Valeri & Sergio: Married

So I'm feeling back in the swing of things with my first wedding of the year :)

Meet Valeri and Sergio, a super nice, lovely couple with equally nice and lovely families. Their ceremony took place at St. Lukes Methodist Church here in Lubbock, and the reception was held at a little place called the Merry Mixer just south of town.

We started the day in the usual way - with the details, and everyone getting ready...



here's Valeri :)







I just love flower girls...



Getting things started with a seriously cute ring bearer!



Down the aisle with dad...



I like to catch people praying :)



the ceremony...









Mr & Mrs! (I love this shot)



A few of the group images...



and the beautiful bride.



Then off to the reception, where they were keeping the cupcakes!!



Now I could not resist this little sweetie...



or this set of Sergio and his mother, who by the way had 15 children! Yes you read that right, Sergio is one of FIFTEEN kids. As soon as I found that out I went and hugged her too!



A toast from the best man...



got the traditional reception activities going...









and then the party really got started! (and this picture is just cool)



All my single ladies put your hands up...



Guess who caught the boquet!



Garter toss!



And then Valeri's dad ended off the night with a fireworks show. How awesome is that?? Now I am no expert at photographing fireworks, but I did manage to get one shot of them.



Congratulations Valeri and Sergio!!



I had such a great time with you and your families on your very special day. Thanks so much for allowing me to be there! I wish you many, many years of happiness together! K

Oh, Baby!

I thought today would be a good day to post a baby update because, incredibly, Kya is 4 months old today. Seriously, how does that even happen? It's just flying by! I'm pretty much over wishing she was still tiny (well mostly...) because she's so much fun now! Smiling (although not for the camera, of course!), laughing, "talking", scooting around, it's amazing to watch her learn and grow so quickly. In the last week she has decided that she can hold her own bottle, and almost sit up by herself. Really?? Who does she think she is?! Oh yeah, the smartest baby. Ever.

Here she is at 12 weeks.

I wasn't sure about this picture at first but the more I look at it the more I love it.



Wow, my arm is pretty much amazing.



Oh, hi mom.



I love my elephant that mimi gave me. Oh wait, I've had enough pictures for today!



And at 3 months...

Chewing on my hands is the most awesome thing ever!



Hmmmm...



LOVE



And today, my four month birthday :)

I can sit up with just a little help from my boppy!



So I think I'll look over here to my left for a minute...



Let the Olympic Drooling begin!



Oh-my-Jesus-seriously-kid, you are killing your mother with the cuteness. Stop it already.



And that's it for now. Stay tuned for another update soon :) K

Chris & Carissa: A Renewal

You may remember my awesome steppie, Carissa, and her family from some older posts. Sadly we hadn't seen each other in over a year, which is waaaay too long. So when she called up to say that she and Chris would be renewing their vows for their 10th anniversary and would I please come take pictures for them, I was like heck yeah! Can you say road trip? So I packed up the car (and the baby) and headed that way for a great weekend with family. And to top off all of that goodness, Carissa is also expecting their 3rd baby in October. Yay!

Carissa had custom labels put on the wine bottles (and no she didn't drink!), pretty cool, yes? And the shoes...definitely yes!



Dakota and Carissa had a little help dolling up :)



Beautiful dresses for the girls, and the outdoor fireplace was pretty, too.



Dominic and his cousin Hailey provided everyone with a little pre-ceremony entertainment...



Love, love, love the new rings...



Here come Dominic and Dakota...



Dominic started things of with a little welcome speech (he was adorable!)...



Chris and Carissa came down the "aisle" together...



Carissa read her vows from her ipod...



While Chris went with the more traditional scrap of paper :)





And Dakota finished the ceremony up with her own special message.



Here's Dom and Kota on the way out. I swear the boy cracks me up with his sweet funny self every time I see him...



And that was it! The ceremony was short, sweet and beautiful and it fit them perfectly! I'm so happy that I was able to be there, and I'm so proud of Carissa and her gorgeous family!



Love you guys and I hope I don't have to wait another year to see you again! K