Holidays are here!

I love this time of year. As much as i absolutely adore summer (the hotter the better!) i almost, ALMOST love the Holidays more. If i could swim on Christmas day, no doubt it would be my favorite day of the year.

We are surprisingly ahead of our normal schedule this year with shopping. Thanks to some awesome Toys R Us sales, Lori's Christmas is complete! On Christmas morning i am going to have a happy little munchkin with a brand new Kitchen, Vanity, Shopping cart, and her very first Cabbage Patch doll. We even let her pick out her own special paper to wrap her gifts in. Dora the Explorer, of course. Although she is more interested in using the roll of paper as a weapon, than on using it to wrap her gifts...she is my child.

I also have my nephew (and new niece or nephew!), all my secret santa's, a couple of friends, and Roman (halfway) bought for. Now i just have to nag Roman to get something with MY name on it. I love giving but i want gifts too! Especially those of the musical, healthy/exercise, and awesomely cool accessory kind. Hint hint, nudge nudge.

The countdown to Thanksgiving Dinner, and Christmas decorating is ON! Thanksgiving day will be a big family dinner with Roman's family, and Friday i will be getting up early to cook our own special meal. Which will be promptly followed by lots and lots of shopping with all the other crazy people out doing the same thing! Then we come home, exhausted and grumpy, put up our Christmas tree, and put all our gifts under it. After which we will swear to never, ever, EVER go out shopping on Black Friday ever again. Don't worry though, we'll do it again next year, we always do.

Baby has a brand new room!

A lot has happened since the last time i updated. We went on our first beach vacation as a family! Lori loved it, although honestly she wasn't absolutely thrilled with the ocean...or the sand...or the alligators. She had fun with Nana and Papa though, that's what counts right?

We have also officially moved into a larger, family friendly home! We have been waiting on this since the minute we found out i was pregnant with Lori, two years ago. We loved our old apartment, which is partially why it took us so long to get moving but it was just too small for all of us. We found a fantastic little apartment that is just perfect for our little family and only a short walk to Roman's work (and the mall, but who's keeping track!?!?). It's been a little over 2 weeks since we moved in and we are getting settled nicely. I want to go all out and give Lori the "nursery" that i couldn't give her when i was pregnant, i'm still deciding what to do though, suggestions welcome! I really don't want to have to paint, but i want to liven it up so i'm up for any ideas.

We also just passed Lori's 2nd Halloween. I can't believe how time is flying! Lori was a witch for Halloween this year, not as creative as last years run as a punk rock princess but she was still just as cute! We didn't do trick or treating because Lori still doesn't eat candy and sweets so there was no need to tempt her (and us!) with all the chocolaty goodness. We also dressed Lori up in a halloween tshirt and took her to the park, might as well take advantage of the beautiful fall days we have left this year!










Christmas is coming soon! It's now time to start getting shopping lists together. I can't wait to pick out toys for Lori this year and see her face on Christmas morning. It's going to be a Christmas to remember for sure.

15 months and counting

I swear Lori is too smart for her own good. She learns more every single day, so much so that it really scares me sometimes. She is picking up whole phrases now instead of just words, which means what exactly? That mommy and daddy really better be careful what they say around her! Last week while changing Lori's diaper i told her that she was stinky, she now goes around screaming "i stinky, i stinky!" which makes me die laughing no matter what. Another favorite phrase is "i did it!", i'm thinking she must be watching WAY too much "dora the explorer".

Speaking of cartoons, i had no idea that when i had a kid that i would pretty much only be watching kids programming. I wasn't going to let my kids watch tv, blah blah blah. That lasted all of 6 months, until my mom introduced Lori to PBS Sprout and like magic i finally had a few minutes in my day to be sane. Sure i felt bad for letting my baby watch tv, but it's not like i park her in front of it 24/7 as her babysitter. I go to sleep every night now with the sesame street theme song playing in my head and wake up to the thought of "kipper the dog" and "pajanimals". I really need to get out amongst adults more...

Lori had her 15 month checkup two weeks ago. She is thriving and growing like a weed. Weighing in at 17lbs and 31.5 inches, although how she weighs that much i have NO idea, she runs nonstop! This appointment was also our first really bad experience with a vaccine. She had a dose of the prevnar vaccine in her arm and it was swollen and red for well over a week, not only that but Lori was incredibly fussy. It was definitely not my favorite visit to the pediatrician's office. It's hard to believe that her next appointment will be at 18 months old, i can't believe my baby is already almost a year and a half. Time flies so quickly.

One short year

We are almost done playing catch-up...

Lori grew fast. At first, when everyone tells you that you won't get any sleep for months you think it's never going to end, but surprisingly it passes so quick, too quick really. Lori smiled at a month old, rolled over the same weekend, slept through the night at five weeks old, crawled at 5 months, knew who mama and dada were at 8 months, walked at 11 months, has 8 teeth, says multiple works, and grows far too much every single day. As a newborn, i couldn't have asked for a more laid back baby...as a toddler, she has her daddy's looks and her mommy's temper. This week she will be 16 months old already, time flies by to fast...

I have a slideshow of her first year in the sidebar...with the promise of more to come soon!

Welcome Loralei

Within weeks of our wedding, Roman and I got the biggest surprise of our lives. We were expecting a honeymoon baby! We weren't quite sure what to feel, it was so sudden and unexpected, we were thrilled and terrified all at the same time! As the days passed our feelings turned completely to excitement and we started preparing for our new arrival...

Our first ultrasound at 8 weeks


Gender ultrasound on Christmas Eve 2008
It's a Girl!


22 Week 3D ultrasound



36 Week 3D ultrasound

She has Roman's nose!


The room is all ready to bring her home!


Final ultrasound at the doctor's office


Roman and i took one last date night before Lori's arrival



And one day before her due date, at 330am on May 12 I went in to labor. 14 1/2 hours later at 5:50pm, Loralei Noelle arrived...








Welcome to the world little Loralei.

A Reception To Remember

Roman and I have so many friends and family that it was pretty much impossible to have only one wedding party. We held the ceremony and one reception in the south for my friends and family, and exactly one week later had a big party in Chicago for everyone here. This is our night...

Original toast


First dance


Dancing with my Maid of honor Cheryl


Cutting the cake


Bouquet toss


Roman getting down before the garter toss




Little did we know that all the excitement wasn't over. Only a few weeks later we had a surprise in store...

Dresses, Veils, and Flowers.

Of course after the engagement came the whirlwind of wedding plans. It started almost immediately and didn't end until over a year later when the last thank-you note was signed and mailed.

Wedding planning can be one of the most stressful times of you life, but if you have great friends and support with you through the ride then it can also be one of the most fun times. I was fortunate to have my best friends with me (some in spirit due to long distances!) every step of the way.

Roman and i changed the date at least 3 or 4 times. The venue was changed twice. We eventually settled on Friday, August 15th, 2008. A sunset wedding, at Brasstown Valley Resort, in a garden. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL, and the reception that followed was everything we hoped for. We were fortunate to not only have the wedding with my family and friends in North Carolina, but to have a separate reception a week later in Chicago for all of Romans relative that were unable to travel. Both parties were stunning nights to remember...



My "Updated" ring. We got a diamond wrap to go around the original solitaire.



My Tiara.



The Wedding Invite. Hand made, hand stamped, hand tied. Lots of work!




My Wedding Dress. My Best friend Cheryl was right there beside me while i tried on over 100 dresses over a couple month timespan. We were so happy to find "the one".



Rehearsal



Rehearsal Dinner. Our families meeting for the first time.



Hair and Makeup for the big day.



Teresa (my hairstylist) is always there for me!



Our rings.



Roman and Donald (My Pastor)



The Ceremony.






























John, Our great friend and wedding photographer! He came all the way from Canada for our big day.



First dance.



One of my lovely Maids of honor (yep, i had two!) and i dancing to "our" song.





It was an absolutely beautiful day. One week later, we were ready for round two of wedding celebrations.

Our Journey from the beginning.

Let's get caught up from the beginning of our "family" until now!

Roman and i met online in the fall of 2004. However we didn't meet how you would think two people would meet online. There were no dating sites or chat rooms, for us it was a simple blogging site that brought us together. We had bother been members of a blogging community for a while, and knew some of the same people. Those people eventually led us to each other and we became quick friends.

At the time, I lived in a small town in North Carolina, and Roman in Chicago. We didn't expect much to come out of our friendship online but as the months passed we grew closer and eventually fell in love. Around 6 months after "meeting" online we finally met in person when i flew to Chicago...we haven't really be apart since!

In the summer of 2007, after almost 3 years of dating, we started talking about marriage. One day Roman took me to look at engagement rings...yep he took me along. My fault! I am a picky girl when it comes to jewelry and i really couldn't stomach the idea of him spending more than he should on something that i might not even like. I wasn't trying to be a brat, just practical! We went to over 10 stores and i found nothing. Prices were so high for so little! We decided to make one last stop before heading home, at a new engagement ring store. I practically had to be dragged in because at this point, i was done with the whole process. I was so tired and disappointed that i was ready to just put a cracker jack prize ring on and be done with it all! The store had some amazing rings of course, and the price tags to go along with them, some even more than i can imagine spending for a house! We finally found **THE** ring, it wasn't even what i was looking for, it was so simple yet exactly what i wanted. Roman agreed and went on with the purchase. Little did i know that he was planning a surprise proposal right there in the store! The associates took our picture when we were leaving and right then Roman got down on one knee and proposed! After picking out the ring, i didn't think i could be surprised by the proposal but i was. It was magic in a jewelry store!

This is the first picture of Roman and I together. Taken in early March, 2005, at the end of our first week together. This was right before we left for the airport.

Roman's first ever trip to my parents house. June 2005.

Our first New years eve together. New years 2006.

Our absolutely AMAZING trip to Los Cabos, Mexico. August 2006.

The day we got engaged in 2007!

At the store right before the proposal!

Ready to go out and celebrate after a long emotional day.

The ring!

Our engagement photos. February 2008.

Next up...the wedding!