Due date: October 10, 2005

Boy or girl: It's a surprise!

Names: Jonathan George or Natalie Rose

Pictures of the nursery -- note the red bees on the wall and the Cubs teddy bear mobile over the crib.

Bedding from JC Penney:

The crib from Babies R Us -- Madison Lifetime in Natural wood:

The changing table from Babies R Us -- Madison Lifetime in Natural wood (pictured in Cherry):

Glider from Babies R Us in Natural wood -- it's very comfortable!:

Wedding Stuff

Recap of the rehearsal:
We had our rehearsal at 5 P.M. at St. Clement Church. The rehearsal went by so quick, but they did a good job of making us feel confident that the priest would take care of everything. After the rehearsal, we had our rehearsal dinner at Marcello''s. The room was beautiful, and they had the bar set up and appetizers waiting for us when we arrived. Unfortunately, the Wrigley Field cake, which was a surprise for Jeff, was nowhere to be seen when we arrived. I made several harried phone calls, then sicced my MOH on the bakery. Finally, at 6:45 (an hour and a half after it was due), the cake arrived. I managed not to tell Jeff of my distress while I was waiting for it, so he was still surprised. It was a HUGE hit!! In addition to the appetizers, we had a pizza buffet, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Then we handed out our bridal party gifts, and I gave all the guys (including Jeff) engraved shot glasses with our names and the wedding date. This was another surprise for Jeff, since he is a rabid shot glass collector. At the end of the evening, I gave Jeff his wedding present -- an autographed Ron Santo baseball and Cubs cuff links to wear on the big day.

Recap of the wedding day:

September 6th was a beautiful day! My parents spent the night before the wedding with me in Jeff''s and my new town home. I slept pretty well, considering how excited I was. I woke up at 7 A.M., and the three of us got cleaned up. We had a wedding day breakfast at Burger King (!), then my dad dropped Mom and me off at Salon 1800 to have our hair and make-up done. My MOH Wendy was there to have her hair done too, so it was a lot of fun. At 10:45, we left the salon and took a taxi to Wendy''s house where she had some food waiting for us. My dad, another BM, the two FGs, the florist and the photographer met us there. I was so excited to see the flowers -- they looked terrfic! My mom and I got dressed at Wendy''s house, then it was time to go to the church.

We got to the church a little late, but it was still half an hour before the ceremony so we had time. The photographer did some photos of me with my family, and before I knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle. It was so great to see Jeff at the end waiting for me! Although the Mass went by fast, I remember every single part of it, and I can''t wait to see it on the video. Everything went exactly as planned, and the ceremony was so beautiful!! Our singer, Marty McCormack, was fantastic -- we got lots of comments about him. He is a personal friend, so I''ve been waiting for years to have him sing at my wedding. I held it together pretty well throughout the ceremony and even the vows; however, as soon as we got to the back of the church after our recessional, I grabbed Jeff and started sobbing because I was so happy!

After the ceremony, we took pictures in the church for about half an hour. When we went outside, the bus was there to take our guests back to their hotel, but our limo wasn''t! Jeff called the limo company and found out they were stuck in traffic. We were planning to go to Wrigley Field for pictures, so we told the limo to meet us there, and the whole wedding party jumped on the school bus with our guests! We got to take our pictures, and the guests got a little sight-seeing trip to Wrigley Field. The people at Wrigley were so nice -- we took pictures in the dugout, the warning track, and in the stands. Everybody loved it! After that, we went to take more pictures at Lake Katherine. We had a Ford Excursion limo for 18, and we brought Subways and chips for everyone to munch on, in addition to the champagne and beer the limo company provided. It was a fun afternoon!

We arrived at the reception hall at 5:15, and soon the receiving line was underway. At 6:20, we cut the cake (it seemed so early, but I''m glad we did it then), then we made our entrance for dinner. The food was excellent, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After dinner, more family photos, then the traditional dances. Finally, we opened up the dance floor to everyone around 8:30. There was never a moment when the dance floor wasn''t packed -- our DJ was incredible!!! People kept telling me and Jeff that it was the best wedding they had ever been to, and we attribute most of that to our DJ who kept the party going. Jeff and I both had *so* much fun! It was, in fact, the best party I had ever been to myself!

We extended the reception an extra half hour because everyone was having such a good time, then we left and went back to the Radisson to have a drink with some people. I went upstairs first to change out of my dress, but then Jeff gave me my wedding present -- a beautiful strand of pearls. So I decided to keep the dress on and put on the pearls to go back downstairs. We had a couple of drinks and finally made it upstairs at about 1 A.M. My parents were still there, so we gave them my dress and Jeff''s tux to take home with them. We barely slept, and then it was 6:30, and time to get up to catch the limo to the airport to start our honeymoon!

Belize was fantastic. I won''t go into all the details, but if you''re looking for a Caribbean destination that''s not too crowded or touristy but not too extreme, I would definitely recommend it. We stayed at the Inn at Robert''s Grove, and I can''t say enough good things about the place. It was so relaxing and the food was unbelievable.

Anyway, to wrap up, I have to say that my wedding was everything I ever dreamed it would be and more. I can''t wait to see the pictures and the video and relive it all over again! I sincerely hope you all have as much fun planning and celebrating your weddings as Jeff and I did ours.

Informal wedding photos (courtesy of groomsman Chad Padera):

Groomsman Chad Padera, Jeff, and best man Jaime Quevedo before the wedding:

Jeff and I exchanging our vows:

We''re married!:

On to Wrigley Field:

Lake Katherine:

Read the article in the Sun-Times which featured the story of our engagement!

Link to Chicago Sun-Times Article