Wedding Extravaganza, Part Deux

Uncle Kirty and Auntie Julie tied the knot last Friday. Once again, Mommy and Macey played the parts of bridesmaid and ring bearer, respectively.

Thursday night marked the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner -- and also the only time the WHOLE family was together. Dr. Auntie Meg's residency graduation coincided with Kirt and Julie's big day, so we took time to take a family picture (the Bean is even prominently visible!)



Friday was wedding day. After a relaxing morning of family time -- we took Mason to see Up! at the movie theater Mommy frequented as a teenager (weird!) -- followed by a nap, it was time to head to the church.

Mason was utterly mesmerized when he saw his Auntie Julie before the wedding. As Grammy said, he looked like one of those cartoon characters with stars in their eyes and just said "She's so beautiful." And who could argue!!?!?!



After refueling with some chocolate milk behind the scenes, it was time for the big game ... er, moment.



Mason showed off his professional ring-bearing skills, by practically dragging his counterpart, Evan, down the aisle. He was pretty anxious to get to Uncle Kirty, who had a surprise waiting at the alter -- a new car, which he then used to drive over Mommy's tummy as Julie came marching down the aisle.



After the I-Dos were said and the licensed was signed, it was time to party and party Mason did ...



With his uncles...



With Aunt Patty, who he drug onto the dance floor...



And of course, with his Auntie Julie...




And Uncle Kirty...



Congrats to them both! All of our pictures are here, and here's the photographer's official pics.

Wedding Extravaganza, Pt. I

Macey and Mommy have been in Colorado for a full week now, and between the wedding-weekend madness, the jet lag, getting adjusted to life in the 'burbs and the remote home office, Mommy hasn't a lot of time to post!

Uncle Clint and Auntie Meg got hitched last Saturday and are off enjoying their Mexican honeymoon now.

The wedding weekend began with a trip to see the Rockies play the Astros at Coors Field. Despite Mason's best efforts -- and rally cap -- the home team did not pick up the win. We did, however, have lots of fun and Mommy got some cool sun burn lines in the four inches between the bottom of her shorts and the top of her knees.

Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner before the big day rolled around Saturday. Mason looked pretty dapper in his tux upon arriving at the church, which was in downtown Denver. There was only one slight problem, though: He arrived with one shoe missing! Papa trekked back toward the car and found it lying in the middle of the street. It was rescued and the show went on without a hitch, as Mason escorted one of Clint and Meg's nieces, Caroline, down the aisle.

Once Clint and Meg sealed the deal with a kiss, we all got ready to party. In my humble, and totally unbiased opinion, Mason stole the show (as much as he could with a beautiful, happy couple taking center stage!). Check out his dance moves:



Sweet Caroline was in honor of, well, sweet Caroline, who was pretty sure Clint was really her boyfriend and not Meg's! All the nieces and nephews had a great time dancing. We could barely get Mason off the dance floor. He didn't want dinner. He didn't want cake. Finally, it was a Capri Sun that did the trick, but then he was back out there again.



As the night wore on, he got a little tuckered out.



Then, he finally crashed on an antique sofa in the room just over from where the party was a roarin'.



As a finale, here are the official Mercier family portraits from the evening, the before and after, if you will...



For anyone interested in the entirety of the weekend's action, check out our Snapfish Album.

Daycare Kiddos

Melissa and her brave staff took eight of the kiddos to the Children's Museum last Friday night. All us mommies and daddies picked them up from there and spent a little time playing. Here are some shots from the action:



Mason, as you can see, refused to take part in the group shot. It might have had something to do with this group lining up by the door, awaiting their parents' arrival and eventual dismissal. As I was already there, he wanted to keep playing. To wit, here he is running all over the museum, wearing the fire fighter's hat he picked up sometime before I got there. Also, note the stickers on his cheeks? Well, when I took those off later that night, they left little sticker-shaped rashes that lasted all weekend. Oops!



Zachary and Lilly...



Kellyn and Zion



One more shot, though not from CMOM. This one is from our usual Tuesday night trek to karate class. They're getting pretty good! I thought they looked pretty cute all bundled up and waiting on the stairs while the stroller was parked.

Catching up with...

Mason's secret twin, Malka, who we've known since they were about six months old and partners in crime in the baby room at Nursery North. We stopped by to visit Malka and her Eemah on Saturday so the toddlers could get some playtime in, and us mommies could stare at Malka's new baby brother.

Here they are giving each other a big ol' hug, while Mason tells Malka that she's his "bestest buddy."

It's so cool that even though we don't get together as often as we'd like, whenever we do, they're "bestest buddies" all over again!

Storytime!

Mason's been regaling us with his favorite story for some time now. We thought it was time to share:

Well Bundled

It's been frigid here in the Northeast -- though the temperature was 41 degrees when I woke up this morning, so for one day I can't complain. Anyway, the dipping temps did necessitate a crafty weekend, as a made the Macey Man a scarf to bundle himself in. Here he is after our early morning Saturday swimming lessons looking oh-so-cute.

Ready For Some Football

Sports have been the rule in the Mercier House lately (always, really) and here's some proof that our little Mason Man is ready for the start of football season:



That, my friends, is Mason's YouTube debut, and here's what it looked like today on SI.com, where Mommy's friend Mallory included it in her daily Campus Clicks.



Go Buffs! Beat the Rams. We'll be watching on TV for now...but Mommy, for one, is looking forward to the West Virginia game in a couple of weeks.

Spontaneous Fun!

A dance party broke out following bathtime tonight. Too cute not to share...

As is this photo. He later topped his ensemble (or lack there of) off with his circus hat. Too funny...

Now I know my A-B-Cs!

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

For a while Mason has needed a haircut. However, because Mason's Mom likes his curly hair, it took a while to get to the point where his inability to see overtook his shaggy-haired look. But the time had come. He was starting to look like a hippie:


You can tell Macey's hair is getting long when you wash it and you can create extreme hairstyles. Our favorite is the Sanjaya (for all you American Idol fans), also known as the USC.
I've got to say Mason sure does handle getting his haircut better now than he did in the past. Before, we needed to make sure we cut quick, because after he knew what we were doing he'd freak out. Now, he takes it in stride and just watches the video we have playing for him, this time it was Curious George. He even looked at the locks of hair falling and kept cool (and it is, was a lot of locks).
Well now there has been a transformation, our our little surfer boy has changed to a debonair, dapper little guy. But his hair grows fast and it's only a matter of time before we start debating when haircut number six comes. If Mom has her way, it won't be for awhile or at least until his hair is close to his eye level.

The Out of Towners

Our string of family visitors continued this month with Uncle Kirt and Auntie Julie (since they set the date, she's officially an Auntie!) We had so much fun with them. It was all pretty low-key. They did a little sightseeing during the day, taking some time out to drag Mommy out to lunch on a couple of occasions. At night, we all hung out -- going to our favorite pizza place, buying funky fun hats in Chinatown and being serenaded by some old Italian gentlemen on our quest for a good Little Italy meal. It worked. We ate there and it was delicious. Mason LOVED the bathroom there, and announced on numerous occasions that he had to poop. He did...once, but the rest of the time he mostly wanted to play. In the bathroom. Maybe he has some Uncle Kirty in him -- remember those Port-a-Pottie days?

They had to leave on Wednesday, but Mason is still talking about the fun he had while they were here. Most especially, he loved riding the Ferris Wheel with Uncle Kirty at Toys R Us and seeing the dinosaurs with Auntie Julie (at the Natural History Museum). He even recorded this little diddy for the two of you...