the sweetest sound

In my opinion there is nothing much sweeter than a baby cooing. Brady has started doing it in the last week or so, and I finally figured out a way to prompt him to do it: sing! He does it a few times in this video...just try to ignore my singing.

the past week in pictures

Here are a few pictures from our past week that are representative of some of the things that happen a lot around here.

Annalee loves on Brady every chance she gets.
Brady smiles and coos all the time now!
Lee & Brady enjoyed some male bonding while watching football over the weekend.

the big day

My sis-in-law Mary Kathryn got married last weekend...boy was it a big event! There were nearly 400 people who came to celebrate as she finally got to marry Tim. I think one of my favorite parts was the rehearsal dinner. I loved hearing all the stories that were told and advice that people gave to Mary Kathryn and Tim. They sure have a LOT of people who love them!!!! I've managed to weed through all my pictures and found a few good ones for you to get a glimpse of her big day. And for those of you who weren't there, Annalee was the flower girl....although instead of walking down the aisle with flower petals, she carried a ribbon. There were about 25 of us "honorary attendants" who walked down the aisle prior to Becky (maid of honor) who were family, childhood friends, college friends, etc. We were in boy-girl pairs, and each girl carried a flower down the aisle and handed it to Terri or Connie (Tim's mom). Annalee was last to walk down, and handed them a ribbon for Terri and Connie to use to form MK's bouquet with the flowers we had brought them. (How creative and clever is she?!?) Then MK's dad took it to her where she was waiting and walked her down the aisle as her brothers David & Wally played the guitar and sang. It was beautiful! Congratulations, Mary Kathryn and Tim!!!!!!!!

As a side note, I can just imagine that right now MK & Tim are strolling along the beach in Mexico, or maybe getting ready for a romantic dinner together....and I must say I'm a bit envious. Okay a lot envious. Ho hum.

the family shot

Addie just wanted to play
Annalee couldn't keep her eyes off MK...it was so precious.

costumes and fun with friends

Here are some pictures from Halloween and the MCA fall festival. This was the 4th year we've gone to the festival and taken a group picture with the Voskamps and Smiths. It is so fun to watch our families grow and to laugh at how it gets more difficult each year to get a good picture. Getting that many kids to sit still and look at the camera is like hearding cats.