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It's been a beautiful fall so far - Ken and I have been able to go for a great bike ride every weekend. This weekend we're going out to dinner with friends who live about 30 minutes away - I actually work with the husband of this couple. We try to meet Bill and Jody near their house since they have 2 young kids and want to be close to home. Our rule for going out is to go to a restaurant that none of us have been to - so it's always a new adventure!

Like many of our friends, Bill and Jody know that we're hoping to adopt, and they've been so supportive of us. I'm just waiting for it to happen...

This past weekend was beautiful - it was 70 degrees in early November! Ken and I both got new bicycles for our birthdays this year, so on Sunday we went out for a great ride. Many of our neighbors were out either riding, walking, or with their kids and dogs - it was such a pretty day.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving weekend. Both of our brothers are coming in with their families and all of us are going into New York City to see a Broadway show the day after Thanksgiving. Ken's brother's boys have never been to Broadway, and my brother's kids went for the first time last year - it will be so much fun for all of us to be together!

This picture is from when Ken and I met our friends Shannon and Bryan at a great college town in PA, about an hour from where we both live. Shannon and Bryan used to live in NJ and we would see each other more often, but now that they're further away with two very young boys we don't see each other as often. We spent the day together and had so much fun!

What fun is Halloween without a party?? This is me dressed as a goth girl for our party at work. Everyone cracked up laughing when they saw me, which is exactly what I was hoping for!
I'm so excited that we'll be home for a short time tomorrow night before we go out to dinner with friends - that means we'll be around for all of the trick-or-treaters. I love opening the door and seeing all of the kids we know dressed up in their costumes. I can't wait to go trick-or-treating with our little one!

I can't wait to see our friends Shannon and Bryan this weekend! They used to live in NJ but now live in PA so we don't see them as often. Shannon's mom is in from TX so she'll babysit their two very young boys so they can get away. We're meeting in a great college town (Bethlehem, PA) and we'll have lunch and walk around. We used to see them more often, so we're all really excited to see each other. Shannon had fertility issues, like me, and they can't wait for us to become parents and share their joy. We can't wait, either!

Today is my nephew Evan's 9th birthday. Ken and I gave him a great Lego set - he loves to build things and is really good at it.
Last weekend was really fun - we were in the midwest at a party for my childhood best friend's daughter. It was so nice to see them...Lori's family was my 2nd family growing up - we're best friends and our moms are best friends.
This weekend we're going out to dinner with friends near their house, about an hour away. The following weekend we're going out with two sets of friends - one couple for lunch and one couple for dinner. All of our friends know that we're hoping to adopt, and they're all rooting for us. I can't wait until our dream finally comes true!

This weekend we're going to my childhood best friend's party for her oldest daughter. My friend, her husband and three daughters have moved around a lot, so I haven't seen them for some time. I can't wait! Growing up, my friend and I always talked about being moms one day, and we're both hopeful that I'll have that opportunity really soon.

After a rainy Saturday of running errands and cleaning up around the house, Ken and I spent a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon in the Hudson Valley of NY at an outdoor art show. Artists from all over the country come to sell their sculptures, paintings, art glass, pottery and other things. It's about an hour away and worth the drive - last time we went we bought a beautiful watercolor by an artist from Wisconsin. The art show happens every year at this time, and it's so nice to see the changing of the leaves and all of the families walking around outside. Watching all of the young babies and children, I know the time will come for us to bring our child there, too.

Fall has finally arrived and it's beautiful. I love the crisp, cool air and the beautiful colors of the leaves. We went for a walk around the neighborhood tonight while dinner was cooking and it was so pretty outside. Ken made turkey meatballs and they were delicious.

This weekend we're taking ride to a town in NY, north of the city, to go to an outside arts festival. Should be lots of fun and nice weather. We like to explore new places and try new things, so I'm excited. Can't wait to include our child in our adventures...

Saturday was our neighborhood block party. Despite gray, drizzly weather, everyone showed up and gathered under the tents. It was great to see everyone and catch up with those we don't see during our neighborhood walks. We had a BBQ with great food and games including an egg toss for the kids. We arranged for a local fire truck to come and they let the kids climb on it - it was a lot of fun. I can't wait for our child to be a part of this annual tradition!

Sunday was a beautiful late summer day with lots of sunshine. I went to the local farmer's market that's held every Sunday from spring through fall, and it was great to get the last of the farm-fresh summer fruit and vegetables - there's nothing like Jersey tomatoes and corn. That's also a family-friendly event and I usually run into people I know there. That's another tradition I look forward to sharing with our child or children. In the afternoon, Ken and I took a long, hilly bike ride - it was tough but rewarding when it was over!

Last weekend (Labor Day weekend) was so much fun. We spent Saturday visiting one of my friends from high school. She lives in Hoboken, NJ which is on the other side of the river from New York City. We had lunch in her new apartment and and walked around in the beautiful weather - there's a great walkway that goes along the water and it feels like you can reach out and touch NYC.

Sunday we went for a bicycle ride and then to a BBQ with friends. There are three couples - one person in each couple is a dentist, like Ken - who rotate hosting the Labor Day BBQ every year. It was great to get together with them and catch up.

Monday we ran some errands then went for a long bike ride then had dinner with my mom - Ken grilled chicken kabobs. The weather was so beautiful all weekend - it was great to spend so much time outside.

Tomorrow is our neighborhood block party - it should be lots of fun. I can't wait to see all of our neighbors and their kids and dogs. I also can't wait to be able to include our future child in the fun!

Ken and I just returned from our vacation to Southern California. We had so much fun! We saw friends in LA and San Diego, went kayaking in the ocean in La Jolla (near San Diego), did a 22-mile bike ride on the beach in Santa Monica (near LA), went to Hearst Castle (amazing), the San Diego Zoo (panda bears, koalas, elephants), and the beach, of course.

Our friends recommended that we go on this cool house tour in the Holmby Hills section of LA where there are big, amazing movie-star estates - the house was beautiful and overflowing with art by very accomplished artists such as Picasso and Jackson Pollack. It was amazing. We can't wait to do all of these fun things with our child or children and expose them to all sorts of different adventures!

It's late summer with hot, humid but sunny days - I don't mind it because it's bright and the days are long, which means I can be outside more. Ken and I are really active - we like to ride our bicycles and walk through the neighborhood to talk to our neighbors and play with their dogs. We have a very active, social neighborhood so we fit right in! In September we'll have our annual block party where all of the neighbors get together for food and fun. We can't wait to be able to bring our child to that gathering - it's always a blast!

We're back on this site after a long absence...we were excited because we were going to adopt a newborn but the birth mom changed her mind at the last minute. We're saddened but know that we'll find the right situation.

Ken and I are planning a great vacation to southern California soon. We're flying into San Diego, driving up to Hearst Castle, then driving back down. We'll stop in some beautiful towns like Cambria and Santa Barbara and then make our way down to Los Angeles to spend time with friends who live there. Then we'll spend some time in San Diego. I can't wait - we're going to take bike rides, go kayaking in the sea caves in La Jolla, and spend time at the beach. We love to try new things and check out new areas, so it should be lots of fun!

What a nice time we had this year during the holidays. Ken and I took time off from work to spend time together and with our families. We intended to do some skiing when we visited Ken's brother and family in Windham, NY at their ski house, but it was warm and rainy. We spent a nice long weekend with them instead - we went to the movies, walked around a local town, and just hung out together. On New Year's Day my mom invited Ken's parents and Ken and I for dinner, which was nice. My brother is coming in this weekend on a business trip, so we'll see him then.

I'm looking forward to all of the good things that will happen to us this year - including becoming parents!

I'm so looking forward to becoming a mom...I can't wait to share the excitement of the holidays with our child. Ken and I are in the midst of figuring out when we're going to join his brother and family for skiing in New York State, which we do every year around the holidays. When we get back my mom is going to have my in-laws and Ken and I over for dinner, probably on New Year's Day. I can't wait for our child to become a part of all of our traditions!

My brother and niece came to visit us again this weekend so that Hilary could attend her camp reunion in New York City. Ken and I drove them in and then Mike, Ken and I dropped Hilary at her reunion and walked around NY, which was absolutely freezing. We had lunch at a great Mexican restaurant that Ken and I like. It was so much fun - I like the fact that New York City has so many different neighborhoods that feel so different. We were in the Chelsea area, which is young and fun with lots of cool stores and restaurants. After we dropped my brother off to pick up Hilary so they could fly home, Ken and I went to the famous Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street - that's the bakery that was in Sex and the City. Ken got some cupcakes, which he loves. They were good, not great, but it was cool to see the place - it's a tiny, tiny shop that's packed with customers.
I can't wait to show our daughter or son all of the cool areas in NYC!

We had so much fun over the long Thanksgiving weekend! My brother came in with his wife Judy and Hilary and Evan and stayed with us for the weekend. We had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom at our house, and all of us were together the whole day. On Friday we took the kids into New York City to see the Christmas tree and the Christmas windows, and took them to see the Broadway musical Grease - they loved it! When we got home we met my mom at a diner for dinner. On Saturday my mom spent time with my brother and the kids while Judy got her hair cut and colored at a local salon. Then we all met at our house to have Thanksgiving leftovers, which were still delicious. Sunday morning my brother and family took off for the long drive back to Ohio. Ken and I headed back into New York City to go to a dental convention, and while we were there we walked up to the theater district to have lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant. Despite rainy, cold, dreary weather, we had a great time.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and I can't wait. My brother and his family are coming in from Ohio for the long weekend and staying with us. Ken and I are going out tonight to get gifts for Hilary and Evan - we're so excited to see them. We have the same tradition each year - my brother and his family come to visit, we spend Thanksgiving together with my mom, then the next day we all go into New York City to see the Christmas windows for the large department stores. It's usually cold and crowded and so much fun!

We can't wait to introduce our little one to this tradition - it's such a fun weekend.

Ken and I talked a lot about our plans to adopt, and we're so excited about that possibility. We can't wait to meet our baby and his/her parents...I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we connect with them.

This past weekend we took another of our great bike rides. We rode 10 1/2 miles through country roads and passed farms with horses - it was beautiful. It was windy, though, so the ride was challenging - between the wind and the hills, we got a good workout!

We had another great weekend. Ken and I like to challenge ourselves, and on Saturday we did a 12.5 mile bike ride through hilly areas. It was tough but fun! Sunday was too cold to ride, unfortunately.

Although we usually go out for dinner on Saturday, often with friends, the past couple of weekends we've stayed in and made dinner. It's a great time to make more complicated recipes that I don't have time to make during the week. This time I made shrimp fra diavolo over whole wheat spaghetti, and I made the sauce - which was really spicy! - from scratch. It was delicious! Ken said it was as good as he'd get at his favorite Italian restaurant. It was so much fun to do that - I love to cook and look forward to doing it each night when I get home from work. I can't wait to cook for our child as he or she gets older - maybe they'll get interested in helping me make things.

This morning we got up early to vote. It's nice to know our opinion can be counted for us and our future child/children.

It's a gray, cold, rainy day here in New Jersey. Some areas in the western part of the state even have snow!

This past weekend Ken and I went on a long 10+ mile bike ride. We went to our favorite local park which was filled with families and then biked back on local roads that are like country lanes. I had always wanted to ride on those roads but I was scared of the hills. It ended up being so much fun - and not so hard! The trees were in full fall bloom and were so pretty. I can't wait to take our little boy or girl to our park. There are duck ponds, windy trails, small bridges and brooks, and even horse trails - there's a stable right near the park where you can ride horses. I love the fact that we live in a suburban, country-like area that is only 40 miles from New York City. We have the best of both worlds!

I feel like we're getting really close to meeting our birth parents...and our baby. I can't wait to hear from them.

This past weekend was a great fall weekend. While Ken worked on Saturday morning, I went to a charitable/social event called the Hunt. There are horse races and lots of tailgating parties, and all proceeds go to a large local hospital. It's held outside in the beautiful hills of Somerset County, NJ and all the trees were in full fall colors. Someone I work with threw a party there and it was so much fun. More than 40,000 people come to the Hunt, and it's filled with families who have been bringing their children for many years. I stayed for a while to socialize with my colleagues and their families. It was great fun.

Ken's brother Mike and his family were visiting for the weekend, so Ken called me as he left work and we all met at our house. It was great to see Mike, Alane, Ben and Sam, and after hanging out for a while we went to buy the boys some books and then went to Ken's parents house for dinner. We're close to Mike and his family and we always miss them even though we had visited them in Rhode Island a few weeks ago. I know the boys will be great cousins to our future child!

It was a beautiful summer-like weekend here in New Jersey. Ken and I took a great bike ride to a local park that is just 2 miles away. There were lots of people, kids, and dogs there - it was such a great day to be outside. The leaves are turning various shades of yellow, orange, and red and it was so beautiful. We rode a total of 10 miles and it was so much fun. The bike path wanders through the park and as we were riding past a brook Ken spotted a huge turtle. We watched it walk through the shallow water and showed people as they passed by - it was really cool to see and we attracted a crowd! We're planning on going again this weekend, since it's so close to home and we can bike there. There's a lot to explore in the park and on the bike path - there's even horse trails.

Fall has definitely arrived - the trees are starting to turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red and the air has turned crisp. We have farms nearby where we pick up delicious, locally grown apples - this is such a great time of year! Our neighbors' kids are outside playing all the time now, and we always stop and talk to them. They're often in our driveway - with curves and a slight hill, it's the most popular driveway in the neighborhood.

Over the past few weeks, I've really been thinking about when we become parents and I can't wait for that time. I often wonder what our baby will look like, and what his birth parent/parents will be like. I can't wait to introduce our baby to our families and friends, who are so eager for us to become parents. We're so lucky to have such a strong support system.

This weekend we went to Rhode Island to visit Ken's brother Mike and his family. We always have fun with them. On Saturday morning the kids were busy with Alane so Ken and I went for a walk with Mike and Oscar (their dog) to a beach. It was a beautiful end-of-summer day so we walked for about two hours. Then we met Alane and the boys back at the house and went for a 12-mile bike ride on a bike path near their house. We biked to a harbor and had ice cream - it was great. I kept thinking about how much fun it will be for Ben and Sam to have a little cousin...

I always love the end of August because it's Ken's birthday and I love to celebrate birthdays. The weekend before his birthday his parents, my mom, and Ken and I all went out to a special occasion restaurant that was new to us. It was delicious! I surprised Ken with a great gift. He loves new technology, so I took an afternoon off from work to buy a new Apple laptop for him. I then went home and cooked him one of his favorite dinners and had his favorite chocolate fudge layer cake waiting for him. Since he's nine years older than me, I always joke about him being old - so the birthday cake read, "Happy Birthday old man!" He loved it. Birthdays are so much fun, and I can't wait to celebrate our baby's birthday each year!

This past weekend my brother and his family came in to spend time at the NJ shore. My mom, Ken and I all went to visit. We played Trac Ball on the beach - it's a game where you throw the ball and catch it with a small lacrosse-like scoop. The ball is really light so you can throw it far and you can spin and curve it - it's great. Ken and I have been playing for years and we liked it so much that we bought a set for my brother's family. It was wonderful to see Hilary and Evan - they're getting so big. Hilary was at sleep-away camp for 6 weeks and we had so much fun catching up on all of the things she did there. Evan went to nature camp and got hooked on fishing. The weather was perfect for spending time at the beach - it was warm but breezy and the water was so warm. We had a great time!

Ken and I just returned from our vacation to the Southwest. We went to Santa Fe and Taos, NM and to Las Vegas. We had so much fun! Santa Fe had lots of art galleries and great food. We went to Tent Rock National Monument and climbed on and around 90 foot rocks made of volcanic ash - it was really cool. Bandelier National Monument had ruins of ancient pueblos where Indian tribes used to live, and caves where prehistoric people lived. I got to climb into one of the caves - it was amazing. We even saw petroglyphs on the rock walls.
Taos was beautiful - it's only 90 minutes north of Santa Fe but is more mountainous and green than the desert of Santa Fe. We went white water rafting and had a blast - we got soaked on the rapids.
Las Vegas was wild - it was really hot (106 degrees!) and crowded. The hotels were beautiful - we walked to some of them at night to see their light shows and walked to others during the day. We hiked in Red Rock Canyon and Zion National Park which were both beautiful. We also went to a Cirque du Soliel show which had amazing acrobats - the show was in the water and was really cool. The food was great in Las Vegas, too. What a fun week!

Our holiday weekend was packed with friends and family. We had three other couples at our house for a BBQ on the 4th, and it was so much fun despite the rain that made us run inside in the middle of dinner. Ken and I spent the night before and the day of the BBQ making food and getting everything ready. The next day we got together with friends from Philadelphia and went out for dinner with them. Sunday we went to visit Ken's parents then had dinner with my mom - we had the leftovers from our BBQ, which were still delicious. All of our friends are so excited for us to connect with birth parents - and we are too!

What a wonderful weekend! Ken, my friend Debbie and I went out for dinner and went to see "Little Shop of Horrors" at a local playhouse. We had a great time. I can't wait to share all of these experiences with our child. Debbie, who I've known since high school, can't wait for us to become parents.

We went for a walk tonight after dinner, as we usually do. Our neighborhood is the greatest for walking and riding bikes - it's a big circle with a couple of streets off of it, so there's very little car traffic coming through. As we were walking, we met our next-door neighbors and their two boys who were also out walking. Drake, their 9-year old, had his bat with him so I pitched the ball a few times so he could practice his swing. We also ran into two other sets of neighbors as we were all walking. Ken and I usually walk two miles as quickly as we can, and it was nice this time to slow down and talk with everyone as we walked.