Goin' to the Chapel....

On Tuesday, we headed to Valdosta, Georgia for Eric's cousin's wedding.  Devin was a BEAUTIFUL bride, and Nick is a fabulous addition to our large family. :) Eric (aka, "Pastor Bass") performed the ceremony, and did a great job! Im including all the pics from my camera since I know family near and far will want to snag them....sorry for the pic overload! 

Whitney was trying her best to behave during the rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon.  Jessie and Bullseye ("Buckeye!") were a big help :) 

Although, she may have thought that SHE was gonna be a bridesmaid.....

....until cousin Justin set her straight :) He is SOOOO good with Whitney! She adores him, and we are all so proud of this soldier! He is recently back from Afghanistan and heading back to Italy sooner than we'd hoped. :(

After the rehearsal, Whitney was lucky enough to get some quality time with Aunt Tina :) I think I mentioned Whitney's recent anxiety over "strangers" coming close to her. Aunt Tina isnt exactly a "stranger", but she does live in Texas now, so Whitney hasnt gotten to see her as often as we'd like.  But Whitney knows good people when she sees 'em, and she warmed right up to Aunt Tina, giving her hugs and kisses and holding her hand :) So nice and comforting to see Whitney finally show signs of leaving this stage (again).  I hope we are over it for GOOD because she is missing out on fun times with great family members when she shies away from them and buries her head in her hands. :(

On Wednesday, we had some time to kill and a toddler to wear out before the wedding.  We found an awesome park near the hotel, and the weather was perfect! 

"Whoa!!!"

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

She laughed and smiled and giggled the entire time!

Apparently ALL children MUST climb UP slides whenever possible.  She does this at gym class occasionally.

Not really sure what's goin' on here, but she was mighty proud of herself and laughing hysterically!

Getting Daddy's help climbing up another slide :)

Going to try out the big swing with Mommy

Eric is the MASTER of the auto-timer setting on our camera.  This shot was taken while the camera was probably 20 yards away, sitting on a picnic table. Great work, Eric!

More swinging :)

Seriously, how cute is she?! She was soooooo excited to be running around and climbing! She would look for us, smile, and wave, yelling "HI, Mommy! Hi, Daddy! HIII!!" 

LOVE her. 

And after a tearful good-bye to the park, we headed for some lunch and an attempt at a nap in the hotel room. Whitney is an awesome napper.  Great sleeper.  But in a hotel room, it just wasnt happening.  So after a valiant effort at a family nap, we decided to buckler her into the carseat and drive. She fought a good fight, staring out the back window with glassy, sleepy eyes for a looooong time. She finally fell asleep and we moved her sleepy body into the hotel bed......only to have her pop up with a happy "hi!" about 10 minutes later.  A 30 minute nap was NOT going to cut it for a toddler headed to a wedding, so we got back in the car and drove around some more.  Valdosta has a LOT of tattoo parlors and a great college campus...but thats about it.  Not really a whoooole lot to look at. Whitney once again fell asleep, but we were smart enough to KEEP driving this time, allowing her another hour of sleep before we carried her sleepyhead back into the hotel room.  She was starting to stir right as I needed her to get up, so I only SORT OF woke a sleeping baby while putting her tights on :) She was happy to wake up and get dolled up for the night of dancing and fun!

How gorgeous is this!?

Whitney did an awesome job as the grandparents, parents, and bridal party all made their way down the aisle.  Not a peep! As Devin passed our seats, Whitney said "Mommy, da pwincesss!" but was quiet enough that only the people right around us heard her sweet comment.  I thought we might make it through the ceremony....but alas, the second Eric said "Welcome family and friends...", Whitney yelled, "DADDY!!!" as loud as she could. :) We bolted for the door, as I knew that she would continue to marvel out loud at the fact that her daddy's voice was filling the room from giant speakers :)

After her amazement simmered down, we decided to quietly sit in the back of the room so I didnt miss the ENTIRE ceremony :) Whitney was really well-behaved and quiet, thanks to a few stickers and my bracelet :) 

After the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour and some fun with a photo booth :)

Eric's cousin, Chelsey. a bridemsaid, and her boyfriend Blake.  Love them :) 

The only family pic we got :( We are SOOO bad at taking family pics!! 

Aunt Christina and Papa!

Our fabulous host and hostess, Aunt Cindy and Uncle Casey. They throw an awesome wedding, and we are so proud to call them family! LOVE them :) 

Eric with two of his cousins, Jordan and Justin...a BUNCH of people commented about how Whitney looks just like our family members.  Most of these folks dont know we adopted Whitney, so its fun to hear them tell the beautiful bride "Devin, your little cousin looks JUST like you!!" :)

Eric and his bro, Dawson....they look more and more alike as Dawson grows up :)

Eric's other brother, Parker, with his girlfriend Melanie.  I heart her! These two are tops on the short list of "What family members do we think will get married next??" YEAH!

I forget what we were laughing at, but Christina had tears rolling down her face :) 

More time with Justin :) He gave me one of my favorite compliments....he said "I hope my future kids are as cool as Whitney someday!" :) 

Whitney was a rock star! She was the first one on the dance floor, twirling around and around as if she was participating in her very own "Ring Around the Rosy" contest :) She got to dance with Daddy and Aunt Tina, too :) 

"Mommy, let me down! I wanna DANCE!!!"

"THIS is how you do the electric slide, guys!!"

I love this age :) It has its challenges, but thankfully we dont require naps in hotel rooms on a frequent basis, and I love Whitney's fearless, free-spirit personality.  Our little Dancing Queen was fast asleep not long after this pic was taken....she really is such a good girl.  The wedding festivities were SO fun, and made me and Eric wonder what Whitney's wedding will be like.  We are saving our pennies already........