Gender Test

We all know that Vince can't stand to wait for anything...be it to give a gift or to find out what Itty's sex is! So he found a gender test at CVS and decided I needed to take the test so we could see if Itty will be a boy or a girl. I told him the test has a 50/50 shot of being right or wrong but he didn't care. So for fun yesterday morning we took the test and it says...Boy! We won't find out until June if the test was correct or not but I have heard from friends that people they know took them and they were all correct. Guess we will have to wait and see...

We're having a BABY!

So I might have left out the best part of our winter get away trip to Florida...we found out we are having a baby!


2 Pink Lines = 1 Bun In The Oven!

The newest Jayhawk "Itty Bitty" will be making his/her debut on/around November 15, 2010! We have gotten to see Itty twice as well as have gotten to hear the heartbeat twice! Our doctor thinks that all is going really well so far!


This is Itty at 5 weeks 2 days


This is Itty at 6 weeks 5 days

While we were in KC in April we got to tell all the parents, siblings, close family and close friends who didn't know yet! It was so exciting to see people's faces when we told them!

Spring House Projects

We are so thankful that SPRING is here! What a horrid winter it was in the Burgh. Since the weather has warmed up and sun has come out of hiding we decided it was time to start tackling our to-do list.

First up was new deck furniture! Since we have both a deck and a patio we decided to put our table & chairs down below on the patio and turn the deck into real comfy outdoor living room. After many weekends, websites and catalogs we finally found what we wanted. And we couldn't be happier!



Next up was tackling a major problem with our house...LIGHTING. Because we have none. We have no lights in our living room, hearth room or 4 bedrooms. Poor Vince had 3 lamps in his office and it was still dark. Our living room was the same way 4 large floor lamps and you couldn't sit on the couch and read a book after dark. So we decided after much debate to install 8 can lights in the living room and install ceiling fixtures in all the bedrooms. The job got finished on Tuesday and HOLY COW what a difference light makes! Now we need to have a lamp sale!



Carpet was up next for the living room. We hated the new rug we had gotten for the living room b/c it shed like crazy. You would have to sweep daily and it still wasn't enough. We decided that since that is the room where we spend all our time as a family it would be worth the investment for carpet. Boy Oh Boy was it worth it! It got installed yesterday and we love it! Miles is so happy too! I think it really warms up the room. We picked one of the new patterned carpets and I was a bit nervous but it really looks sharp!




And finally The Rupp Vegetable Garden...Vince started growing our garden about a month ago inside and today we transplanted and planted more seeds. This is by far our biggest garden attempt to date so lets hope it goes well! We have jalapeno peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots and zucchini. And parsley & basil will be growing up on the deck! Miles & I really hope that the carrots do well!

Spring in KC

Vince got back from Las Vegas with his dad on the 6th and then we went to KC April 8-11 for a visit and Natalie's baby shower. It was our first flight from Pittsburgh to KC and it went fine. I really hate having to stop and transfer to another plane but that's the only way to get to KC from Pittsburgh-I miss Philly's direct flights!

It was a great trip stuffed with loads of family time! Which was just what we needed since he hadn't been back since November. We got to see Patrick's new loft in the River Market, have lunch with Natalie at Winsteads and had Cactus Grill with Vince's mom & Jimmy! My parents threw us a party on Saturday so we could see everyone all at once! It was a blast! It was so nice of so many people to show up to see us!

We have a busy summer planned with lots of trips and visitors! I am going to Florida for a long weekend with Marci for a girls trip in May. We are back in KC in June and then the annual Rupp lake trip in July! And my parents are coming to the Burgh in July for a visit!

Spring Break Visitors

We had our first visitors March 18-21...Angela & Paige! It was such a blast to have the two of them out here in the Burgh! We had fun exploring different areas of the city we had not seen yet. On Thursday night we took the Incline up to Mt. Washington and had dinner at a restaurant that has a great view of the city! Friday we headed to breakfast at a place called The Original Pancake House and it was so yummy! The servings were huge! That will for sure be a stop next time we have visitors. Then we headed to the zoo & aquarium. The zoo was not that exciting but Paige loved the aquarium (it was her first trip to an aquarium)! We headed to an Asian restaurant for dinner that Vince had discovered a few weeks back with clients. It was a great dinner! Saturday we made breakfast and headed down to the strip district for some shopping & lunch! Paige got a super cute hat and some souvenirs for Lakin & Reece. And we got some fresh veggies for dinner at the produce market. We had lunch at Bella which has amazing pizza! It is another must have when visitors come! Saturday night we grilled out and relaxed with a movie. We were so sad to see them leave on Sunday. Especially Miles-he was Paige's shadow all weekend! I think Vince really enjoyed having a good workout buddy for a few days. They found some great trails right outside of our neighborhood!

Happy St Patricks Day

Ft. Lauderdale

Vince & I decided that we needed a break from the harsh PA winter so we booked a long weekend trip to Ft. Lauderdale for the first weekend of March! We left Thursday late afternoon and arrived about 10 pm in Florida. We stayed at the Atlantic Hotel which was right on the water. It was a very nice looking hotel but we both agreed that the customer service needed some work. I don't think we would stay there again but we don't regret staying there for this trip. Friday was a bit chilly & windy so we ate breakfast and went on a nice long walk. We tried to lounge by the pool and eat lunch but it was so cold and windy that I couldn't even take my fleece off. We went to dinner at a restaurant the concierge recommended and told us to tell the owner Mario that he sent us. We did as instructed and Mario insisted on not letting us see the menu and "cooking for us". We decided what the heck this guy isn't going to take no for an answer so lets see what happens! He first brought us a pitcher of sangria and let me tell you he never let our glasses get half way empty without filling them back up. He made us a very tasty 4 course meal and we ended up making some new friends with a couple also staying at the hotel. The four of us go the shock of our lives when the bill came-it was $189. We thought it was for the four of us since we had all joined the same table. But boy were we wrong the total per couple was $189. I about fell out of my chair. The dinner was good but by no means worth almost 200 dollars. So the four of us left the restaurant still a bit dazed from the bill and headed back to the hotel. Saturday the weather was much nicer! We ate breakfast and headed straight to the pool! And that is where we spent the entire day! We had dinner at a great seafood place called Charley's Crab. It was awesome! I would love to go back! Sunday I woke up with the worst sunburn I have ever had. Not fun. So we ate breakfast ocean side and then took a stroll down the beach and found a nice spot for lunch. Then we headed off to the airport to the 4 feet of snow we left. Luckily to our surprise the temps in Pittsburgh had been mild while we were gone and the snow was quickly disappearing! All in all it was a great escape from the winter and I am sure we will be doing it again next year!