Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Nate, Kalli, Jan, Marvin (Nate's parents) on Christmas Day.

Nate's parents came to Rockford on Christmas Day. We all had dinner at my parents' house. We opened a few gifts at my parents house, but most of them we had opened on Christmas Eve. The rest of the weekend was spent by watching movies, shopping, and just hanging out. During one of our shopping excursions, we purchased a furniture set for the baby room. The furniture will be delivered on Monday, I will post pictures soon. Our Christmas weekend was fun and relaxing. As always, it was nice to spend time with friends and family. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! May the New Year bring you health and happiness!

It's A Girl!

We had another ultra-sound today and discovered that Baby Bruck is a girl! Of course, there is a slight chance that the baby could be a boy, but the ultra-sound technician was pretty certain that the baby is female. Nate and I are very happy, excited, and surpsied... we were sure the baby was a boy! We have decided on the name Alaina Katheryn after my mom, grandma, and sister. Below are a few pictures from the ultra-sound.

I like this picture the best. You can actually see the baby's head, spine, and lungs.

Baby's arm waving hello. How cute.

The picture below confirmed that Baby is a girl. (I don't get it either)

Bulls Game

Last night, Nate and I went to a Bulls game with my brother and sister. Nate bought four tickets to the game about a month ago. The plan was to have a "boys night out" with Nate, my brother, my dad, and Yanni. Yanni was, sadly, unable to make it from Greece and my dad hasn't been feeling well so there was a slight change in plan. Kathryn and I deicded to take their tickets. Before the game we went to Greek Town for dinner and some shopping. Then we took a taxi to the United Center. Kathryn and I had never been to the United Center before. I was amazed at how big it is and how many people were there. Although we are not huge basketball fans, we had a lot of fun.

Our First Baby Purchase!

We made our first baby purchase over the weekend. Babies R Us was having a 20% off sale. We decided to take advantage of it by buying one of the more expensive items for Baby. You guessed it, we bought a stroller! We thought this would be a relatively easy purchase, but we quickly found out that there is a lot we need to learn about baby products. There were so many different kids of strollers to choose from... three-wheelers, four-wheelers, jogging strollers! Being first time parents, we really did not know which would be best. We spent over an hour in the stroller section, pushing strollers down the aisle. I'm sure we looked ridiculous. We decided on a three-wheel stroller that came with an infant car seat. We liked the green and grey colors since they are not gender specific. Nate assembled the stroller when we got home. Since our garage is so small, we are keeping the stroller inside the baby room. Every time I look at it I think of how much our lives will change once we have a baby to put in it. We are so excited!

Deck The Halls...

I always love having the house decorated for the holidays. I finally brought the Christmas decorations up from the basement tonight. Nate and I put up the Christmas tree together. Since the new furniture in our family room takes up a lot more space, we moved our Christmas tree into the dining room this year. I think it looks really nice right next to our fireplace. We hung our stockings, even one for Zoe (in the shape of a dog bone). I have a few other decorations scattered throughout the house, but I would like to get some more. I'll be sure to go shopping for decorations after the holidays when everything is half off!

Nate and I are looking forward to Kathryn and Yanni coming home next Wednesday. They are staying for an entire month. Nate's parents are also coming for Christmas. It will be nice to spend Christmas with so many family members! Next Christmas will be even more exciting since we will have Baby with us to celebrate.

Update on the Basement Remodel

Our carpet was installed in the basement last week. It really looks great! At first we thought we would only carpet one room in our basement, but we got such a good deal on the carpet that we decided to put new carpet in both rooms. Before the carpet came, Nate tore out the bar and painted over the ugly wood paneling. Now that the new carpet is installed, we have begun moving all the furniture from our office down to the basement. The second room in the basement will be used as an exercise room. Nate and I bought an early Christmas present for each other last night- an elliptical machine! We already have a weight bench and a rowing machine, so we have a pretty good start to our new exercise room. Let's hope that we actually use it! The pictures below show both rooms in the basement. We still have a lot of stuff to move downstairs, but this gives you an idea of what our new basement looks like. I think the downstairs office will eventually be a perfect playroom for Baby.

The first two pictures are of our "office". We are waiting to get a phone line downstairs so we can have internet access. Soon our desk and computer will be next to the TV.

This is the second room we carpeted, the one we will use as an exercise room.

Zoe does not appreciate when we move her kennel. The basement remodel has forced us to move it a few times. Finally, her kennel has a permanent home in our newly carpeted office.

Zoe enjoying the plush new carpet on the stairs to the basement.

Zoe, Our Little Piglet

Zoe was a pig for Halloween this year. You probably think it's ridiculous to dress an animal, and you're probably right, but it's just so darn cute! Zoe even snorts and grunts like a little pig, it was the perfect costume. We spent Halloween at my parent's house. Their neighborhood always gets more trick-or-treaters. Zoe wanted to say hi to all the kids, she even escaped out into the yard a few times. It's hard to believe that next Halloween we will have a baby to dress up in costume. Zoe will not be the cutest for long!

The Remodel Begins

Nate and I are starting to prepare for Baby by getting the nursery ready. This is no easy task. Currently our "nursery" is being used as a computer room and office. We have plans to redo our basement and move all our office things downstairs. There was a huge bar in our basement, kind of funny considering Nate and I do not drink. We tore out the bar last weekend, so the next step is painting the walls and installing carpet. It will be nice to actually use the large room in the basement instead of having an enormous bar. I used the bar to store all my teaching supplies, so I guess I will have to find a new place for those. As for the nursery, we have plenty of time to worry about furniture and decorations. We painted the room light yellow last spring, which will be perfect for Baby's room. Below are a few "before" pictures of our basement and computer room. We will post pictures again when the remodel is complete.

Our ugly basement, minus the bar. The mirrors and wood paneling have to go!

The Best Anniversary Gift

Nate and I are happy to announce that we are going to be parents! We have known for a few weeks, but wanted to wait until our first ultra-sound to break the news. Our first doctor's appointment was this afternoon. Watching the ultra-sound was so amazing. The doctor determined that I am only 9 weeks pregnant, so we didn't expect to see much on the ultra-sound. We were very wrong! The baby already has arms, legs, and a strong heart beat. It's hard see all the features on the ultra-sound printouts, but on the computer screen they were very clear! Needless to say, Nate and I are completely thrilled. We did not expect to get pregnant so quickly. This is truly a gift from God. We can't wait to meet Baby Bruck... sometime around May 9th.

Our 3rd Anniversary

Today is our third year anniversary! It's hard to believe that we have been married for three years already. Nate is working late tonight so I am home alone with Zoe. We are watching the Cubs in their first play off game against the Dodgers. Nate is so upset that he has to miss part of the game. Hopefully he will be home soon to watch the last few innings with me!

Cubs vs. Brewers

Nate and I went to Milwaukee this weekend with our friends Jon and Rachael. We went to the Cubs vs. Brewers game at Miller Park. The park is so nice, but I suppose anything is nice compared to Wrigley. The park has a retractable roof, which I thought was pretty cool. There are even gift shops, bars, and restaurants inside the stadium. The Cubs won the game 6-3. I really think there were more Cubs fans at the game than Brewers fans. After the Cubs won, we witnessed a serious fight between a Cub fan and a Brewers fan. Both people were arrested. Right now, I am watching the Cubs play the Brewers again and it looks like the Cubs will win today's game too! We can't wait for the playoffs to start. It's gonna happen!

Today is Nate's birthday. Our trip to Milwaukee was part of our brithday celebration for him. Happy 31st Birthday, Nate!

It's Gonna Happen.

Summer would not be complete without going to a Cubs game. This has become a sort of tradition for us. On Saturday, we went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs vs. Phillies. Eventhough the Cubs lost (2-5), the game was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful, although from our bleacher seats it was really HOT! I have a nice sunburn as a souvenir. Of course, we enjoyed all the great Wrigley Field food while watching the game. When the game finished we took the train back to our hotel, right off Michigan Avenue. We went out for a nice dinner and had a few drinks. Our mini Chicago trip was a lot of fun. We're looking forward to seeing the Cubs again when the play the Brewers in Milwaukee. We will be spending the night downtown after the game. I have only passed through Milwaukee a few times so I am excited about actually exploring Milwaukee's downtown. Go Cubs!

I just don't understand why I'm gaining weight.

Some street performers outside of Wrigley. The older guy was really talented. The little guy was just plain cute.

View from the roof of our hotel

The Super Sac Arrives!

For my 26th birthday, Nate got me a super sac! I saw a super sac last spring at a friend's house and have wanted one ever since! It's an oversized beanbag that can fit at least two people. We put it in our computer room to create a perfect reading spot or 'couch' for watching tv. It is so comfortable, I just love it! I think Zoe is convinced that we bought the super sac just for her. It is definitely her new favorite napping spot. Thanks for the best birthday present, Nate! :0)

My Early Birthday

The Birthday Girls

Kalli and Kelli

Last night I celebrated my 26th birthday with a group of friends from work. My friend Kelli's birthday was last week so we decided to have a joint party. It is also the last weekend before we all go back to work, so we decided to make the most of it! About 25 of us had dinner at Kiki B's. We reserved the patio and it was a perfect evening to eat outside. After dinner, we all came back to our house for drinks. It was such a nice night that we got the fire pit going and took our drinks outside. It was great to hang out with all my teacher friends, especially since I will be switching schools this year. I will not get to see them regularly and I will miss them. I can't believe that we are starting work again next week. It's somewhat depressing. I know, I know, no sympathy from the 12 month employees.

Dinner at Kiki B's

Anna, Brian, Jill, Regina
Melissa came!

My good friend, Stephanie, from work

Enjoying the fire pit... and a strawberry daquiri
Denise, Kelli, Anna, Kalli... the pre-k girls!

A Visit from the Hagens

Nate's sister, Sarah, and her family came to stay with us for a few days this week. Our nieces have really grown up! Alysa will be 3 next week and Brianna is 12! Tuesday night we all had a BBQ with my family, including my Uncle Nick who was in town from New Jersey. We also we went to Volcano Falls for some mini-putting. It was so cute seeing Alysa attemp to golf. She was persistant and eventually got the hang of it. On Wednesday we spent some time at the mall. Afterwords, we went to feed the ducks down by the river. I really wish I had taken my camera with us to the river. Alysa really enjoyed feeding the ducks, there were many picture perfect moments. Instead, I have the cute pictures below of Alysa and Zoe. Alysa says that Zoe is her "best friend." They like to chase eachother around the house until they get so tired that they have to take a nap together.

Greek Festival

After a 10-year hiatus, our church revived its Greek Festival. Today was the first day of the festival, it will also be open tomorrow. My brother John and I worked the ticket booth for most of the afternoon. It was a little hot and muggy, but at least it did not rain.... we were worried! Tomorrow Nate and I will be back again to sell tickets and eat some more Greek food. Today's festival had a great turn-out. I saw several old friends and fellow church members. There was excellent Greek food (I sampled a little bit of everything), Greek dancers, and even tours of the church. I'm glad that our church decided to work together and bring back the Greek Festival tradition.

John selling food tickets and handing out menus. It is interesting how many pronunciations we heard for the word 'gyro'.

Taking a break from ticket selling and enjoying a gyro. So good!

I saw one of my students from last year, Selena.

Greek dancers performed throughout the day. The above picture is of a Chicago dance troupe. Below is the dance troupe from our parish.

4th of July Weekend

The Fourth of July weekend this year was busy. We celebrated with my good friends, Dan and Renee. We went to Renee's parents' house for a BBQ by the pool. Afterwords, Nate and I went to the parade downtown. We took Zoe with us, but she did not appreciate the loud noises. Nate spent most of the parade inside the car, trying to console poor Zoe. We figured the fireworks would also be scary for her so we didn't go see them, but we heard every one from our house!

On Saturday we stayed around the house most of the day. We kept busy by printing and framing some of the pictures from our trip to Europe. While in Paris, we bought some artwork as souvenirs. We framed the paintings and put them up in our bedroom. Finally, we have some real artwork to decorate our bare walls!

On Sunday, June 6th we attended our third wedding of the summer. My godmother's sister got married in Olympia Fields, Illinois. It was another traditional Greek Orthodox wedding. Since we are also distant relatives of the bride's family, we saw many of our relatives and good friends at the wedding. The wedding was a lot of fun, I'm glad that we were back from Greece in time to attend!

James and Frangitsa, the happy couple

Cutting the cake...

We spent some time with my godmother, Calliope, and her huband, Kent, during the reception

Our Paris Adventure...

Nate and I landed in Paris last Tuesday, June 24th. We stayed with Nate's friend, Nick, who lives in Paris. We visited Paris for three days and crammed in a lot of sightseeing! It was very tiring, but well worth it. As you can tell from the pictures below, Paris is a gorgeous city! Nate and I would love to go back again some day.

On Wednesday, we took a bus tour that stopped at all the major tourist spots in Paris. Our first stop was the Louvre. We could have easily spent an entire day at the Louvre, but we only spent a few hours.

The Louvre was extremely busy with people from all over the world. The biggest attraction was the Mona Lisa. There were so many people crowding around the painting, that we could not get very close. Below is the best picture we were able to get of the Mona Lisa.


After the Louvre, we went to Notre Dame. The cathedral was beautiful inside, but it was hard to get a good picture because it was so dark inside.



After Nortre Dame, we went to the Eiffel Tower. There was a huge wait to go to the top of the tower, and we really didn't feel like climbing ths stairs in the heat, so we admired the tower from the park below it. On our last night in Paris, Nick took us to a place where there was a great view of the Eiffel Tower. We saw the Eiffel Tower light show at midnight, it was amazing.


Of course, I couldn't visit Paris without going to the Moulin Rouge!