Labor day weekend began with a trip to Keith and Becca’s home…but sadly, Rich stayed home to work on an album design. We missed him very much, but Alana and I enjoyed good friends, glorious sunshine, and delicious food.
I was sad not to have gotten a group photo, since well, you all know me…I love to document fun times for the sake of memories! I’m already getting so nostalgic when I look at photos of Alana when she was a newborn…and that was only last year! I can’t imagine how much I’ll appreciate photos years from now!
But alas, that was a rabbit trail. I do like hopping down rabbit trails on my blog…and I comfort myself with the knowledge that at any time, you, the reader, can simply stop reading if you are bored, disinterested, or otherwise 
Of course, I hope you are not!
It was only Alana’s second time in a pool, so we were back to square one with the apprehension. Soon she warmed up to the water (after a pensive mood and some adorable whimpering), and started to enjoy herself!
Contrary to to the get-the-bright-sun-out-of-my-face expression she is making, she really did have fun. She splashed around, and even let me put her in a baby floating tube…thing.
Out of the water and trying to understand why there is cold wet stuff all over her body. So cute.
Then on Wednesday night, Rich and I (along with Nathan and Amber) got a babysitter (thank you so much to Meleah!) and headed downtown for a Chattanooga Vendor’s Meeting.
The meeting was hosted by a fabulous new venue in town, The Mill, that we are all so excited about! Rich had the pleasure to take the photos that appear on their website as well as their recent grand opening, and we are thrilled to continue working closely with them as brides come our way!
Tonya Lytle and Lisa Fontana have worked tirelessly to get The Mill where it is today, and I am confident that it will be bustling with activity in no time at all. Rich and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with these two ladies, and so, here is the self-portrait!
Here we are with the incredible staff of Elea Blake Cosmetics! Rich loves to refer brides to Darin for their wedding day makeup, as she creates a masterpiece each time with her custom mineral makeup. Personally, I can’t wait to go have Darin do my makeup soon!
Another self-portrait, this time with our dear friends, the Holritz’s! Or should I say Nathan and half of Amber! We were having issues with the point-and-shoot, which made me wish that Rich incessantly carry his pro camera for times like this!
Me and my wonderful, amazing man…
Thursday was a fun and relaxing day as I got to spend time with one of my favorite people! Kristy invited Alana and I over to enjoy a delicious lunch with her wonderful family! Lily Kate is just ten days older than Alana, and it was SO cute watching the girls together. They did great and even stayed up past naptime to let Kristy and I catch up!
This is the fabulous play room where everything is baby-proofed and completely conducive for little ones to explore. I am so jealous of this room!
Laini helped so much with the babies and she and her sister Lyssa are two of the neatest girls I have ever had the pleasure to know!
Alana was in toy heaven! I am sure she is tired of seeing the same toys every day at our house, so this was such a pleasant new environment for her to naviagate.
Thank you to Kristy for this fun picture of me with the little ones!
Friday lunch was Tobi time! Originally, the plan was to get Tobi, Brittany, Shannon and myself together for a girls lunch, but then Shannon couldn’t come, and then at the last minute Brittany couldn’t make it!
So, despite missing the others, Tobi and I had a great time catching up and chatting about all things life. Tobi is such a fun, uplifting, awesome person to be around, and now due to her, I may have a lunch-at-Greenlife addiction in my future. :)
Side note: If you haven’t already checked out Tobi’s blog and Etsy store, you must do so! She is so talented!
Saturday afternoon brought with it a baby shower for sweet Amber Read! She and Jeff are having a baby girl soon, little Tori, and we are so excited for them!
Alana enjoyed the shower, and, I do not exaggerate, had everyone’s attention the entire time with her little smiles and waves. It is becoming oh-so-apparent to Rich and I that she is a VERY social baby, who is not the least bit shy, and genuinely wants to be friends with everyone.
Along with the smile and wave, she now spits at people. It’s a game we’ve played at our house for a few months now (click here for a video), but suddenly, she is including complete strangers in the little exchange. Needless to say, I have to walk around explaining that the spitting is in fact, a good thing, and a game that we play at our house. Then I proceed to apologize for my daughter spitting at their child, and so far, thankfully, we all end up laughing about it.
Okay, whew! Then on Saturday night, excited for some family time, we headed off to our brand new Red Robin at Hamilton Place Mall! We’d heard people rave about the burgers, fries, and milkshakes, but we’d never been to a Red Robin.
Since they just opened on Labor Day there were balloons everywhere. So, I grabbed one and handed it to Rich for Alana. She’d never touched one before, and we cracked up watching her try to apprehend the pesky thing! It just kept popping out of her hands and bopping her in the face!
Family love!
Then it was into the mall for shoe shopping for Rich! As a photographer, he spend hours upon hours on his feet and we are on an extensive (perhaps never-ending) quest for ultra-comfy (but still cool-looking) shoes for him!
Our first (and only) stop was Aldo, and the Canadian based company can seriously produce some sweet shoes!
While Rich looked around, Alana and I played around with some self-portraits!
Then Alana decided she would help her daddy pick out his shoes! He totally appreciated her input and got the shoes that she is picking out here:
She was very helpful
He is such an amazing dad, and I seriously MELT watching him with Alana. He’s in love with her.
Alright. That was SO fun catching up on my blogging! That’s all for now, but I’ve had all kinds of things floating around in my mind, so I am sure I will feel the need to blog more soon, pictures or not!
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