Friday, July 31, 2015

Keaton and Rose's wedding weekend- Reception (part 3).

Here are some photos of Keaton and Rose's reception! Everything about it was just wonderful! I hope that it was all they dreamed it would be and more. It was at The Lafayette Club, and it was beautiful inside and out. What a neat place!

I thought the welcome signs were really cute!

      

Going in, they had a table of all the parents/grandparent's wedding pictures, which was a really neat thing. What a beautiful reminder of the Godly heritage of marriages they have been blessed with!


Cake!


Table numbers and engagement/proposal shots.


Our table- #7! It was a lot of fun, we got to sit with my sisters and the Groen's! I got to sit next to Kley and my best friend, Stephanie, so it was a great night!


The room.


Mr. and Mrs. table!


Centerpieces.


Bridal party entrance!


Me and Stephanie!


We tried so hard to get a good picture of Stephanie and Norah- this was the best one out of the 8+ we took. :) Also, my in-laws were there, and were a big help watching Norah during the wedding! Thank you so much, Brad and Jana!


First dance!


Mother and son dance.


Some dance photos.





Siblings! (Norah was such a trooper with staying up late and handled being overwhelmed by the dance quite well!)


Happy wedding weekend, Keaton and Rose! We are so excited for you to begin your marriage and to see what God has in store for you together. We love you so much!

(You can see part 1 and part 2 of the wedding weekend!)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Keaton and Rose's wedding weekend- Wedding Ceremony (part 2).

Keaton (my brother) married Rose on Sunday, July 19, 2015. It was a wonderful day! The ceremony was such a great celebration and picture of two people coming together in Christ. My Uncle Jeff was able to marry them, which was really special. Him and Keaton have always had a special connection, and it was neat that he was able to marry him. His message was very meaningful and Christ centered. It was also absolutely beautiful weather outside!


Everyone getting seated- almost time!


Rose just getting to the end of the aisle. 


Kley was a groomsmen in the wedding, and also led the worship! He did a great job! Here he is playing guitar, though you can't see it very well.


The vows- they wrote their own, and it was very sweet!



The kiss!


After the ceremony, we took family pictures outside, and it was one of the most perfect places for wedding pictures I've ever seen. They got married at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum- so gorgeous! Unfortunately, my family shots didn't turn out as perfect as I hoped, because we had to shoot around the professional photographers, but they turned out pretty good! Thanks to my friend, Stephanie, for taking them!


My cousin's daughter, Taylor, was the flower girl.


This was a candid shot, but I really like how Keaton and Rose looked in it! They both looked so good!


The whole family!


The Schut side (my dad).


The Van Etten side (my mom).


Norah did great taking pictures!



Our family! So happy to have Rose join in!


Sibling love.


Our family of three.



It was a beautiful ceremony! Everything about it was so great. I'm so happy we were all there to celebrate with Keaton and Rose and be a part of their special day!

(You can see Part 1 if you'd like!)

Monday, July 27, 2015

Keaton and Rose's wedding weekend- Rehearsal (part 1).

Last weekend my brother got married! It was such a special weekend, full of family, friends, fun, and celebrating Keaton and Rose! 

We headed up to Minneapolis, where Rose is from, on Friday. Friday night there was a dinner at Rose's house for all of the family that was in town. It was fun to see everyone again and spend time together before the actual wedding festivities began.


Aunt Karlie with Norah at Rose's house.


Both great grandma's and Norah! (She was clearly excited about the picture. Norah did so well over the weekend! Everything was new to her, we stayed in a hotel, her schedule was thrown off, and everywhere we went there were tons of people. She had a few moments of unhappiness, and didn't really want anyone else to hold her other than Kley, me, or both grandmas (much to their delight), but other than that did extremely well!)


The bride and groom!


Great Grandma playing legos with Norah.


Rehearsing. There was a wedding reception that night in the same place they were getting married in the next day, so the rehearsal was pretty short because they had to set up. It went well, though!


The De Jong's!


This might be my favorite shot from the whole weekend- all the siblings!



Our table at the rehearsal dinner.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Norah- Nine Months.

Norah is nine months and seems to grow up more everyday! We feel like she understands much more this month and is very interactive/responsive. Two nights ago she was playing the cutest game in the bath- she was biting on a toy, and I opened my mouth too, and she went back and forth with her taking a bite and then me, and she thought it was so funny. It was adorable! Then last night you could tell that all the sudden she had an idea and remembered, and wanted to do it again!

Norah had a few big accomplishments this month. She got both of her top lateral incisors (on both sides of her front teeth) overnight! I think she was working on them at the same time as her front teeth. Her bottom cleared up for a couple days, then all of the sudden came back and was super red again, and the same morning as that you could see both of the teeth! They came in on June 29. Norah also got her first haircut on July 2 by Gramie! It was hardly a haircut- just trimming the couple strands that were longer than the rest, but I count it as the first!

Norah also got quite good at crawling this month. She started doing some very short crawls and scoots on July 6, and by July 11 was officially crawling. She crawls with each leg differently- her right leg is bent 90 degrees in front of her, and her left is extended back. She still stays in the general relative area you left her, but she is definitely on the move! Norah also started waving on July 11. She can pull herself to stand up regularly, and her fine motor skills have noticeably improved also. Her “pincher grip” is developing nicely, and Norah can feed herself bites of food now.

Norah has not been enjoying going to the church nursery and will cry and cry, but has really been developing relationships with family members! She really loves both of her grandmas, and has thought Aunt Elizabeth was quite hilarious this month. Norah also gained another aunt this month, as we went to Minneapolis for Uncle Keaton’s wedding- what fun!

Norah has been blowing with her month a lot this month; we think it may help her teeth feel better, but aren’t really sure. She is still a thumb sucker, but usually only when she’s tired or to sooth herself. She thinks it’s super funny when we pretend to eat her toes. She also enjoys giving kisses and high fives. We are still working on sign language, but she doesn’t respond much yet. She signed “eat” once and “up” a couple times. Norah’s favorite things include any kind of stacking toys, being in water, going for stroller walks, and doing whatever mommy is doing!

Norah is on a pretty great schedule. It’s basically the same as last month, with the only difference being is that Norah transitioned (on her own) to taking two naps instead of three. She sleeps around 11 hours at night, about 10-9, and takes a nap right around lunch and in the late afternoon. Her first nap is always longer than the second. She is still nursing 4 times a day, and eating three times a day- yogurt for breakfast, vegetables/beans for lunch, and fruit for dinner. She is getting much better at eating solid food and enjoys bread, puffs, soft fruits, etc. She gags much less than she used to, but is still working on it.

We love you so much Norah! It’s so fun to be your parents. You are such a wonderful baby and we are so glad you are ours!