The Last Days of Our O-HI-O Vacay...

After the baby shower, we headed to my brother Ray's to play pool, listen to music and hang out with some family and friends:

The next day, my mom planned a BBQ at the house so Ed and I didn't have to run around to see everyone, this way they could just come to us. My brothers cooked "hut dogs and humberbergers" while everyone sat around chatting up a storm. Cassie even stopped by so that I can meet her fiance, John. The weather was perfect and the company was even more perfect.

After we all ate, I was introduced to an amazingly fun game that I've never even heard of - Corn-hole! I was pretty bad when Ed and I were partners, but then I got better when Rachel and I teamed up ...maybe because she carried me the entire time. Cho should really join a corn-hole league or something.

(Ray-Ray flexin' to make us all laugh)

It was a fun-filled day/night and I'm so glad we all got to relax a little the day after the baby shower. Our next and final day was spent saying goodbye to our families. First we went to say bye to my brothers, then we spent the day at Eddie's house where we got to see his entire family again and my mom and Gram came, too:

 

(this whole "pink shirt day" thing was not planned, but it sure did make for a cute photo)

Going home to Ohio is always bittersweet for me… I love going home to see all of my family and friends, but I always get homesick when I get back to Vegas. It’s hard to go from spending all day and night with your family and friends and then not knowing when the next time you’ll see them will be. The one thing that is keeping me going is knowing that we’ll have plenty of visitors when the baby is born …visits from my mom, in-laws, aunts, grandmas, cousins and even Amy and Alex are going to visit after the baby arrives! I can not wait to welcome our daughter into such a large group of people who love her unconditionally and will always be there for her. I am so grateful that my family and Ed’s family are close and still maintain close even when we are in Vegas. It means a lot to me to know that our daughter will have the most amazing family around her. And although we will be far from Ohio, our daughter will ALWAYS be close with her family.

Thanks to everyone I got to see while vacationing in Ohio,

you all made it so much fun for us!

Perfection

My Friday in Ohio was perfection. 

My day started by being woken up by a thunderstorm; which is my favorite thing about Ohio besides my family and friends, of course. After loungin' around for a bit, Ed left to go hang out with his parents because I had a catch-up session planned with Amy. While I was getting ready Ed called to tell me that he bought us two tickets to go see Adele on August 20th, basically this day was off to thee most amazing start! Then, Amy came to my mom's to introduce me to her beautiful daughter, Alexandra:

1.) She's gorgeous and 2.) Amy is such a great mommy!

After we got ready, Amy and I went to Kate's house, then we headed over to the shower to see everyone:

I also had a variety of my favorite foods waiting for me...

(which made me gain 5lbs)

Chick-fil-a Nuggets:

Red Velvet Cake:

Pink Lemonade:

My Gram's Homemade Chocolate Suckers:

We even had my favorite ice cream in the world - Handel's Cotton Candy Ice Cream!! Basically, the hosts (my mom and mother-in-law) really out did themselves. 

Another cute surprise was baby pics of Ed and I:

In order to be travel-friendly we opted for a "Gift Card Shower" and the most creatively wrapped gift card won a prize. When we thought of this I did not anticipate how creative people would get. My Aunt Julie amazed me with her gift card wrapping skills and she won because of this fancy dancy tree with onesie/burp cloth roses:

I also received some small gifts that I was able to fit in my carry on. One of my favorite gifts was a crocheted blanket from my Gram:

(it's shaped like a star!!)

Before the shower ended Ed stopped by to say hi to everyone and thank them for all of the amazing gifts:

 (my cousins just LOVE their uncle cousin Ed)

Basically, I was blown away by how everyone made this day perfect for me. From the super cute invitations my cousin, Sara, made to the food and amazing company - I was in pure amazement and overwhelmed by how loved this baby girl is. 

I want to thank my mom and mother-in-law for throwing this amazing shower and always being so supportive of me and showering me with love not just at the baby shower, but everyday. I am truly blessed to have such amazing mothers in my life and I can only hope to be half as good of a mother to my daughter. I also want to thank all of my family for helping make the day amazing. Last, but not least I want to thank my friends for coming. Some of these girls I knew since birth and the rest since I was 14. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing women!

Thanks everyone ...I love you all!

Home Is Where The Heart Is

I have been living in Nevada for almost 6 years now; however I still consider Ohio to be my home. After all, home is where the heart is. I have so many great memories in Ohio with some of thee most amazing people on this planet. Since it was almost 2 years since I was home and Eddie almost 2 and a half years, we decided it was time to go home to visit. My mom had also wanted to throw me a baby shower so it was perfect timing. 

I was really nervous about flying since I'm almost in my second trimester, but the flight went really well ...other than the excessive swelling I experienced on the plane and almost crashing on the runway. We land and our pilot jokes, "Well guys we had a rough landing. Not because I was avoiding a bird, but because air traffic control messed up and we almost t-boned a plane." - AWESOME! I have never been more excited to get my feet on the ground safely and to be greeted by my momma and in-laws. 

Since our flight landed at night, we only got to see a few family members that night. First we got a visit from my niece and nephew, then we made a quick trip to my Aunt Juls. The next day was jam packed with family visits. First we visited with my Gram, then went to visit Grandma Rita and Scrub:

Then we were off to see Grandpa Ditata and Uncle Roger:

Then Ed and I ate some Chick-fil-a, of course, and got ready to go see some of my family:

Needless to say our first two days in Ohio were pretty hectic, but in the most amazing way possible. It was great for us to see our families and allow them to feel their little granddaughter/great granddaughter/niece/great niece/cousin flutter in excitement to meet them.

Next up was our baby shower hosted by my mom and mother-in-law ...stay tuned!

In Case You Forgot...

My name is Kelli (with an i) and this is my bloggity-blog. 

I've been M.I.A. for awhile because well, I'm 6 friggin' months preggo! So please forgive my absence (all 4 of you who follow me). I'm 24 weeks pregnant and am starting to feel like a cow. My toes look like mini sausages after a long days work and I think I even moo in my sleep. I even have an active little monkey inside me that has hijacked my belly, but I sure do love the lil' squirt. I discovered the little dancer in my belly when I hit 21 weeks. I was starting to get a little worried and began to think that she didn't like me; which made me determined to feel her move. Since I was so determined, I treated myself to heaven a Reese's ice cream sandwich one night to put a little pep in her step. Eddie started talking to her and asking her what she wanted to be named, but he didn't get a response. She's stubborn, remember? Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, baby girl started kicking away! She now kicks like Bruce Lee and I must say, it is thee coolest feeling EVERRRR. She also loves, loves, LOVES Adele! I listen to her CD every morning on my way to work and she just starts dancing like a ballerina. Chicks got good taste in music, that's for sure. Eddie has felt a few slight movements here and there, but pretty soon he'll really be able to feel how she's packin' a punch.

That's really the only major exciting news I have. I know, I'm seriously the lamest pregnant lady. Sorry to disappoint. I can't complain about morning sickness, pregnancy "mask", weird hair growth, or anything at all, really. (totally jinxed myself right there) What's there to complain about when I've got a miracle in my belly anyways? I guess the only complaint I can think of is how expensive babies are! We finally got baby girl's bedding and now I'm dying to buy her furniture, but it's SO dang expensive. Hopefully we'll get it soon! Here's a sneak peek at her bedding:

Isn't it just thee cutest? We even painted the nursery this past weekend; which took three whole days, but was super fun!

Since I haven't blogged in a while I'll give you a quick re-cap of my ever expanding waistline and a few pics of what we've been doing:

22 weeks 1 day

22 weeks 2 days:

Our friend, Dota, was in town so "Cheeseburger Eddie" (as Dota calls him) and I went to visit him at the Cosmo:

Since Dota's cousin is a "Marriott Millionaire", the Cosmo upgraded his room to a corner suite with a 50 foot balcony facing the Bellagio and a 50 foot balcony facing the Strip. The view was awesome! Check it out:

Grace turned 1:



And Ed celebrated his first (soon-to-be) "Father's Day" and Baby D bought him a gift (that really is for herself... she's spoiled already)! This is what she bought him:

A cute outfit that exclaims her love for her main man

a.k.a. her daddy

(isn't the butt just adorable??)

Ed got cards from our baby girl and Pearl, of course. It was a great Father's Day and I can NOT wait until next year when Ed will be able to celebrate his first "real" Father's Day with his little Daddy's girl. The one thing that eases my mind about our baby's arrival is knowing that I have Ed by my side. It is unreal how great of a Father he is going to be. I catch him throughout the day just wondering in the nursery just staring at it (like I do, too) and it makes me happy inside because I know how excited he is. We just can't believe that she will be here so soon and that we will have created a little human being together - AMAZEBALLS!! Like, I still don't believe it. Can't wait ...less than 4 months!!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!!