Hello from Ashley, Nick, and Leo

Our story began 12 years ago when we met at a lunch with our co-workers in Dubuque. We were together for two years and had moved to the Chicago area when we decided to get married. We held our ceremony at the Carnegie Stout Library in Dubuque and our reception was at our favorite restaurant and the spot of our first date. We have been married for almost 10 years and are looking forward to many more years of laughter and adventures.

We enjoy spending time with our families and friends, traveling, rooting for the Chicago Bulls and the Dallas Cowboys, and making meals for the people we love. Our dog Leo adores kids and is ready to play whenever he hears little voices, especially our niece and nephew.

We take gardening and cooking seriously in our home because we believe that eating well and having a conversation over the food we’ve prepared is one of the best ways to stay connected. It’s also really fun to find recipes and serve a nice meal to our friends and family. We have a tradition of making a big meal every Sunday. In summer, we’ll harvest our dinner right from our garden. In the fall and winter, watching football and basketball are particularly special to Nick, so we make our favorite dinners for game days.

Traveling to national parks, interesting cities, and visiting the people we love is also important to us. While those travels may not be quite as ambitious right away with your baby, we’ll plan to take plenty of trips to the local library and to our local parks from the start.

We are so excited to welcome your baby into our lives and become a family of four.