Crazy Life Updates - we're moving...and buying a house!!!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind!

Here's the short version...

WE'RE MOVING BACK TO NORTH CAROLINA!!!

Yep...you read that right.  We are so SO excited to move back to NC, but also really sad to leave Boston.  This is where we've spent our entire married life!  It's where Owen was born.  We have amazing friends who are really more like family.  I didn't really understand bittersweet until now.

Here are a few more details...

 - My job has agreed to let me work remotely - I'll still work for SERMO even when we move!  I'll just be doing it from home and traveling to Charlotte and Boston periodically.  

 - Travis doesn't have a job yet, but will be looking.  In the meantime, he'll be composing, watching Owen, and teaching lessons.  While we're at it...if you live in the Raleigh/Johnston County area, spread the word that there's an awesome trumpet and composition teacher!  We'll be forever in your debt if you can help him build a studio.

If that wasn't enough, WE PUT AN OFFER IN ON A HOUSE!

My brain is swimming.  We finally (after three days of negotiating) came to an agreement with a seller and are signing the paperwork tonight!  Now for the inspections and loans and closings...wow.  If everything goes smoothly, closing will be June 30.  WHAT???  Wow...

So that's our news. 

Say a prayer everything goes smoothly, and another for our nerves as we do this from afar.

Here goes nothin!!!

Owen is 15 weeks old - lots of "firsts" and a visit from grandparents

It's been a big few weeks since my last "Owen update".  Our little guy is now 15.5 weeks old - I can't believe it!

Travis's parents came up for a long visit a few weeks ago.  It was so much fun to see them - Owen especially enjoyed it!  We spent a lot of time playing with the little one, and Travis and I even got to go on a date!  Thaaaaaank you, Grandparents, for the night off!

Owen is becoming a very active little guy!  A few weeks ago, he rolled over from his belly to his back.  Well...now he's able to flip from his back to his belly too!  He'll just roll and roll if we let him - he's so proud of himself!

He's enjoying sitting up in our laps, and he "found" his feet this weekend.  He's spending a lot of time curled up tugging at his toes.  Owen's also getting pretty good at grabbing toys with both hands.  He moves slowly and carefully until he's close to the toy, and then BAM...he's got it!

We've also had a fun few weeks of "firsts":

First time in his Bumbo Chair!  He did great!  We're just doing short stints for now, but he loves it.

First time sitting in an exersaucer - we made another trip to Children's Orchard on Friday and decided to see what Owen would think about one of these fun contraptions.  I think the picture says it all - it blew. his. mind.  He loved it.  I'm so excited for him to be sturdy enough to play in one!

Owen also had his first visit to our church here in Boston, Park Street Church.  He loved meeting all our friends, and he did SO well during the service.  We sat on a pew against the back wall in case things got loud, but thankfully he didn't need to be whisked away!  He loved the music, and the choir's anthem put him to sleep.  Since he was snoozing, I laid a blanked on the floor and he slept at my feet for most of the sermon (hahaha...).  Eventually he woke up and played with his friend Hannah (10 months old) and his lion toy.  I'm so relieved things went smoothly!

While Trav's parents were in town, we let Owen have his first "splash bath".  Until now, we'd been using the little hammock that came with his bath tub.  He has officially graduated to a tub of water...and thought it was SO much fun!  This little baby loves the water.  He splashed, and splashed, and laughed, and splashed...and sent water all over our dining room.  It was awesome.  He especially liked watching water drip on his belly from a washcloth above.

I just can't get enough of this baby!

Date Night at the SuperLux!

Last week, Travis and I had the privilege of going on a date.  Yep...a real date that didn't include Owen!  Travis' parents were up for a long weekend and were gracious enough to keep Owen so we could get away for a few hours.

We have been hearing really great things about the SuperLux theater in Chestnut Hill (outside of Boston) and wanted to see a movie there.  It did NOT disappoint!  What an awesome experience!

The Showcase Superlux isn't your typical movie theater.  Dark wood, modern furniture, full bar...who knew movie-going could be such a swanky experience!  We seriously felt under-dressed.

After hanging out in the lobby for a little while, we were ushered to our theater and seats.  None of that checking-the-ticket-and-sending-you-on-your-way nonsense...you're ushered to your theater here!  They explained what was included in our ticket and how to order dinner, and left us to look over the menu.

We thought we might be the only ones at the movie.  Who else would be going to see Imitation Game (a movie that has been out for a month) on a Thursday at 5pm?  We had the theater to ourselves for a while, but finally 4 or 5 others wandered in.

With the SuperLux ticket, you get your own, reserved leather recliner.  Every two recliners are separated from another set, so you're not right next to a stranger - pretty nice!  The seats were soft, the feet reclined all the way out and there was enough room in in front of the seats for people to walk in front of you.  It's a bummer to have to put your feet up and down at other theaters with reclining chairs when there isn't enough room for those in the middle to get through (#FirstWorldProblems).  Every seat also has a call button for your waiter, if you need a refill or want to order some food during the movie.

Back to the food:  the menu was great - lots of options and creative apps!  We ordered Steak & Cheese Springrolls with spicy ketchup, the SuperLux Burger with guacamole (to split), and drinks (Travis got a S'mores martini and I got a mango strawberry mixed drink).  Everything was delicious.

Buttered popcorn and drink refills are included in the price of the ticket (along with a $5 food credit per ticket), so we asked for those immediately (of course!).  I rarely order popcorn at theaters, so I'd forgotten how good it is!  Maybe that's a good thing...

The movie was fantastic - now I see what all the fuss was about!  It was so nice to go to the movies without neon signs, loud music, or long lines.  It was a quiet evening, which is what I really needed since I haven't been feeling like myself lately.

After the movie, we decided to walk around the Chestnut Hill Mall for a while.  I haven't been to that mall without a purpose before, so I didn't realize how small it was!  So much for walking around a lot.  We spent most of our time in Brooks Brothers marveling at how CRAZY EXPENSIVE everything was.  I'm used to Brooks Brothers outlets...holy cow, prices are different at the real thing!

Guess how much the shoe below cost.  No really...guess...

SIX HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS.

I don't get it.

Before heading home, we swung past Cheesecake Factory and picked up a few slices to split with Trav's parents back at the house.

It was a fun night out with my sweetest husband!

Owen is 3 months old - likes, dislikes, and my thoughts

Well, we officially have a 3 month old baby!

I can't believe it's been 3 months since we welcomed this little guy into our lives.  It's been the most exciting, exhausting, wonderful, trying, fulfilling, and frustrating time that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

People have asked me several times if it's true that you don't know what love is until you have a baby.  I think it is true, but not for the reasons you'd think.  I love this baby to the moon and back, and having a baby has made my heart double in size...but not just for him.  It's made me love my husband more as I watch him care for our little one, our families as we see their excitement about their first grandchild/niece/nephew, and our friends as they help care for us as we learned to care for Owen.  Sure, my love for Owen is different...but part of the reason it's different is because it's something special I share with my husband, who I love so much.

Owen's growing and changing like crazy!  He's now over 15 pounds and is still in the 98th percentile for length AND head circumference!  He's a long little guy!

He's becoming a champ at holding his head up and loves to be upright now.  He either wants to be walked around, sit up in your lap, or stand (more like river dance) on your legs.

Owen and his friend Luke doing tummy time on their boppies...supervised by Toby

3 month babies...just chillin...

He's definitely a mover and a shaker. I can honestly recognize some of his favorite "moves" from his days in my belly.  I'll see him throw his arm in the air and kick like crazy and think, "that sure does look familiar...".  So cool.  Yesterday, he rolled over for the first time!  SO exciting!  See a video here.

Owen loves his puppy.  We've joked since before he was born that Toby was the "baby sitter", when he would try to sit on my belly.  That tradition has continued, and Toby loves sitting, cuddling, licking, and playing with his new friend.  Thankfully Owen is a big fan of his puppy too.  When Toby curls up next to him, Owen reaches out and pets him!  Best friends already!

Owen loves baths (especially getting his hair washed) and playing with his toys (rings, giraffe, blue puppy, play mat, or the foot keyboard in his crib).  He's happiest being cuddled or sitting in his vibrating chair, but also likes to just hang out on the couch beside us.

Here's a video of Owen and his keyboard...composing just like his dad!



Thankfully he's still sleeping like a champ.  He has slept through the night since 3 weeks (please don't hate me...), and is now going to bed at 10 and sleeping until 7:30-8am!

Owen also enjoys making NOISE!  This baby loves to jabber. Here's a video of Owen "chatting" with me when he was 3 weeks old.




Recently, jabbering is turning into squeals and laughs!  His first "real" laugh was a few weeks ago...and super adorable.  He also loves sputtering and blowing bubbles, and has started drooling all the time, so we've always got a burp cloth ready to wipe his little mouth.

The "don't likes" are a shorter list!

When Owen's hungry, he's HUNGRY!  There's no warm-up phase...he goes from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds, so we've got to be ready with a bottle.  He hates burping (or gas in general) and isn't a fan of baby mittens - he wants to use those fingers!

He's also a tummy-time-hater, so we spend most of the time strengthening his neck on his boppy or in our laps (like you saw above).

And that's about it.  He's generally a happy-go-lucky baby.

We love this little bug!

Owen rolls over!

Today was a big milestone for little Owen...he rolled over for the first time!

The last few days, I've been rolling him back and forth (tummy to back) and helping him prop up on his arms, hoping he'd get the picture in a few weeks.  Apparently it "took" faster than I expected, because when I put him on his tummy today, he flipped right over!



Poor Travis missed it, as he was at the Boston Saint Patrick's Day Parade with his Italian marching band (yep...that's a thing).  Thankfully Owen put on quite a show for him when he got home.  I was happy to be able to share the excitement with my parents, who happened to facetime 15 seconds before our little bug flipped over!

This wasn't a fluke either.  He thinks it's a lot of fun!

I'm sure it'll be next to impossible to do tummy time now (which he hates) since he can get out of it.

I've never been more proud!

Owen Visits North Carolina

I can't believe it's been 12 weeks since little Owen was born.  A lot has happened - it feels like just yesterday, but also like it's been a year!

This marks the end of my maternity leave (WAH!!) and I begin work on Monday.  At least I'm lucky enough to work for a company that cares about their employees and is allowing me to work from home to ease back into things.  

I'm finally to the point where I feel like I can blog again (it just wasn't going to happen after Owen was born), so I'm catching up on some of the highlights.  Here are a few things you  might have missed:

 - Owen's birth story

 - The worst Christmas ever

 - Decorating Owen's room

Today we'll do a brief recap of our trip to NC!  Since Travis took this semester off to care for Owen and I was on maternity leave, we decided it was the perfect time to take a nice long trip to NC so everyone could meet Owen!  We decided to drive so we could stop by my grandma's house in Maryland (and because a baby and dog on an airplane sounded too stressful).  

800 miles and a hotel stay - two big firsts for a 1-month old!  We were nervous.  Thankfully, Owen was an angel.  We split the trip into two days and stopped every 2-2.5 hours.  We had zero traffic, Owen cried maybe 5 minutes the entire trip, and he slept all night in the hotel.  He gets a gold star. 

Enjoying stretching after a looooong day in the car seat!

Family selfie in the hotel room!

Owen's first ride on a luggage cart!

Grandmommy and Alan loved seeing Owen, and it was fantastic to get to see them again!  

Owen also met Tim and Kim, and had lunch at Cracker Barrel...

Alford family picture (with Sarah, Charlie (the cat), and Toby photoshopped in)

...my Virginia family, who drove down to meet him...

...Faye, Pope and Thad...

...Anna Marie, Aaron, Rob, Megan, Howard, Cindy and Alvin at Anna Marie's baby shower (she's due in 2 weeks!!!  Owen will have another cousin!).

...Uncle Robert and Aunt Jewel...

...and many more friends!

We had an awesome time relaxing with our families.

Everyone making our "Owen's not impressed" face

While we were home, we had a "Christmas in January" dinner at my family's house, since everyone was finally together.  After dinner, we had two pies for dessert - one frozen Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie, one chocolate pie.  My brother, mom and I had the pumpkin pie, and 30 minutes later, my brother and I started to feel sick.  I'll spare you the gory details, but we all got food poisoning.  Thanks a lot Mrs. Smith's.  My mom had a sliver of pie, so her's wasn't as bad, but both my brother and I ended up in the Emergency Room and had to be admitted into the hospital.  We were SICK.  That pie was ROTTEN.  

If I'm looking for a moral of the story, or on the bright side, I'd say:

1)  If you're going to eat pie, make it yourself.

2)  If you're not going to make it yourself, don't buy Mrs. Smith's.

3)  Thankfully this didn't happen sooner - my incision was mostly healed by this point.
4)  Thankfully Travis had the chocolate pie, so he could take care of Owen.

5)  I certainly "ripped off the Band-Aid" when it came to spending the night away from our baby.

6)  My brother and I got rooms next to each other, so my dad didn't have to run from one end of the hospital to another.

The nurse said there was a large number of people in the ER with terrible food poisoning around Thanksgiving and Christmas who had all eaten frozen pumpkin pies.  Apparently no one reported it.  If you have one in your freezer, throw it out.  It's not worth it!  I have a really great recipe for mini pumpkin pies.  Make this one instead...it's super easy!

Also...we're celebrating Hanukkah or something next year.

Thankfully, we were all (mostly) well enough to make the trip to Greenville for Travis' performance at East Carolina University later that week.  Chris Grymes, a clarinetist, commissioned Travis to write him a piece which he was performing at the North Carolina New Music Initiative.  It was nice to see all of our old professors (and several friends) at the concert!  Afterwards, Owen experienced his first post-concert-Krispy-Kreme-run!  He has no idea how amazing it's going to be once he can eat donuts.  

We also got to celebrate family "Christmas" with both sides of Travis' family - Jenny's in Virginia and Terry's at their house in Spring Hope.  Each family gathering had two new babies at them!  Virginia Christmas had Owen and Grace (Grace was born about a month before Owen), and Spring Hope Christmas had Owen and Henry (Henry was born 5 days after Owen).

The Virginia family also had a joint baby shower for the two newest members of the family, which was so sweet.  

Owen's "Russell bear" - a bear made from his late Uncle Russell's shirt to remember him by.  I'll share more about this later!

Jenny's happy place

We were sad to come back to Boston...especially with all the snow happening while we were gone.  Little did we know the next few weeks would bring over 100 inches!  More on that later.