Birthdays Are Fabulous.

On April 21st, we had ANOTHER very busy day, very wonderful day.

Emily Heflin, my dear friend Jodi's baby girl, turned one year old on April 21st. Emily has had a crazy roller coaster of a ride for her first year of life. This has included many hospitalizations with one of them being almost the entire month of July last Summer. Jodi and Derrick have taken everything that she has been through in stride and they just keep trucking. This first birthday party was so special because we were all able to celebrate the fact that they have been through a very rocky and scary road (and continue to truck down that road) but they have not lost faith and they continue to be such a fun, amazing, inspirational family.

Naturally my camera was dead and I had no idea until Jodi asked me to pull it out and take pictures for them. What a crappy feeling. I wish I could have remembered to charge my battery after taking Mari's pictures. But it was a great party. Charlotte got to play outside with "friends". We had delicious food. We met some great people. And we really really had a great time. Emily looked so beautiful in her birthday dress. She got so many fabulous gifts. It really was a fabulous party.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Emily.

We love you so much.

Around 3 pm, we loaded up and headed down to Springfield to celebrate another amazing birthday. Brianne, my partner in crime in nursing school, my old roommate, one of my best friends, also had a birthday this past week. She turned 31...I mean 25.... on April 19th. I drove to the winery she got married at to meet her and her hubby for some wine and when I was only a few miles away, I was forced to turn around bc the Mackinaw River was flooded. I kept trying to drive around it but the tricky thing about rivers is that pretty much separate areas. SOOOO, after quite awhile of trying to get through, I just turned around and went to Target with the kids. Naturally.

I offered to come visit her for dinner on Sunday. So we did! We got there around 4:30. The weather was fabulous. We had drinks and appetizers outside on their patio (which was fenced in so the kids could wander around). I finally got to see their home. Beautiful. I love what they have done with it. And it is perfect for them. They are even finishing their basement. It will be pretty much amazing.

Sawyer loved the apps.

He was in love with the celery.

Charlotte kept eating the bell peppers and the celery like crazy.

I was so happy to be with my friend. I have missed her so much!!!

Happy Birthday, B :)

We had a delicious dinner. Brianne had hosted a baby shower the day before and had a TON of food leftover. It was perfect. We had delicious leftovers. I really was amazing.

We had dessert and then we sat around and hung out for awhile longer.

Charlotte was so happy to be at Aunt B and Uncle Nick's house!!

We ended up heading home once the kids were ready for bed. We put them in their jammies and loaded up and headed home to Metamora. It was a perfect day with some of our favorite people.

Happy Birthday Emily and Brianne.

We love you both.

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Schramm

I LOVE weddings. I LOVE wedding days. I LOVE spending the entire day with some of my favorite people in this entire world. Brianne and Nick's wedding day was no exception to this.

Sawyer and I started our day bright and early! We were out of mom and dad's house by 8 am and on our way to Bloomington to celebrate Brianne and Nick's big day! We were at the hair salon and ready for me to get my hair done by 9 am.

Sawyer was the PERFECT gentleman and behaved himself in the corner :) He didn't make a peep!!

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The salon was full of bridesmaids, mothers, and one beautiful bride.

The Bride and Matron of Honor got their hair done then ventured over and got their make up done as well.

Doesn't the Matron of Honor look stunning????? :) Sweet shirt, Kim.

A practice pic to make sure she loved her hair and makeup before we left! Looks perfect, B.

After getting our hair done, we ventured out to the winery to help Brianne get ready, pictures, a few snacks, and a perfect wedding.

Amy, Sawyer, and I were the first ones to the winery out of the bridesmaids. Amy took the opportunity to finally hold my little man :)

He is just so cute! Gigi, Aunt Bare, and his fabulous sister came to pick him up around 1 pm so I could have a few hours to help the bride without worrying about him.

We got Brianne all dressed and ready to go.

And then it was time for her to see her handsome groom... her forever!

This was the set up for their first glance... sneak peek... the meeting of the lives.

Almost there...

...keep your eyes closed...

We present to you, Mr. Nick Schramm, your forever.... wrapped all in white.

It's love. 

The audience. We wanted it to be a bit awkward. This was only the non bridesmaids watching.

After MANY MANY pictures of the bride and grooms (and lots of sweat), it was time for the wedding party to participate! Here are some of the beautiful maids. Brianne has beautiful friends.

After pictures, it was time for a snack...and a nice cold beverage.

I am so glad the hooter hider could come into use for multiple people. 

How adorable are the ring bearer and flower girl??? You would never know they were having major issues with their allergies.

It's almost time.... time to get to our places...

One last shot as a Dressler.

Naturally I didn't get pictures during the wedding. Dad was already sitting down when I thought to get him my camera. 

A post wedding picture of me and my handsome date.

Since there were very few single people at the wedding, they nixed the bouquet and garter toss. So Nick went in search of the garter while we waited to be announced.

Found it!

Some of my beautiful friends hanging out and meeting my new little guy.

Getting announced. Doing the chicken. Duh.

Giving my bridesmaid/best friend speech. I would post on here too but it's a lot of inside jokes and it's pretty long. Hope she liked it!

And here are the GDI's...minus Tammy (who was in Mexico at another wedding)

Love these girls. Friends since college.

Thank you, B for making me a part of your day. You looked gorgeous. Schrammer looked handsome. I love you both. Here's to your forever. Ever.

I shout out to my sisters for driving over in the pouring down rain (the hurricane had finally made it's way to the Midwest). Thank you for coming to get me and Jennifer in our drunkeness. We owe you.

The Start of a Beautiful Wedding Weekend

So, the entire reason we had to go to Illinois when we did was because one of my best friends in this entire world was getting married!!! Brianne and I have been through the good, the bad, the amazing and the ugly together. We have been friends for 12 years...and it has been an eventful 12 years. I would not have missed the best day of her life for anything.

Our Wedding Weekend started on Thursday August 30, 2012, with the Bridal Luncheon. Brianne treated us all to lunch in Bloomington at Jim's Steakhouse. This was her first time meeting Sawyer...

Look at the smile on his face! He loves his Aunt B!!!

After a delicious lunch, it was time for nails!! I always love to get the pedicure... I love when they get the dry skin off of my feet. Too much information??? Probably...but it's true. I love that part.

Naturally, even though Brianne had a million and one things on her To Do List, she still got Sawyer a "welcome to the world" present. SO CUTE!!! (and there were St. Louis Cardinals onesies and some boy sippy cups. LOVE IT ALL.)

Sawyer loved nail time. In fact, he loved it so much that he slept.... really hard. (I hope the fumes weren't too much for him.)

Gotta love these Harpenau Ladies... Wine is a MUST with them!! Wine, wine, and more wine... It was DELICIOUS!

She looks like a Barbie!!

Every bride needs a lot of pampering!!! 

So much fun!

After our nails were beautified, Sawyer and I ran to Target to get an "emergency kit" for Brianne for the day of the wedding. We then headed out to the winery to help get the reception site set up. Brianne and her fiance Nick decided to get married at a winery. Perfect setting and so beautiful. After a quick few minutes getting freshened up, it was time to start the rehearsal!!!

How happy does Nick look????

Brooklyn and Zach were so adorable. They did such a good job :) Cutest little ringer bearer and flower girl EVER!

Practice makes perfect!

After we had the actual ceremony down pat, we headed back to Bloomington to the rehearsal dinner. It was held at Nick's parents' friends' home. BEAUTIFUL!! They had the PERFECT backyard for entertaining. They had a fire pit. They had people dress in white shirts and black pants and actually serve us. The food was delicious. 

The soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Nick Schramm.

The bride with her maids...minus Amy

Groom with his men

The wedding party... minus a few

The PERFECT GROOMs CAKE. Seriously. Perfection.

The day with perfect, productive, and flew by. Sawyer was amazing. He was such a good little man. I am so proud of him. We headed back to mom and dad's house for a few hours of sleep before our full day of wedding activities on Friday.