Sugar and spice and everything nice

I'm an auntie again!!!!  My "little" brother Brian and my sister-in-law Blair welcomed their first child into the world at 5:09 AM today.  After four boy cousins on the Becker side, we finally have our little girl!!  Quinn Nykkole Becker weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 20 inches long.  She is beautiful and perfect in every way:-)  This morning I was telling Josiah that he had a new cousin and asked if he could say Baby Quinn and he replied "No, I can't say Baby Quinn"  Um yeah, I think ya can buddy:-)  Can't wait for him to meet her and can't wait for all the fun times ahead as they grow up together!!  Congratulations to Brian and Blair and welcome to this big crazy family little Quinn!

This is what she thinks of the flash...I agree little one!

Beautiful baby Quinn

Proud auntie:-)

GLEE LIVE!!! Momma's night out:-)

My sister-in-law Blair, one of our besties Kristin, and I went to see Glee Live courtesy of our FABULOUS husbands who surprised us with tickets!!!  We got them a couple of months ago and have been impatiently waiting since then to go to the show.  For those of you who don't watch (you should!) it's a sarcastic comedic story of a high school glee club.  For more info, click here.  We decided to make it mommy's night out and started with a cocktail at a fancy establishment called The Bank:

Blair's fancy drink "Blue Dolphin on the Rocks"
AKA  water with ice.  Thanks for DD'ing Blair!!

My fancy drink: Blueberry Mojito

Kristin's fancy drink:  Mai Tai

Do we look like tourists??  Yeah, we thought so 

Next up, it was over to Huberts where we were treated like royalty thanks to Abbie Snell, Intern Extraordinaire!  On the way, we saw the tour buses:

Surprisingly, the cast did not rush out to meet us when we
knocked on the bus windows, they must not have recognized us.  Weird.

On to Huberts for dinner!

There we go, a true "fancy" drink for Blair...Shirley Temple

Me and Abber Dabs....LOVE this girl!!!

Momma's Night Out!!

Huberts is conveniently IN the Target Center where the show was so we simply had to walk a few feet through some glass doors and voila, we were there!  Since it was "act like a teenager" night for us, we hit up the souvenir stand first:

Clearly, we weren't the only ones who NEEDED Glee paraphernalia

Cute. Cute. Cute.

Then it was SHOWTIME!!  We had uh-MAZ-ing seats:

It was a really great night, thanks Seth, Brian and Karl for sending your grateful wives on such a fun adventure!!!  And thank you to my girls Blair and Kristin for making the night SOOO much fun!!!  Here is a video "mash-up" of the evening's concert....it's a bit long but if you are a Glee and/or music fan, you'll enjoy it:-)

Cutting the curls

Against the advice of most people (grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc.) we decided that Josiah's hair needed to be cut.  While I think he was pulling off the shaggy hockey player look fairly well, it was time for a trim!  So it was Auntie Blair to the rescue once again but this time was a WHOLE different experience.  If you recall, the last time we cut his hair he was hysterical crying and saying NO as if she were cutting off his ears or fingers instead of just his hair.  We were prepared this time to have to hold him down and suffer through the screams but she used the clippers this time and apparently, that was the piece we were missing last time.  He sat like an angel the whole time and was mesmerized by the clippers.  Result: adorable little boy haircut.  And don't worry, the curls are already back:-)

"Hmm, what is that buzzing?"

"I'm not thrilled but since you are letting me keep my bookia (Nuk) I will sit here"

"Let me hold those for you Auntie Blair"

Thank you Auntie Blair, you're the best!!!

A little blurry but you get the idea...

Little boy haircut and a trip Up North

Josiah's hair has been growing like crazy lately!  He has beautiful, soft curls in the back that are adorable but as his hair has gotten longer in the past few weeks, the baby curls have turned reminiscent of a Tommy Puett type mullet....no good!  But never fear faithful Blog readers, it was Auntie Blair to the rescue!!!  In general, we did not want our baby to look like an 80's teen idol but to add to the need for a haircut, he will be meeting some very special people this weekend so we want him to look his best!  As some of you know, I spent MANY summer days during my youth at "the cottage up north".  More specifically, Grandma Sissy (Becker) took Robin and I to visit our Aunt Jan and cousins at their lake home in Minocqua, WI.  We had SOOO many good times there and have extremely fond memories!  Unfortunately, life has gotten busy and we have expanded in numbers and our times up north have grown few and far between.  Happily, we are able to make this coming weekend one of those rare trips!  Grandma Sissy, Josiah and I will be headed up to the great north woods of Wisconsin to visit Aunt Jan, Cousin Courtney and her little girl Carly (2 yrs old), Cousin Bill and his two kids Madison (4 yrs old) and Cooper (9 mo old).  We are SOO excited to see everyone and can't wait to meet the little ones in person!  Minocqua, look out, we're baaaaaacccckkk!!  Stay tuned next week for a full report for up nort der!  In the meantime, here are a couple pictures from the big haircut.

"Not so sure about this Mom"

How to distract a 15 month old during a haircut?  Fill an empty egg carton with cheerios!

All done, thank you Auntie Blair!!!
*Note Miles in the background quickly digging things out of the cupboard while we were all distracted with Josiah...I sense this could become a routine with the two of them as they get older, one distracts while the other makes off with treats and goodies:-)

Brian and Blair got married!

OK, so I do not profess to be the photographer of the family in any way since I'm married to a video expert and related to my mom and sister who are the "queens of kodak". That said, I was in charge of the camera at the wedding festivities and have woefully few photos to share. In my defense, I am not used to fulfilling this role and so it was secondary on my mind to getting a manicure, hair done, dress on and getting myself down the aisle among other things! Anyway, due to lack of photos, you will have to just read and imagine all the fun:-) Or, you can also check out Robin's blog as she has many more pictures to share (http://www.kroeningfamily.blogspot.com/) And yes, I'm aware that she is 34 weeks pregnant, wrangling an 18 month old, getting herself ready for the same trip down the aisle and STILL managed to get more photos than I did.....*sigh* The whole weekend was so much fun! We started out Friday at noon with something ALL girls need before a big event, manicures!! Blair and her mom, sisters along with my mom, Robin, Jen and I got our hands all ready for the big event and had a fun time relaxing and chatting, imagine that:-) Friday night brought rehearsal at the church followed by a yummy dinner that my parents catered in...wood fire pizzas=yummy! As has become tradition for a Becker wedding, Friday night found Blair, Robin, Jen and I at the Kahler Grand hotel for a fun girls night to help Blair relax and rest up for the big day. A few Mikes Hard Lemonades + inroom movie + comfy bed = mission accomplished! Here are a few photos I “borrowed” from Robin…Josiah was super excited to be co-ring bearer with cousin Miles, they felt the occasion called for a celebratory kiss also:

Saturday was the big day and started with all the girls getting our hair done. This was the ONE event that I did manage to remember to snap a few photos of, enjoy!

The beautiful bride!

Jen getting all prettied up:-)

Blair helping Jen pick a good lipstick for the occasion (yay, a cosmetologist in the family!!)

After hair, it was off to the church to get dressed. My dress fit like a glove but we quickly realized that nursing bras and fancy frocks do not mix too well....thank you to whoever invented double stick dress tape! Seth and Josiah got in on the fun too as they were both in the wedding as groomsman and ring bearer. Josiah shared the ring bearer spotlight with cousin Miles and the two of them were pulled down the aisle in a wooden sled by Papa....too cute! Again, I "borrowed" this picture from Robin's blog so that you could witness the cuteness:-)

The ceremony went off without a hitch...other than I was crying like a baby through a good portion of it. I guess seeing my baby brother all grown up and waiting at the end of the aisle to see his bride for the first time in her dress was more emotional than I planned because I was caught without a tissue! Thank you to Blair's sister Heather for sharing hers with me:-) Then it was time to PAR-TAY! (More borrowed pics)

After a quick stop to shoot a few outdoor photos in downtown Rochester (very chilly but I'm sure the photos will be well worth it!) we entered the reception doing the Train, so funny! Dinner was divine and the slideshow went off without a hitch thanks to the hard work of Mom, Dad, Robin and Seth...nice work you guys! Thank you also to Grammy and Papa Gary for taking Josiah home to go to bed and letting Seth and I stay to enjoy the dance! I took full advantage and was on the dance floor most of the night....it may not look pretty but I LOVE to dance! So, as you read, it was a wonderful time had by all. I am SOOO excited to say that Blair is now an official member of the Becker family and we couldn't be happier! She is just the best and she and Brian make an amazing couple! Congrats you two crazy kids and enjoy your week in Jamaica....I know checked bags cost extra these days but I'll help pay if you can pack some warm sun to bring back!! Love you guys!!