Earlier in the summer (like, 2 months earlier!!), my first cousin Miriam got married! She asked us to shoot it which was super fun (family wedding ... no pressure!), plus we just loved getting to be with all of my family, immediate and extended, for once!
At the rehearsal dinner:
The wedding was in my aunt and uncle's backyard ... so awesome! I LOVE weddings at home!
My mom's side of the family: Cousins ~ we've grown from 6 to 13 (too bad Dan didn't make the wedding due to summer camp):
Girl cousins: Love this pic of Caroline!!
And, for a couple of photos of the bride and groom ~ we're excited to add Chris to the clan! Here's the photoblog entry about their wedding if you want to see more!
In May, Adam and I got to spend several awesome days in one of my favorite cities ... Birmingham! We were in to shoot a wedding one weekend, then got to come back the next weekend to see sweet Caroline get baptized.
Of course I didn't take enough pics, but we spent a fun couple of days bumming around my favorite places, seeing fun friends, and of course visiting restaurants ... Homewood, Mountain Brook, Samford, downtown, etc., etc. It warms my soul to be there!
Lunch at O'Carrs ~ Adam's first visit!
We got to spend Mother's Day (no, I don't really think it counted for me...or maybe just a half) with Anne on her first mother's day and my mom. Caroline attended Mother's Day Brunch in her bumbo:
The next weekend we came back for church at OMPC and Caroline's baptism:
Mom made (yes, I said made!) this amazing baptism gown:
A little belated as usual, but we got to spend a few days in Nashville over Easter for work and just to hang out some as well.
We spent the Saturday of Easter with Adam's extended family celebrating his grandfather's 80th birthday. It was so fun to get some hang out time with cousins, etc. since we never get to see them! At Aunt Cheri and Uncle Mark's lakehouse:
Grammy and Grandpa:
Hanging out with Syd:
Can you see the resemblance between Matthew and Grandpa? I think they are about the same age here:
The amazing family scrapbook that Aunt Cheri made:
All of the Rosenbaums:
Our side:
We stuck around for the week after Easter as well to do some work, and got to do some more of our favorite activity ~ hanging out with nieces!!
Sydney is super into Easter Egg hunting, so we hid, and re-hid, and re-hid eggs!
Another favorite activity is going to the Nashville zoo which we got to participate in as well! The animals were all great and all, but apparently not as exciting as the carousel and playground!
Just before we left to come home, we got to hang out with our other wonderful niece, Caroline, who is 3 months now!
A couple of favorites from her quick pre-church 3-month session ~ don't you just want to squeeze her?
Well, as you can tell from my last bazillion posts, Adam and I LOVE being an aunt and uncle! And the great news is, we're getting another niece or nephew!!
Melissa announced this week that they are expecting a little brother or sister for Sydney . . . I think somebody's excited!!
I've really analyzed this tradition ~ I love the ridiculousness of it but I also want to be sensitive to people who aren't able to be moms when that is their desire AND maybe more importantly, I think there is SO much to celebrate about women besides their ability to bear children. AND there are so many wonderful people in my life who aren't in this photo ... but after analyzing all of that, I've decided to continue for now at least just to contribute to the absurd. So in light of that, Melissa, here's your Asian baby #2!!
As usual, I'm saddened to report no increase in the number of bloggers in this photo (see the rad hot pink B's) though I will say that I have high hopes for the addition of a B there on the left side soon . . . stay tuned!!
In keeping with the theme of nieces, Caroline's arrival allowed me another special treat ~ I got to go to Sydney's 3rd Birthday monkey party! We SO miss the small things in life like being around for plays, birthday parties, etc., so I was so excited that Caroline's birth coincided with Syd's party this year so I could attend!
Syd is really into Monkey George (aka Curious George) so she's all about the monkeys ~ including Halloween 08:
and for her birthday party this year!
On Syd's actual birthday day, Adam and I were spending the day at Disney, so we took advantage of the opportunity to make a little video treat for Syd that included a few of her favorite things like Wall-E, big girl straws, Tinkerbell, sunglasses, etc.:
Then, after she had seen the video, she called and got to talk to Cali the monkey on the phone! After Cali the monkey traveled to Nashville for the monkey party, she went to live at Sydney's house full-time, though Syd still wants to talk to her on the phone in CA!
So, here's the actual monkey party which was the Saturday after her birthday:
How cute are these monkey cupcakes:
I think both Syd and Mary Carter loved them!!
Monkeying around with Uncle Mike:
Present time:
Don't miss the smocked monkey dress ~ it was PRECIOUS! At the after-party (aka all monkey-ed out!):
It was our year to do Christmas morning at the Rosenbaums, so you can guess who it was all about this year!!!
Syd shows Matty her "baby orange" from her Elmo stocking:
It was a musical year foy Syd:
Harmonica followed by the required parade:
Uncle Daniel gave her a guitar just like his (minus the pink):
This is one of my favorite pics of the year:
Excited about her new webcam (though she doesn't know what it really is) so she can skype with Abba and Aunt Mary!
Finally, much to Mimi's chagrin, Granddaddy got the overalls he's been wanting for years:
"Reading" us the Christmas story:
It was such a fun day being with family and especially watching Syd try to process all of the excitement. Next year will be Caroline's year to be the center of attention!!
