Subscribe to my Blog
There She Grows

Toward the end October we travelled back home to spend a long weekend in the Chicago burbs. The centerpiece of our trip was the wonderful wedding of Amy and Larry, which I got to witness from the stage as a proud bridesmaid. It was full of fun and happiness. And the rest of our time was filled with a whirlwind of friends & family.

To my Angelenos: this is what fall looks like.

And without further ado, here’s our weekend in pictures (and a few videos)…

We arrived Thurs and stayed at Nanny & Papa’s house. It was great for Lil to have lots of quality time with them.

Especially Papa, because its unclear how much she’ll be able to see him over the holidays this year. Look how she is mimicking him in this photo. Love!

And here’s a sweet moment that made me lol a little. Lilah seems to believe all her fly-away balloons are on their way to Disneyland.

Friday was the wedding rehearsal & dinner, and a chance to be re-united with many old friends and members of Amy’s huge family. I spent a huge portion of my life at her bustling and full home growing up through elementary school and high school so it was very nostalgic for me the whole gang. And Lilah easily made friends with Amy’s fun nieces & nephews.

Look at this ravishing just-about-to-be-married couple!

At dinner, Amy presented her bridesmaids with lovely gifts: a shawl that perfectly matched our dresses and a gorgeous multi-colored pearl necklace she had made us. She really outdid herself! That evening I stayed with the bride-to-be and the other gals at the hotel.

And the next morning, bright and early, those of us in the wedding party were off to get our hair and makeup done. Fun salon times..

They made me look like not a guy, which was awesome. iphone pic!

Karen and Amanda awesomely stopped by to hang with us there, brandishing mimosas. I truly hope this is not the last time we are able to take a photo together… there is definitely some unfinished conversation to be had.

Mike and Nanny got Lilah all ready that morning. Check out her cute little dress… I got it at a consignment sale, what a good find that was. Somewhere I know there is an awesome photo of Lilah and Daddy right before the wedding and I can’t find it! So this will do for now.

Meanwhile, when we girlies got back to the hotel it was a bit of a rush to get dressed and ready. Here are some candids from the room and the hotel lobby before church time. Is this the prettiest gown ever or what.

Then it was time for the lovely wedding itself. I knew I would be emotional; here was my life-long friend, a beautiful bride and so happy. Before we even walked out there I was pretty much losing it, thank goodness for waterproof eye makeup. I managed to regain my composure before we made our entrance and after that I did pretty well. Even though, when Larry first laid eyes on his bride he cried, which was one of the sweetest things ever!! I have no photos of the ceremony but lots of photos afterwards… the lovely Chicago fall trees made the perfect backdrop.

^Lilah donning a witte bib… they make these awesome bibs. Hilariously, Mr. Witte wore his own adult-sized bib with a pattern of beers on the fabric when it was dinner time at the reception. Sadly no pics, but thats ok because there’s one on their website! Check that out.

And here’s the proud parents, who have been awesome to me since I was, what, 10?

There were a couple hours between the ceremony and the party, which we spent with some champagne and a limo.

And then, party time! Here is where I have no photos at all, but Mike took some…

And he got some video of Lilah on the dancefloor. We weren’t sure if she was going to make it staying up so late, but once the music got started she pretty much danced NON STOP until midnight. She was even trying out her breakdance moves. Seriously she is a dancing fool! And if you happen to watch, you’ll see the newlyweds showing off their moves, and Karen and me gettin down too. hehehe.

Similar videos are on Mike’s flickr. Like Lil dancing with Danny, Amy and Larry swing dancing, etc.

Fun party night for all, and my mom was there with us too! We all ended up staying at the hotel that night. Lilah stayed with Grandma and went with her to Oak Park the next morning. We had brunch and said goodbye to some of my old friends and then met up with the others at my mom’s house in good ol’ OP. And Lucas’s whole family was there, too.

Lilah and Lucas get along great! Look at these cuties.

Then it was back to Palatine for dinner with more of Mike’s family. Lilah loves playing with her cousins Ryan & Josh.

The three of them played hide and seek all over the house. And the next day before our flight home they got to hang out some more.

And then it was time to fly back home. For a 2yr old, Lilah is quite a good and seasoned traveller.