Chubster

Look how big Finley is getting!

This is kind of a grainy shot from my cell phone, but I like it. She was helping us (read: distracting us) play Settlers of Catan last night at Stacy and Taylor's house.

Alyse and Jeff were up visiting all week, and we had lots of fun times mostly eating good food and catching up. The bro-in-laws (and future bro-in-law Eric) got to have some boy bonding time at the Wild game one night. Hopefully Alyse will post some pics from the week some time soon.

Good to see you A & J! See you in June at Jessie's wedding!

The Family Stone

From We're engaged!

Not only is The Family Stone a great movie, but it is also what I'm about to become a part of!

Eric proposed on Saturday night before taking me out to a lovely dinner at the Como Park Conservatory. (They had a special Valentine's dinner event -- normally, you can't eat there, but we got to sit right between a Cocoa tree and a water fountain.) In case you haven't heard the fun story, I'll share:

After getting ready to go out to dinner, we exchanged gifts. I made Eric a snazzy card, and he had wrapped my present hours earlier -- it sat waiting for me on the dining room table for all that time. So first, I opened a shoe box that contained a ticket stub from our first "fake" date to see Superbad (the most romantic movie ever). He is quite the sentimental guy. :) Then I saw a little ring box....And right when I opened the box, Eric said, "I made that." And I was like "what?" And he said, "Yeah, I made it and wanted to use it to ask you to marry me." Next thing I knew, he was next to me and down on one knee asking me to marry him. I quickly said "Of course," and then "What do you mean you made it?" There was a lot of "Really?" and kisses and hugs in there too. :) It all went too fast. Now I want him to do it again.

About the ring:

Eric had mentioned a while ago about how he had thought about doing something different for an engagement ring -- more like a fashion/casual ring instead of THE ring. But I never imagined he would MAKE a ring! So instead of buying an engagement ring, he researched ways to make a ring. And then he figured we'd go out shopping for wedding rings later together to make sure we get what we want, etc. He ended up learning about how sailors used to spend their spare time making rings out of quarters or other coins by hammering around the edges and then drilling through the middle. My ring is made out of a Euro (which he got out of my piggy bank from when I studied abroad) and it has a little diamond embedded in it, and then there are two more little decorative indent-things. I think it's pretty freakin' creative and also a little crazy that he has spent the last two months making a ring while I was in class or working.

What a thoughtful, dedicated, creative, loving guy! Thank you, Eric! I'm really excited to become your wife!

So, do you want to see some pictures from our night? Just click on the picture or link below.

We're engaged!

Run, Fat Boy, Run!

I love watching movies, and I love that Eric signed us up for Netflix a couple months ago. Did you know that not only can you get movies in the mail, but you can also watch some of them online? Yes, that's right, you can watch a bunch of movies right when you find them on the Netflix site. Awesome!

So some recent movies that I really liked and would recommend to watch include...

Autism: The Musical. It's a great documentary about a woman who has a son with Autism and starts up a non-profit that uses movement and music therapy to help a group of Autistic kids. Eventually, they put on a show. It's pretty great.

Run, Fat Boy, Run. This is one we just watched last night. It's about a guy who tries to win back his ex-fiancee (who he left at the alter pregnant). It has some stupid humor, it's based in London, there's a super cute British kid and it also has some touching moments. I liked it.

That's all for now. Hope you have a great weekend! I'm off to finish painting Eric's bday/Valentine's gift and then go get my hair cut by the lovely Karin Pecchia.

Happy birthday, Indy!

My sweet chocolate lab turns 3 years old today! I couldn't have asked for a better dog. I love you, Indy! Take a look at how much she's changed throughout the past three years.

Welcome Ritchies!

Just a little "welcome to the blogosphere!" to the Ritchie fam. Stacy and Taylor started a blog this weekend (you will find it in my blog list on the right). I'm looking forward to reading their witty life commentary and seeing lots of pics of the adorable Finley Valentine.

So.......Welcome!

Taylor, now you need to start commenting on blogs, just like I showed you how to do the other day. :)

My favorite aunt/niece bonding moments so far:
- me jumping from shock at how loud and explosive Finley's poops feel while holding her (I really almost jumped off the bed -- but don't worry, I didn't drop her or anything)
- bugging her while she sleeps by playing with her lips, which makes her automatically purse her cute little lips
- talking to her and rubbing her cheeks to make her smile at me (pretty sure the smiles are just gas or reflexes at this point, but I enjoy it anyway)