Neighborhood

This year is our 5 year wedding anniversary. We have lived in 2 different states with 3 different addresses. Our current home is by far our favorite neighborhood to live in. 

We really contemplated building a house when we were trying to figure out where we wanted to raise our family. We looked from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Youngstown, Ohio surrounding areas and everything in between. We had so many decisions to make and not a lot of time to make them. Time was catching up to us and soon we would be having a baby. 

So we officially made Columbiana, Ohio our home. Neither one of us grew up in this little town but we are so excited to discover all that it has to offer! In 2019, Columbiana was named "Best Place to Live in America" by Reader's Digest and we have not been disappointed. We have been to a christmas parade, a drive thru light show to have hot chocolate with santa, block parties, and community movie nights. We've  bought the cutest handmade treats for Zoe at this pet shop in town called Paws on Main and had breakfast at this little coffee shop called Generations Cafe. It has been the perfect place to call home. 

We couldn't have lucked out more than with the neighborhood we moved into. We moved into our house 3 days before Christmas... 3 days! As we were moving in, our neighbors each brought us delicious sweets and came to introduce themselves. I was 8 months pregnant and it was winter so those were much appreciated! We got an invite to play card games next door and we haven't missed a beat since. 

Over the last year and a half, we have grown incredibly close. We have been a part of many swim parties, made s'mores over bonfires, had game nights and cook outs. I love having the neighborhood kids come over and ask if Anthony can come out and play? I love that they think of him as one of kids, someone they can play football or baseball with. They also love when he gets a chance to jump into the pool and toss them around. 

There is also nothing greater than watching your baby grow up and love on the kiddos next door. Nothing better than being able to call any one of my neighbors for something and they would do anything to help each other out.

This year for the Fourth of July we all got together next door and had a summer party. Each family made  dishes for everyone to share and then we grilled out. Nothing better than day drinking and hanging out by the pool. The kids played with water balloons and Ellie tried her best at soccer for the first time. We ended the night perfectly with sparklers and fireworks. 

There's a couple neighbor girls who absolutely adore Ellie. They come over to play with her all the time so I can get things done around the house, run to the grocery store and do laundry. They also love to take her for walks, not to mention how incredibly fast she has learned to love swimming and being in the pool next door. All the kids on the block keep her so entertained that we have to slow her down sometimes and remind ourselves that she's only 17 months old. She just loves to run and play with them so much. 

We are so thankful for the friendships we have built here. We love it so much. I wasn't sure that this was going to be the place we would be settling down for forever because I sort of made Anthony move back to Ohio in the first place...  BUT he truly loves it too.

I couldn't imagine raising our babies anywhere else. Ellie is thriving here and we love being so close to both of our families. I'm excited to bring more babies home here. The words "Home Sweet Home" have never been truer.