A visit with Great Goldie.

I took a PTO day on Friday, and my sister & I and our girls spent the day visiting with “Great Goldie.” It was a lovely time. The girls got matching stuffed animals and books – the little one got a rabbit with “The Velveteen Rabbit” and big cuz got Toto and “Wizard of Oz”. Too cute.

Great Goldie was holding the little one and something must have struck her funny because she started talking and belly laughing like crazy. I managed to catch the tail end of it on video.

Adorable. It’s obvious, we love Great Goldie!

Namesake.

The little one’s middle name is a family name, and this Sunday she got to meet her great, great Aunt who is her {and my} namesake.

So special.

She’s in good hands.

I can’t take credit for this concept – it was my father-in-law’s idea. I finally had the chance to take the third photo this weekend. These are three photos of the little one in the hands of the men in her life.

My dad…

Eugene’s dad…

And her dad…

She’s a pretty blessed little girl to have three strong, Godly men who genuinely care about and love her.

Big wedding weekend.

About two weeks ago, I had a huge wedding weekend for work. I worked 21 hours in just two days – planning, coordinating, and damage-controlling a rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony, and reception for the great grand niece’s daughter of Wilbur & Orville Wright at their home. It was challenging in the sense that the house wasn’t made for weddings {the only other wedding was in the 1920s of another Wright descendant, and I’m guessing there wasn’t 200+ people there.} It was also a bit challenging because we had to flip the ceremony area and turn it into a reception area while the guests were still onsite. Both nights of the event were outside, and the weather was scary: 75% chance of thunderstorms predicted. I prayed and prayed, and asked my family to pray for good weather, and God blessed us with a perfect, beautiful day.

The wedding was personal and casual, yet full of grace and class. I’m also partial to sunflowers in a wedding {see why on my wedding page.}

The ceremony was very cool – a few friends and family of the bride & groom speaking about the past, present, and future of the couple’s relationship.

And here’s the ceremony area flipped for the reception. Took us 17 minutes to complete the flip. I’m not going to be humble here; I was really pumped that we completed it that quickly while the guests were all still there.

It looked like something out of a movie once the sun set and the Mamma Mia lights started shining. So pretty.

What a relief that all went smoothly. It was a fantastic event, and I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to play a role in it!

Finally, a post about something other than my baby.

Remember my original blood-red living room? Oh, you forgot its horridness? Let me refresh your memory…

Sick.

Well, we covered it in “winter wheat” paint and showed it a little TLC to get it to here…

This was a hand-me-down couch, free office chairs, etc. After three years of keeping an eye out for a sectional that was reasonably priced, we finally jumped on a deal on this guy…

We sold our old sofa, got the sectional on sale, and then it went even further on sale the next week, so we called the store and got the adjusted price – bringing us to a grand total of $550. {Cha ching!}

We love it; it’s comfortable, has deep cushions which is nice for my long legs, and both Eugene & I can lay on it at the same time without squashing each other. I thought it would make the room look smaller to fill it up with a hunkin’ sofa, but I actually think the space looks bigger. Love it.

And here’s the updated living room now, from virtually ever angle possible…

I was excited to put out some of my Fall decorations too. I love this {splurge} Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake candle…

And a side-by-side comparison for you fellow before & after fans..

Looks a little different, huh!

Three months.

My little one’s three months old now. She’s changed so much in the last couple of weeks – tracking objects with her eyes really well, reaching and grabbing toys, laughing, “talking”, responding. Even today, she rolled from her back to her belly for the first time. Her grandma {albeit, who is very biased} says she’s advanced. ;)

She usually has a walk at 7:00, bath at 7:30, bottle after that and then to bed around 8:30. She’s up again around 1:00 am and again at 5:30ish. A lot of times she’ll go back to sleep for an hour or so, but it’s tricky sometimes with my work schedule.

She’s such a “chill” baby. She’s incredibly low-key, like her dad, and is never bothered by anything. She only cries when she’s hungry.

She’s happy and smiles big when she sees Eugene or me after we’ve been gone for a bit. She has the cutest voice…I don’t even mind when she cries because she sounds so cute.

I was given this hat by someone at church and I absolutely LOVE it! The flower is on a clip so it comes off. How adorable is this! {Type “Dingeman’s Darlings” into Facebook and you can get your own.}

My heart melts just looking at the pic below!

Goodness, I’m blessed!

Twelve weeks.

The little one still loves her changing table. She takes it all in, staring out the nearby window, with one hand grasping the orange railing and the other waving about happily.

This is her surprised face. Something about a huge black camera lens in her face had her a little shocked. Go figure.

This is my favorite face. I love her pouty bottom lip when she gets in a really deep sleep. Sometimes I wake up at night just to stare at her sleeping face and thank God for the answered prayer.

It’s not always roses. Today, for instance, was a pretty rough day. But I praise God for every second of the past twelve weeks of getting to know my blessing. She’s pretty incredible.