Flower Girl and Birthday Boy

I am posting this from Jeffrey's parents' home in Portland, OR. We are here to celebrate the marriage of his younger sister Lori to Cody. Elise was quite pleased to serve as flower girl for the event.

Elise smiled for pictures, fulfilling her important role as an adorable replica of the bride. Then came time for the main event. Elise headed down the aisle, chucking fists full of petals high into the air. About a third of the way, she caught her toe on her dress. As she bent down to pull her dress free she must have decided that this was a great chance to refill her flower basket. But seemed to have changed her mind, because she then stood up and flipped over her basket to dump out all of the reclaimed petals. Elise then set the basket down and grinned, pleased with finding a quick way to fulfill her flower-dropping mission. Around this time the groom, Uncle Cody, saved the day by taking Elise by the hand to escort her the rest of the way down the aisle. Once she was safely in her seat with me, she turned to me and declared, "I'm ready for my treat!" Bribery works so well with two year olds.

Everyone thought that she was just precious. I'm sure that their were literally hundreds of photos of Elise taken at the wedding. We will share some of the professional ones when we receive them.

The wedding day was also Zion's first birthday. Zion didn't seem to mind, or should I say Zion didn't seem to notice that we shifted his special day a day later to make way for such a special wedding. Elise on the other hand seemed to think this whole celebration was all about Zion's birthday. When Cody announced at the reception that the cake would be served soon, Elise shouted with glee, "Zion's birthday cake! It's Zion's birthday!"

Elise with her new Uncle Cody.

Elise enjoying a well earned treat.

Lori with Zion.

Other favorite quotes from Elise this weekend:

Sharon making plans for the wedding morning: "What do we need to do tomorrow morning?"

Elise: "Wake up!"

Me: "Elise, did you hear Zion crying last night?"

Elise: "Yes, Zion was crying. He was saying, 'Mama? Mama are you here? Mama are you not here?'"

Jeffrey: "Do you need to sit on the potty?"

Elise: "I need to make poopy and pee-pee. Then I need a treat. At home we have blueberries, cookies, animal crackers . . . They taste good."