Back in the USA

Our family spent a wonderful week in Grand Cayman celebrating Christmas. Rather than fill this post up with words, though, I'll just show you...

For those of you that made it this far, I thought I'd share my favorite part of the whole trip. We opened the sealed ultrasound that let us know we're having a BOY!!!

Right on Track

Today we went in for our "big" 20 week ultrasound. After lots of measuring, it looks like our little one is baking quite nicely and everything looks perfect. We feel very blessed and hugely relieved. We did not find out the sex for those that are wondering.

We are headed to the Cayman Islands for Christmas with both my parents, Nate's parents and my sister & her boyfriend. We are looking forward to laying on the beach and doing a whole lot of nothing. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

Caitlin + John = Married

This past weekend Nate and I headed down to southern California to attend the wedding of our friends Caitlin and John. Caitlin and I are sorority sisters and Nate and I were so excited to celebrate with them. We headed down a night early to catch up with our good friends John and Lauren. It's always good to see them, even though it doesn't happen nearly enough.

On Friday we headed down to the Langham in Pasadena, which is an absolutely gorgeous hotel. We relaxing in our beautiful room until it was time to head to the wedding, which was in true Caitlin fashion - elegant, extravagant, and every little detail thought out. The food was great, the band was amazing and the company was awesome. Not to mention, Nate is always looking for an excuse to break out his tux.

The short weekend went entirely too fast, but we were eager to get home to our little one. Here are some pictures courtesy of Lauren.

New website

Hi all, I just thought I'd pop in and let you all know that my new website is up. Check it out at www.brittanyrulisphoto.com! I'd love to hear what you all think!

Avery meets Mickey

A typical night at the Rulis house

Halloween 2009

The Rulis family had a great Halloween this year! Avery was the cutest monkey you've ever seen and loved collecting candy. She was a bit hesitant at first, but definitely gained brevity as the night went on. Here are some photos from the night:

I'm not supermom

Yep, that's right, I'm not supermom. And a year and a half ago it would have pained me to say that. When Avery first came I wanted to do do everything on my own. I mean, that's what is supposed to happen, right? Wrong. Ever heard the phrase "it takes a village"? There's a reason that nearly every other culture in the world values the involvement of family and friends in the raising of children...because it works. I am blessed more than most with the "village" I have be given. From my parents, to Nate's parents, to siblings, aunts & uncles, cousins and friends. Avery is the most loved kid I know. I expect all of these people to be teachers, disciplinarians, confidants and caregivers. By loving her they have chosen a partial responsibility for her. Aside from having tons of people around who love her, I benefit by have people to teach me how to be a mom. I mean, how else am I supposed to learn? They show me different parenting styles, and from that, Nate and I can form our own individual way to train up our children.

Another benefit of having a "village" is knowing that I don't have to do it all myself. If I'm exhausted and Avery is being especially trying, I can call my mom and she'll give me a much needed break. When Nate and I are in desperate need of a date night, my cousin is always up for baby-sitting. These things keep me recharged as a mom and allow me to be better for Avery.

I look forward to being part of other people's villages. To share my limited knowledge and offer some relief. Remember, we're not meant to be supermoms.

Cause Nate + Brittany + Avery = 4

HOORAY!!!! The House of Rulis is expanding! A few days shy of our 5-year wedding anniversary we are due to become a family of four. It's early yet and we have resolved (we'll see how long it lasts) not to find out the sex of the baby, but we can say that we are absolutely ecstatic for our little family to be growing.

We welcome any and ALL prayers - especially for Brittany.

Kyle + Jill = Maried

This past week we were able to go up and visit Nate's parent's in Oregon. It was so nice to get away for 10 days and just relax. The biggest reason for our trip wasn't just to rest, though, but to get Nate's brother Kyle married off. The wedding took place at a beautiful hotel in Oregon called the Alison Inn. I definitely recommend it if you're ever in the area. Nate was honored to be best man and Avery made the cutest flower girl you've ever seen. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Second City

Nate and I just got back from Chicago and we had a wonderful time! Our purpose for going was to celebrate our friend Jill's wedding to Dan, but as an added bonus, we got to explore a city we've never been to and catch up with college friends we haven't seen in too long. We flew in late Friday night, checked into the Hyatt Regency and hit the sack. We got up early Saturday morning and headed down to the Gold Coast to meet up with our tour group. About a month ago, we signed up for a food walking tour through some of the neighborhoods in Chicago. It was great because we not only got out of the touristy downtown area, but really good to see the Chicago that people live in. We spent the next 4 hours covering 4 miles and lots of tasty shops. We started at a Kosher Deli and tasted the most delicious reuben sandwich either of us had ever had (in all fairness, it was the first reuben sandwich I'd ever had). 

Then we moved on to a Tea shop, where we tasted and got a lesson on how to chose and prepare loose tea. 

After that, we walked to Old Town and visited a Spice Shop that your could smell down the block. Nate picked up some spices to make his Indian food with and I enjoyed tasting the 20 different kinds of salt they had. 

Then we moved to a Olive Oil and Balsamic shop. We spent a lot of time mixing and matching the oils to make the best combos. Our personal favorite is Basil Olive Oil and Strawberry Balsamic. We bought some and think it will make the best salad dressing!

We moved on to The Chocolate Pot, which has been family owned for more than 40 years, where we tried the most incredible toffee. 

Our final stop was down in Lincoln Park at a neighborhood pizza place. I tried my first stuffed pizza and was pleasantly surprised! 

After our tour we caught a cab back downtown to get ready for the big wedding. Jill looks beautiful, which was no surprise to anyone, and she and Dan looks so happy for the day to finally be here. The evening was spent celebrating and catching up with old friends. 

Sunday we slept in and decided to  go see and take some pictures of The Bean. 

It was starting to get really busy, so we got out of crazy, packed downtown. We headed back out to Old Town, but not before stopping at Portillo's for some yummy hot dogs. Definitely some of the best we've had.

Later that day we met up with Kate and Scott, friends from college to walk around. 

We tried Navy Pier, but the sheer amount of people scared us off that tourist trap. 

We decided to grab our other friends, Matt and Liza and get some pizza at Bacino's. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs and we ended up with lots of leftovers. After dinner, we walked the two miles back downtown and got a sweet treat at the Hershey store. Unfortunately, Nate had a little too much ice cream and got a tummy ache. We decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel.

It was a great trip and both Nate and I really liked Chicago. The weather was perfect and I really feel like we saw a lot of the city. We're looking forward to going back someday, and will definitely bring Avery.