabe! To many, many more years together!

And my wonderful husband sent me these beautiful flowers at work:

and my Mom sent us these strawberries-so huge and SOOOO good!

Two Years

Two years ago, I married my best friend....
Happy Anniversary Gabe! I love you!

Cordell and Rachel

Last night we had a wedding for Gabe's friend, Cordell. He's known Cordell since high school and Cordell was one of the groomsmen in our wedding last year. Last night, him and his fiance, Rachel, tied the knot. The ceremony was at a Baptist church in Hilton-this place was HUGE! The ceremony was very nice-it wasn't a full mass so it was on the short side.
Here's Cordell waiting for his bride:

Rachel and her Dad:

Up at the alter:

Exchanging vows:

Exchanging rings:

The first kiss:

The new Mr. and Mrs.!!

This is a pic of the high school guys-Judson, Cordell, Randy, and Gabe doing the "serious pose":

The reception after was at the Italian American Community Center. It was a very nice place! The ballroom had a nice balcony you could go on which was cool. They had a buffet dinner (food was great) followed by lots of dancing!
Here's the first dance:


Judson and Gabe in their sombraros!

Cordell "hunting" for the corsage:

We had a great time at the wedding and it was our longest time away from Avery. Gabe's parents watched her and she did just fine. We picked her up around 11:30pm and she was awake on the car ride home. We got her home and in bed and she passed right out which was great!

Congratulations Cordell and Rachel! May you have a lifetime of love and happiness!!

I Did It!

...and here's my proof!

(I know, I know...the suspense is killing you!)

So I haven't had a real haircut in almost three years now---yes, THREE years! When Gabe and I got engaged, my hair was pretty short:

Knowing our wedding was on the horizon, I started to grow out my hair because I wanted to wear it up and have no problems getting the hairstyle I wanted. You can see the picture of us in the right margin-that was at our rehearsal dinner. So that's how much my hair grew in about a year and a half. Of course I got it trimmed here and there, but no more than an inch each time.

After the wedding, I was dying to cut my hair shorter. But then I got thinking-if I cut my hair, I might as well put it to good use. The problem was that to donate it, you needed at least 8 inches. And at that point, 8 inches would have taken me super, super short...which I didn't want. The shortest I ever had my hair was around april/may 2005. I can't find a pic from then, but found this one from August 2005. My hair is curled so it's a little shorter than usual, but you get the idea.

So, I decided to keep growing my hair until I had enough to donate. Well, my hair got to be where it is now and it seems to have stopped growing. Whether or not it really stops, I don't know, but it's been at the same length for awhile. I remember this happening when I was a kid too. I always wanted hair to my butt and once it hit mid-back, it seemed to stop! I decided since I'm off of work for awhile and Avery has been finding my hair that it was time for a change. Last night I went to Pasquale Salon here in Rochester and made the cut! Here are some photos of me before I left (yeah I forgot to brush my hair so it looks sloppy!).


Side view:

Back view:

And here is me less than 2 hours later with a new cut and highlite:

Side view:

Back view:

And me with the ponytail I'm donating:

I decided to donate to Children With Hairloss. I had another place in mind but then Heather over at Heather Drive recently chopped her hair as well and I used a link from her site to find a few other hair donation places. The one I originally was going to go with didn't impress me much. I emailed them a few questions and they weren't very friendly and didn't seem too excited or happy that I wanted to donate so I decided to change my mind. The problem was that my hair was highlited already and most sites will not take color treated hair. So my options were limited, but I did find a place which makes me happy. I'm glad my hair will get put to good use.

And my new cut? I like it! I wanted it to be layered (it isn't right now) but he (yes my first time having a man do my hair) talked me out of it. The reason is because I just had Avery, I'll be shedding hair. I guess when you're pregnant, your body retains all of its hair. Then a few months after the baby comes, you shed all of the hair you should have shedded during those 10months. So your hair tends to look a lot thinner and you have new, short hairs replacing the ones you lost. So basically your hair layers itself! He said if he had layered it, then I started to shed, my hair would look extra thin and too layered. So we stuck with all one length for now and in a few months once my hair has adjusted itself, I can get a more "stylish" cut. It is funny running my hands through it and washing it though-there is nothing there! It'll take a few days to get used to that's for sure!

Erin and Paul

Today we drove into Buffalo for our first trip since having Avery. My friend Erin was having her wedding reception so we were attending for our first big night out. We've gone out twice for dinner without Avery, but this was a big night since we would be gone several hours without her. (All went well by the way!)

Erin and I met in high school while working at Putt-Putt. When I transferred to Buffalo State, we were both going for a Biology degree so we ended up taking a lot of science classes together and being lab partners. We had some good times. While at Putt-Putt, she was dating a guy named Paul, who I went to middle school with-yeah, small world. Anyways, her and Paul are still together-yes, 13 years later and they finally tied the knot!

They officially got married on July 17th down in the Bahamas so this was their at home wedding reception. It was held at Banchetti's banquet hall in their outdoor grove. I had been there before because I used to work at Rizzo's but I had never been for a wedding. It was very nice. Erin and Paul had everything island themed-they had blender drinks, tiki torches, etc. It was very nice! Gabe and I had a good time and it was nice having a night out as well!

Here are a few photos from the reception...
Erin and Paul before getting announced:



Cutting their cake-I was in a really bad spot:

First dance:

Congratulations Erin and Paul! May you have many years of happiness!

12 Months = 1 year!

Today is our one year anniversary! I know I say this all of the time, but I don't know where that year went! It's hard to believe it has been that long-it definitely doesn't feel like it! And my how our lives have changed in a year-we went on an amazing honeymoon in Aruba, did tons of work on our house, and had our first child. It's definitely been an eventful year!

Today I pulled out our wedding cake from last year and we enjoyed it for dessert tonight. We had it wrapped up in numerous layers of saran wrap and foil and it held up pretty well. For a cake that's a year old?! Not too shabby. Although I have a feeling I'll be eating most of it (I don't think Gabe is too hot on year old cake) and it's a pretty large cake for me to eat myself!
Here are a few pics of the cake we enjoyed tonight:


Since I usually do pics of our wedding day to celebrate our monthly "anniversary", I decided that since this is the big day, I'd show some of my favorite shots from the day. Of course there are a lot more than I thought so sorry this may be long!


Love this pic of my Dad on the porch-I was inside getting dressed:








Love this one:


Waiting in the limo with Megan (Matron of Honor) right before heading into church:

Getting ready!

One of my faves of my Dad and I-just before walking down the aisle:

Gabe waiting for me:


Saying our vows:





With my cousin, the flower girl:



Love the black and white with the red flowers:


Sexy!


Mr GQ:

They told me to twirl in my dress:

Doesn't this look like an album cover?!

Yes it was raining!


At the reception hall:




Love this one-you can see us in the mirror:

This reminds me of something you would see in a magazine:


Holding hands during the toasts:






With my Grandpa:

Happy One Year Anniversary Gabe! I love you very much!