Photo Dump Wednesday: Celebrations and Easter 2016

This is an overdue post. I started it last week but got busy and didn't get a chance to finish and post it.  
The week before Easter, a good friend of mine got married. JOE was a flower girl in her wedding. Prior to that, JOE had practiced quite a bit at home. She did a fabulous job the day of. I thought she'd be shy at first but she wasn't. 

My friend had an absolutely beautiful wedding. She made a GORGEOUS bride and we felt so blessed to have been asked to celebrate with them. 

Since JOE was a flower girl, the bride asked that she have part of her hair up and the rest of it down. Ordinarily, I would say no because JOE has A LOT of hair. However, the bride is a pretty good friend of mine and I couldn't deny her this so I did as she asked. 

Prior to the festivities, JOE and I got a selfie. 

And then it was me and my girls! Don't ask me why JAE was covering her ears. She likes to do her own thing. JOE on the other hand was having her first piece of gum!

JOE telling her dad something veeeerrrryyyy important. As always JAE has a look of "now what?" I love her many facial expressions.

J wanted to take a picture. But as you can see, his first daughter had other ideas! See JOE's hair? Yeah...there's A LOT of it! This was attempt #1

Attempt #2...JAE decided to join in. It was a very warm day so we let JAE go pantless until the festivities were about to begin. Then we changed them both into their dresses. 

Attempt #3. I was holding on to JAE. But JOE wouldn't move. Oh well...

Finally changed and ready to go. I just love the dress my friend picked out. JOE looked so cute in hers. 

And my other 2 loves. JAE is wearing a dress my parents got her at Christmas. It didn't fit then but it certainly does now.

The 4 of us. FAMILY!

Not sure of what J was pondering. JAE clearly found something funny.

So, oftentimes when I ask J to take a picture of me, it is either blurry or the zooming is off. I used to be upset about it but now we laugh about it. What I now do is ask him to take a picture then I look at it and ask for another if needed. This time, I didn't and you can see the results. Of course he claims he was joking. Ah huh...LOL! Seriously though, he takes better pictures than the one below but let's just say I might need to get him photography lessons. Not that I'm an expert but still...

Right before the bridal party walked down the aisle, I decided to take a selfie with JAE. This is what I got.

The venue was absolutely beautiful. The decor was on point and the weather was just perfect.

It was by the water. My friend must be bestie with mother nature cause mother nature certainly pulled out all the stops for her. 

JOE snacking before her flower girl duties. 

After the ceremony, we had an indoor plated dinner. These were the favor boxes. They had chocolate in them. So beautiful!

Before this picture, the groom had asked JOE to dance. She said "wait, I have to first dance with my daddy!" This just melted my heart.

How beautiful is this cake??? We didn't get to taste it because the kids were getting a little restless at this point and I also had to go home to pump. ***Hint to friend who I know reads this blog...***

They had a semi-sweetheart table. As in the maid of honor and best man also sat at the same table. All of the centerpieces were really nice but this one takes the cake. LOVE IT!!!

Overall, we had a lovely time and the wedding was spectacular! NOTE: At the bride and groom's request, I am not posting specific pictures of the couples. But if she says it is OK at a later date, I'll be sure to share. :-)

The following day, J and I took the day off to relax and celebrate J's birthday early since his birthday fell on Easter Sunday. We went out to the mall and hung out there for a bit before having lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Then we saw Batman vs. Superman. Review on that? Hmmmm...I'll leave it at that but let's just say "company was the best part of the movie."

Afterwards, we headed home. JAE loves to play hide and seek. In addition to that, she also likes to hide things. Future visitors to our home, beware! Anyways, JAE found my stash of "bribe oreos" that I give JOE to encourage her to do things. No judgement and she only gets 2 at most per day. Anyways, JAE took it and was hiding it behind her back. See her innocent look? I just had to take a picture.

So I made our skirts for Easter Sunday. I've been wanting to do a "mommy and me" themed outfit for us and decided to do it for Easter. 
I used one of the wrappers my mom gave me way back when. So this was more a refashioned item. My awesome sister got the girls the cutest sandals from Gymborees and they wore white tops while I wore a black top. 

JOE loved her sandals and definitely was showing off at Church on Easter Sunday. Check out my girl with her legs crossed.

It was a little colder than expected so both girls had to wear tights and sweaters. But I think we still pulled it off. What do you think?

J wore a color that complemented ours. I should say that I offered to make J a bowtie and he refused! SMH!

 

My little model.

Oh yeah...JOE also asked for a flower for her hair.

Time to open up Easter baskets!

JAE is not big on sweets so we got her a bunny that sings "Jesus Loves Me". She loves the bunny. 

Ready to go hunt for eggs. 

"Momma, my bag is full!"

It was a successful hunt. JAE wasn't too sure of it but she liked watching her sister. JOE on the other hand was pretty good at finding the eggs.

We had a lovely celebration. Holidays have so much more meaning now because I get to watch it from a different point of view. It is like seeing the world through new eyes! Just very special. 

AyoBE Handmade Wear

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