.:un bebe:.

In a conversation with my dear mother today she made it abundantly clear that she was sad that I had not posted for so long. I have folders on my desktop with beautiful photos of amazing people ready to be blogged but I keep getting distracted! So, this blog is for my mother. And, of course for Erica, Pablo, Lucas, and all of their dear friends and family who have been waiting so patiently for Lucas!

Pablo and Erica met many years ago in the mountains of Colorado--a place where both of them were foreigners. The Lord put the two of them together in a way and a time in which neither of them expected and they fell in love. Their whirlwind courtship ended in marriage less than a year after they met. Dear Erica, who was one of the few who wasn't learning Spanish in the group of girls we hung around, was an adament speaker of German. How like the Lord to send her of all persons a Latin man!

Pablo and Erica have now been married for almost two years now. They've left children up to the Lord and so were delighted after a year into their marriage when they found out that Erica was expecting. Baby Lucas Juan will most definitely be an evangelist with a name like his!

Funnily enough, Erica and I had been working on scheduling maternity photos for her for several weeks. After several schedule and weather conflicts we finally settled on last Tuesday afternoon for the photos but lo and behold, I got a message from Erica the morning of our scheduled photoshoot that she was in labor!

So instead of "baby bump" photos we now have Lucas himself at day 7! I had forgotten how precious newborns are. I love the feel of their skin and all of the new imperfections that surface so quickly! The little zits, the peeling skin, the red splotches... everything that makes new parents call their doctors in a panic asking if what they're seeing growing on their baby is indeed normal. I love their little fingernails and their tiny wrinkly toes. The way so many of their faces look like little gnomes with wisdom beyond their years.

It's safe to say that Erica and Pablo are getting used to this new schedule of no sleep. They decided after the first rough trimester with Lucas that they aren't so sure they want another one. (But just between you and me, we all know that they'll have another. Theresa, Erica's mother, promises she'll convince them. Lucas is way too precious not to win their hearts enough to prompt another little one!)

Thank you, Erica y Pablo for welcoming us into your home and letting us take pictures of this little bitty one! Thank you, Lucas, for inspiring me. You'll thank your parents some day when you're old that they let me take pictures of your little bitty body in the buff. And thank you, Lucas, for making me feel special by not peeing on me when your little diaper was removed.

Umbilical cords!

I know this photo is partially blown but there's something so magnificent about Lucas in this photo. I couldn't bring myself to deleting it. It's that stillness and solitude of a baby asleep that makes us believe for a moment that all is well in the world.

I love photographing Erica. She has this beautiful face that is so timeless. I've always thought she looked so classically beatiful but when she was cradling Lucas and fixing his tiny hands and the light was streaming in she looked so much like a photo of Madonna and child.

Proud Papa! Erica y Pablo han decedio que Pablo solo hablar con Lucas en Espanol para que Lucas puede hacer bilingual! (Pablo, como estaba mi espanol?)




We were all admiring how adorable Lucas was when Brian broke our sighs of admiration with, "He sure does look a lot like a rotisserie chicken." Thanks, Brian.

I will end this post with what Pablo may call "behind the scenes" photos. I would call them outtakes. When I told Pablo to kiss Lucas you'll see what he did first and then second. Then you'll see that Lucas takes his cues from his papa, even at seven days. Check out his face in the last one. = )






Don't you just love babies?

.:the most awesomest vows ever:.

For those who were curious about the infamous vows we mentioned in the previous post, Adam and Lilly have so generously let us re-post their vows. Engaged couples, take note:

[I preface Lilly's vows to remind readers Lilly is in vet school.]

My dearest Adam:

I know it is a grave tradition
For one standing in this position
To offer solemn vows of love
Sanctified by the one above.
In this duty I don’t mean to be remiss
While you wait there impatiently for that kiss
I wish to offer you this contract
which I would always like to keep intact.

I will forevermore try to do my part
To create new verbs such as ‘to shark’
I will hopefully exceed your culinary needs
And only defer to you the most unpleasant deeds
Like killing an occasional spider.
I’ll do my best to not get wider.
I’m game for most adventures like jumping from an airplane soaring
I will strive to not be old and boring.
On the number of furry friends I will try to keep a cap
So that we don’t end up living amongst massive piles of crap.
I will always seek to improve my mind body and spirit,
When you have a good point I’ll take the time to truly hear it.
I so enjoy our relationship and know we will encounter change
Over the years our experiences have had quite a range
For you I am willing to go all ten rounds
And I do not care who it astounds.
We will be defined by our achievements
And learn to handle gracefully any bereavements.
I vow to be honest
I vow to be fair
I vow to be playful
Do not despair!
I vow to be thoughtful if my angry switch is toggled
And never, ever, EVER let you win at Boggle.
I vow to be open to your thoughts and suggestions
I vow to never give in and to keep asking questions
I promise to do my best in this love and now mawwiage
To have you in my life has been a great privilege.



[I must preface Adam's vows by reminding the reader that he was a very recent law school graduate when they had their wedding.]

Lilly, this is my Opening Statement:
Lilly, I love you. I love you so much and I have loved you for so long.
I vow to love you each and every day, more than the day before;
I vow to hug and kiss you as if it were my last hug and kiss, but to look into your eyes like the first time I knew we belonged together;
I vow to dance crazy with you when our favorite music comes on,
I vow to always prepare garlic for your fabulous meals, because I know that other than that I am in the way in the kitchen;
I vow to protect you from any and all harm, including any spider that threatens you.

The Evidence.
From when we were foolish kids at the movies, holding hands and kissing, to teenagers at football games; to college students separated but not apart, I have loved you.
We have traveled from California to New York together, and from St. Louis to St. Croix, and our love has grown.
We have survived birthdays, Valentines days, weddings and funerals. We have survived vacations and Christmas, (and if we can survive Christmas with our families, I think we can survive anything).
We have sky-dived, scuba-dived, and hiked the Grand Canyon and yet all of this is slight adventure to what we will share together. I vow to take you on so many adventures, because this is just the beginning.

Lilly, this is my Closing Argument:
As your husband I promise to care for you, trust your love, be responsive to your needs, communicate my feelings, and show my love and respect for you, my better half. I say these things because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends. -Homer

To summarize:
I will love you on the sea
I will love you in a tree
I will love you here and there
I will love you anywhere

I will love you every day
I will love you come what may
I will love you more than pie (the food not the number)
I will love you ‘til I die

I will love you here and there
I will love you anywhere.
Lilly, I love you.

.:lilly & adam:.

Some love blossoms early. When Lilly's family asked Adam if he remembered how the two of them started dating, he naively shook his head, "no". (We'll get to that in a minute).

Lilly and Adam are like vanilla and chocolate, like peaches and cream, like peanut butter and jelly. They fit together perfectly and they've been together for what seems like an eternity. The fact is, some love blossoms early.

The two had decided once she was finally in vet school and he had finished his final year in law school that they would tie the knot in a small ceremony surrounded by their immediate family. So Adam and Lilly (or Lilly and Adam, if you prefer) dressed up in their finest to celebrate their new life surrounded by beautiful floral designs by My Secret Garden and a family with just enough spunk and character to keep everyone laughing and entertained. Lilly's mother put on her pink, self-labelled "monkey suit" paired with sparkly heels(which later she moved back and forth quickly every time she noticed me trying to take a photo of them during the wedding-which, as she had planned, messed up those shots) and kept Lilly in all smiles while Adam greeted the arriving family in A.P. Green Chapel upstairs.

When the moment arrived, Lilly approached the front of the small chapel arm in arm with both of her parents to the sound of a gong and Adam took her in with eyes that showed how long he had been waiting for this moment. Their claim to fame during their simple ceremony were their vows which they not only wrote, but made sure rhymed. After the ceremony and quick family photos for all Adam and Lilly made their way to Columbia's fine Wine Cellar & Bistro where they were greeted with a surprise.

They knew something was going on when they arrived to see Lilly's mother (already changed out of the sparkly heels and into tennis shoes to match her skirted pink "monkey suit") keeping watch for their arrival. Apparently, all of the family had pitched in to help create a slideshow (which they were finishing the set up of) of the couple from birth to present. But, not only did the slideshow include photos, it included the beginning of their courtship so very long ago.

After enjoying their first slice of cake together (which I might mention was a cake decorated with vet symbols for Lilly) the two finally sat to enjoy this surprise (that they were getting a little nervous about, knowing the nature of their family). Lilly's mother asked Adam, with a sly smile, if he remembered how the two began dating. Adam's face turned a little red as he slowly shook his head, "no," scared where this was going...

Turns out, as their families quickly reminded them, Adam asked out Lilly by writing a little message on Lilly's bedroom wall in sharpie one fine day in high school. Luckily, Lilly's mom snapped a photo of it, and then typed it out so that we could all read it on the screen. Everyone shared the laughter.

This is the love of Adam and Lilly.

[Adam and Lilly had their engagement photos taken the *week* of their wedding! We did a few photos downtown and got them ordered in time to have them displayed at their actual ceremony. So when those wedding books tell you that you have to have your engagement photos done a year in advance, these two are living proof that it isn't always necessary!]




And because it's technically "doppelganger week" on facebook (and strangely has been for the last three weeks...) I noticed as I was going back through their photos that Lilly bears a strange resemblance to Stana Katic, who plays a character named Kate Beckett on the show "Castle".














Notice the adorable little animals on their cake?






I bet Adam had this same suave face when he was writing that message on Lilly's wall. = )


And just because it's my goal this year to finally enjoy the taste of wine, I give you more wine corks.


The end!

.:26:.

So as of yesterday, it's been 26 short years. I always thought 26 was old (after all, it's closer to 30 than to 20). When I was little I thought that by the time I was 26 I would definitely be taller than 5'4", be a ridiculously famous cellist/singer/actress/artist, and look as old as Kelly from Saved by the Bell (who looked 27 when she was supposedly 16 on the show). Alas, I am still 5'2", am neither a famous cellist, singer, actress, nor artist and I tower at an intimidating 5'2". But life couldn't be more fantastic. I may not look like Kelly Kapowski or be known in Hollywood circles, but I am blessed. My husband is more amazing than I could have ever asked for, and I am loved.

So, as I never do, I'm posting photos of myself to placate you silly friends that continue to request them.

This is me at age 11. Pretty hot, huh? Standing tall at 5'2" I was convinced that since I was one of the tallest in my class for the first time in my life that I would have to be at least a lofty 5'6" someday. I also held to the theory that since I was an ugly duckling I would thus grow into a beautiful swan as an adult (with my gorgeous classmates obviously doomed for uglydom). Wow... if it only worked like that in real life. (Note to all readers, never, I repeat NEVER choose "Blossom" hats as your signature "style". They date you quickly and look even worse when paired with fuzzy sweaters, glasses, braces, and a perm gone wrong on Christmas.)




These were taken yesterday on my birthday. Brian took them. I may not be the beautiful swan I'd imagined when I was 11, but I still feel pretty sassy sometimes thanks to a husband who takes the time to tell me at least a dozen times a day in a dozen different ways how gorgeous he thinks I am. How gloriously wonderful and rare is that?



On a last note, thanks to everyone for their wonderful birthday wishes on facebook! If we aren't friends, let's be. = )

-Mallory (Thomas) Taulbee

Cuz baby I'mma thug...

.:basketweaving:.

Brian and I have never been much for gifts. When we were in pre-marital counseling we sat down and made it a point to ascertain our love languages. We discovered that for me, spending quality time together was number one, for Brian, it was snuggling. Luckily, snuggling was a close second for me and time was a close second for him. The love language of gifts was dead last for both of us.

People ask us what we get one another for birthdays or Christmas or anniversaries. The fact is we rarely get one another anything. Honestly, we feel so blessed every day to spend time with one another that gifts are just extraneous in our lives. As Brian and I sat down almost three years ago now and mapped out what we wanted our future holidays to look like I realized the ones I remembered the most were when my family went somewhere or did something different. I could hardly recall any of the gifts I had been given but I remember the Christmas my family went to Crown Center and heard the caroler's at night and we watched A Shark's Tale together in our hotel room and played the game Block'em as we waited for our room service.

I am so blessed to have an amazing family and a few years ago my mom started deciding to use holidays as a time for quality family stuff rather than filling it with gifts we'd all just throw away afterwards. (Although I do readily admit that I miss the packs of Ferrero Rochers.)

My mom planned one such trip for our family this past winter. I took pictures of it long ago meaning to post them but they got buried under a growing list of things I had to do immediately. She took us basketweaving. Brian was reluctant to go, as he was last time, but he made it through. We all drove to good old Linn, Missouri (where my mom grew up and most of my relatives still reside) for the Dudenhoeffer's rare basketweaving class. The Dudenhoeffers are a talented pair. Not only do they have a log cabin they hold their classes and do their own basketweaving in, but she also throws pots and he carves many a wooden animal. I met their daughter many years ago when my mom brought us out to their farm to pick up our first goats. (I try not to hold it against them that they were the ones that got my mother hooked on goats. They, unlike my mother, were smart enough to get rid of the goats. My family still has theirs. Give me a holla' if you need a goat for Eid al-Adha or some other festival/feast. Seriously.) She is as kind-hearted and genuine as her parents but is no longer at home but is out continent hopping in the name of finding fantastic vineyards for making exquisite wine. Ahhh... if we could all be so lucky. = )

A photo of all of the lovely persons that were along for the basketweaving class. Poor things had to deal with my mother and I's very loud voices and Brian and I's stubborn determination to end up with baskets different than everyone else's. Notice how Brian's is thinner and mine is much wider than everyone else's? Yeah, we're dorks:

.:sarah & kris:.

Now that I can work fulltime I am bound and determined to finish posting all of the incredible weddings with the fantastic people we did in 2009. So today, I start with Sarah and Kris.

Once upon a time

Once upon a time in the far away land of Ireland, men and women of all different ages and from all different times decided to begin a new life in the distant land of America. They scattered all over the new nation and developed new hopes and dreams and ideals but never lost their heart for their homeland. Lo and behold, there weren't as many fiery Irish in the states as at home, of course, but somehow Sarah's mother and Sarah's father, both fullblooded Irish, found one another and fell in love (despite a few warnings from family and friends that their tempers might possibly make marriage a little more difficult). They loved one another with the fierceness that only an Irishman knows. They ended up having not one, not two, but three freckled, redheaded children. The middle of which was Sarah.

their story

Sarah, as the middle child, was the peacemaker. She was a hard worker, hated to make decisions, but felt drawn to help everyone she could. It was clear that she was a nurturer so when she chose to be a nurse, no one was surprised. One fateful day Sarah's cousin introduced her to this great guy [[enter Kris]] at a time Sarah wasn't expecting it. Kris saw Sarah like he'd never seen another woman and he loved her. Everyone could see it. These two gentle souls fit. She made it her job to take care of others but suddenly someone wanted to take care of her. Though scary at first, Sarah soon learned she could trust her life in the hands of this gentle man who had eyes for her and her alone. When he asked her to marry him, Sarah knew without a doubt that this was the man she wanted by her side to weather life.

the wedding day

They planned a wedding at Stephen's Lake Park on an unseasonably beautiful day. Sarah wasn't big on planning and Kris was even less so, so they let family and friends sweep them up and help them plan the seemingly overwhelming task of a wedding. Artistic family jumped in to decorate and somehow they all finally decided on the flowers that would go into their silk bouquets.

They nixed the rehearsal since how hard can a wedding ceremony be? The day was filled with laughter. Sarah & Kris saw each other beforehand to get all of their photos out of the way--they wanted to enjoy the rest of their day. The groomsmen made a last minute switch (they were on the wrong side) as the bridesmaids walked to the altar one by one. The flower girl and ringbearer approached the front as the wedding party waited. The parents of the little ones held their breath (as most parents in their situation do) but started to exhale as the little ones made it to the end of the aisle without a single hangup. Suddenly though, the ringbearer realized the flower girl had a much cooler job than he (you have to admit, throwing petals is a much more active job than carrying a pillow) so at the end of the aisle came a short tussle for the basket. Like a lady, the flower girl acquiesced her basket to the little boy who threw a few petals with a huge grin on his face and then took his seat with his grandparents. Sarah approached to the melodies of a beautiful violin played by a childhood friend.

The day was gorgeous. Afterwards, Sarah and Kris, took a run through the sprinklers at Stephen's Lake Park alone. Kris had brought a black suit to wear in lieu of his rented tux and they knew the fabric of Sarah's dress would be just fine. So they did it. As they walked back to Reichmann Pavilion for their reception festivities and Irish jigs, they were content. The two held hands, observed the wet trail they were leaving behind them on the sidewalk, and giggled as they looked into one another's eyes. All was well. Today was the mark of the rest of their lives together and they wouldn't have it any other way.




















P.S. I normally don't throw in bridal party photos but I had to throw this one in. Sarah & the girls realized after the ceremony that they'd all forgotten to use their bouquets that had been so painstakingly put together for the ceremony. They were bummed. So to make up for it they did a few pictures with their bouquets in prominent positions. This was probably the favorite of the day.