in the ‘burgh 2020!

my dear, beautiful cousin got married last month up in my dad’s hometown of pittsburgh!! it was the absolute most perfect day, and i’m still celebrating their fairy tale every time i think about the occasion!

to make a long-ish story short-ish, however, i waffled for weeks on whether or not the kiddos and i could make the journey [with steven home on work/house/part-time dog duty]… because for one, life is super weird right now on just about every level. and for another, if we hopped in the car with my parents and drove for 10 hours, who. even. knooows. how a 21 month old would do!! it could potentially be miserable. i’ve flown so easily with my kiddos for so long now, but we’ve just started doing more car travel in recent years. it can get a bit dicey at times! and luca has a louuud set of pipes…

BUT! if you know me, then you might know what my dramatic FOMO is capable of, and i’ve already missed out on two cousin weddings. plus, i need no excuse to want to jaunt up to see the fam and reconnect with my favorite of childhood memories in the house where my dad and his siblings grew up. just being there smells like childhood to me, and i’ve never really wondered until now if it smells like my dad’s childhood?? or just mine. haha. well, anyway… the big kids ask me monthly, at the very least, when we’re going back to pittsburgh!? “i don’t know!” i’ll respond wistfully, “it might be a while…”

honestly, though… i, like many, have been in a 2020 rut since march, and have really, really needed a change of comfort zone here and there. no, i definitely don’t want to get out of my comfort zone, i just need to change it up and be in another one of my comfort zones!

i was so distraught over this unsettled internal conflict as the date of the trip approached, [standard for me over any issue right now, as my anxiety levels remain unwavering, haha], that the day before my parents were leaving, i issued a prayer of desperation to the heavenly realm. i’m tired of making my own adult decisions, okay? tired of it! and i’m actually pretty good at making decisions. so, anyway, as i went about my chores i was kind of like, “dear God… is this thing on? can you hear me? okay, LOOK, i need peace. and i’m not trying to test you here, because i know that sorta thing isn’t cool… but i need a change, so if it’s actually a good idea for us to go, let me know! hit me up! send a sign! and we’ll go! if not, we’re staying home, final word. please. like, please please please.” 20 minutes later, my aunt facetimed me and said, “are we going to see you this weekend? we have plenty of room!”

say. no. more.

[so, yes, after weeks of my husband telling me to go, my mom telling me to go, my bff telling me to go… my aunt gets the sign-from-God credit.]

the babes had so much fun sleeping in what used to be my grandmom’s dressing room!! it was the perfect setup, thank you so much aunt leese. 🙂

two of stella’s brothers and her mama, luna!! luna is how i knew 100% i wanted a stella. she’s dreamy.

the spoilings of cousin bella neeever get old!

…proper documentation of adults at the kids’ table

i want to feel old-fashiony every day. thank you, century-old dining room details.

approaching the church just in time to sneak a peek of our beautiful bridal barbie, becca!!! ahhhh! mom’s arm tells of the excitement.

we love you, becca and doug!! also, it was wonderful to have a truly joyous celebration at this church! we’ve had some hard family gatherings there in the recent past.

gosh, rocco is twice the size as he was last time luke swung him around on that lawn! time is too much, but i love it.

she is their queen. i kid you not.

fyi, i was 16 when she was born. sixteen!! maddalena portrait moded us and i don’t know, i was pretty impressed. love you, bellbell!

the wedding reception could not have been more flawless!!! the florals… her bustle… their dance! the friendly bartender that knew to grab that red wine bottle when she saw me come a-trotting… 😉 and rocco. oh my gosh. he killed it on the dance floor once again! that boy is getting a reputation in the wedding scene, and i could not love it more.

dad and his babiest sister took the big kiddos to mt. washington to ride the incline and get ice cream! apparently it was too bright for eyeballs. 🙂 note to self: dig out old mt. washington pics!

luca’s daily joys: finding kitties… drinking out of cups… and puppup interaction…

stelly’s brother, stryker, but this looks *just* *like* stella, doesn’t it!! the boys are super manly, though. they make the girls look petite, though stella is not small for a ladypup.

…aaaand we’ve come full circle.

i really can’t believe we almost missed out on a fun visit to our peeps because i was so trapped in my own fear of what could go wrong, worried we’d just be inconveniencing people we love. i mean, i never want to inconvenience people, i think that’s reasonable. haha. but still. thank you for letting us bomb you with our circus, fam!! we love you!!! until next time… 🙂

[past pittsburgh mems]