The day we found out we were having a girl we left our appointment and went to buy an outfit. It was our first gift for her! Paul picked out Indians onesies….and we both chose a dress. 

That night I had to order a frilly headband to go with it! ;) I found this adorable item on etsy ;)

I am currently working on a knit eyelet dress and a lavender baby blanket. I recently ordered labels on etsy with her name on them to sew in her handknit items from me and of course from her Oma who is already working on a knit dress for her ;)

I have never spent so much time trying to decide on a pattern and on yarn as I have knowing that this blanket will finally be for my little.  I even made Paul go with me to the local yarn store to help me decide.  I chose a self striping lavender yarn and I am double stranding it to really give it a rich texture and it is oh-so-soft! I plan to make her at least two baby blankets.  I love working on it and talking to her as I am doing so. I cannot wait to wrap her in it!! Here is what I have done so far:

When I was single, I once got advice to make a list of everything you would want to do with your partner. Once the list is made, don’t wait, and take yourself on these “dates” so you date yourself and it makes you that much more ready when the “one” comes along.  I made my list. I even took myself on many of the dates I’d want to have. The one thing on my list I couldn’t accomplish on my own was “spending an afternoon cuddling on the couch each reading our own book”.

When my Husband and I first started dating, we had a lovely lunch date.  It was January and cold and snowy in Cleveland and we came back to my place and made coffee and snuggled on the couch.  He mentioned the book he had been reading (one I had recommended to him) and we ended up cuddling on the couch and both read our own books.  

I remember thinking to myself that this was perfect. It was perfect. It was a perfect afternoon and one of the first moments that I began to envision a future with Paul.

I love that we still talk about the books we are reading, that we show no judgement when either of us is so engrossed in a book that HOURS may go by. 

I love that I can share the love that was sparked inside me as a young child…the love of reading with someone else who shares that love.

We are both adamant to make sure our daughter has plenty of books of her own and are already reading to her while in the womb! We hope to instill in her a love of reading that we are both blessed to have!

I have been pretty busy as of late. My Husband and I are expecting a little miracle in the beginning of August! We are so thrilled and cannot wait to welcome our daughter :)  We never realized how much we can already love someone we have yet to meet! She is already spoiled rotten and I’m pretty sure a Daddy’s girl ;)

(16 weeks)

(22 weeks)

The minute we found out we were having a baby girl, Paul had to buy her something special! :) Here is her first Tribe onesies and of course….first “chucks”:

We have been really busy planning for her arrival and the first thing on our list was a home. We were blessed to find a wonderful Realtor and we found our dream home. The minute we walked through the doors, we knew it was “home”.  In two weeks we get the keys to our new HOUSE! 

Lots of changes are happening for us and thankfully they are all welcome changes! I have always been one who pushes back against any type of change especially if it is out of my comfort zone, but I am ready for us to move on to this next chapter and begin to establish our home and our family. As Paul puts it, we are planting our roots.

God has truly bestowed so many blessings on us and we vow not to take any of them for granted but to enjoy every moment of this journey and appreciate all of our blessings.

Paul planned a day of fun for us last Saturday! Okay, let’s be honest, he was excited and drug me along to help stand in line and get autographs…but we still ended up having an absolute blast! The Cleveland Indians held Tribe fest at Progressive Field and for $10 a ticket we definitely got more than our money’s worth of Tribetastic fun!

When we arrived there was quite a long line waiting to get into the stadium. Luckily the line moved fairly quickly and the “condiments” were there to keep the Tribe Festers entertained!

Once we got in the stadium we were ushered into the underbelly of the stadium and the fun began….

We quickly found the line which was already very long to stand in line for player autographs. Paul had purchased two new baseballs with cases. The line took 2 hours….yet we were never bored!! There was so much going on around us! Tribe Alumni players were being interviewed on the stage beside us, we saw different players making there way to different stations and we met many people during our wait.  Then we saw Terry Francona the GM heading to the stage and I took my moment. I managed to be one of the handfull to get his autograph on one of Paul’s baseballs….score!!!!

We finally made our way to the front of the line and were able to meet and get autographs from Zach McAllister, Jason Kipnis and Drew Stubbs!

We then roamed around and even got honorary “contracts” with the Cleveland Indians signed by Chris Antonetti!!! Our nephew Logan was beyond excited when we brought him his!! :) We also saw Mike Aviles walking around!

It was a wonderful day and basically like Disney World for Paul!!

Paul’s know-how of twitterverse (@psrados) finally paid off….literally!!! He answered a question to The Melting Pot saying what his favorite Christmas Movie was (A Christmas Story of course!!!) and he was the winner of a $50 gift certificate!!! A dream come true!! $50 of free dipping? YES PLEASE!

We feasted on shrimp, pork, chicken, and two types of steak with many dipping options and “fondoued” our hearts out!

The best, however…..was definitely dessert!

YUM!!! Full bellies by all! :)

A year ago I started this blog to try and focus on the things I love and to bring more focus on the things in my life to make me happier. I want to continue with that theme throughout 2013! Many fabulous things happened over the past year, here are some of my favorites from each Month!

January:

*Browns/Steelers game in the freezing cold with my Paul :)        

*Book Club at Rizi’s house (Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter)…lots of wine and laughter with friends!

February:

*Superbowl party and Drew and Dianes! Great time with friends, lots of laughter, and easily ate 2 lbs worth of meatballs!                                                                            

*Met college friends from out of town, Lisa and Jennifer for breakfast and spent a couple hours really catching up!            

*Spring Awakening at the Beck Center….date with Paul!    

*Memphis at Playhouse Square with my Paul! Amazing show!

March:

*Book Club at Christy’s (Bossypants)

*I turned 35!  

*Paul and I had a date to go see The Hunger Games!!!

*Passed my comprehensive exams!                

*Attended Playhouse Square launch party

April:

*Took and passed my TESOL Praxis Exam!      

*Had both of my amazing bridal showers!  

*Attended bridal shower for dear friend Jen.                                                              

May:

*Dinner with girls at my friend Kristy’s beautiful home :)          

*Took a surprise staycation with Paul and stayed at the Ritz downtown and checked out new casino.              

*Celebrated my bachelorette party on Kelley’s Island!

June:

*Book club at Sharda’s (The Secret Daughter)            

*Our friends Brian and Jen’s wedding!

July:

Oh What a Month!! GOT MARRIED!!!! HONEYMOONED IN PUERTO RICO!!   Also, book club at my friend Anita’s where we discussed Fifty Shades of Grey! :)

August:

*Indians game, school started!

September:

*My cousin Melissa’s wedding :)  

*Birthday party for our friend Jen’s 30th!  

*Browns Home Opener

*Home for the Bellville Fair :)

October:

*Indians game

*Went to see Anything Goes at Playhouse Square!

*Met my friend Jenni’s baby boy Charlie!!!!

November:

*Went to see friend Olivia dance in the ballet Dracula in Columbus!

*Book club at Diane’s house!            

*Went to see Beauty & the Beast at Playhouse Square :)  

*Went to dinner with girlfriends and then to see final Twilight movie!

December:

*First year not IN Bazaar Bizarre, but went and shopped :)    

*Girl’s Christmas and Secret Santa reveal at Meg’s new place in Battery Park!

*Girl’s Christmas spa day and dinner at Hyde Park ;)

*One of the BEST Christmases EVER!!! :)

*Spent New Year’s Eve with great friends and lots of laughter!!!

2012 was a wonderful year for me! I started this blog, finished grad school, married the love of my life, and found time to do some of my favorite things!!

Reading is by far one of my favorite things and this past year was no different, even though I was busy busy busy….I still found time to read a good book! Here is my 2012 reading list:

Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter by Lisa Patton

Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Immortal Life of Henritetta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

11th Hour by James Patterson

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson

Gone, Girl by Gillian Flynn

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (reread)

Guilty Wives by James Patterson

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Zoo by James Patterson

NYPD Red by James Patterson

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

I hope to read even more this coming year especially since there are no more graduate reading assignments! :) Cheers to a new year’s worth of books!