Chad's 42nd!

Another year has come and gone for the Hubs...and sadly I didn't accomplish taking but 2 photos...none of which are of Chad.  LOL!  #birthdayfail

This year I managed to get some treats of my own for Chad's birthday.  We started the weekend by purchasing a new MacBook Pro for me!  Yahoo!  My current laptop is dying a slow death - constant issues.  I wanted to be ready for Gnocchi's arrival and all the pics we'd be taking, so it wasn't an option in my eyes to wait any longer.  Missouri had it's Back To School Tax Free shopping weekend this weekend - gotta love it!  We ended up with discounts for that and an educator discount (since Chad works for the university).  Can't beat it!  Now I'm just working on learning Mac-style...much more difficult than it sounds.  

I'm totally in love with my new "mini" (my nickname for it, since it's a 13").  I downsized from "Big Red", my 17" Dell.  I thought it would be horrible, but the screen is quite nice.  Also totally loving the fact that it syncs directly to my phone...pics, texts, etc.  I've got so much more to learn though!!!

Saturday was spent getting  couples massage at the Spa on Penn...prenatal for me & relaxation/therapeutic for him.  This was our first time at this spa, and I'd definitely go back.  Everything was clean, staff were professional and prices were competitive.  I booked it since we've been working so hard lately and didn't get to go on the baby moon we had hoped to!  I hadn't had a massage in a year, and Chad's last massage was on our honeymoon...almost 3 years ago!!!  It didn't disappoint however!  It was quite heavenly, and I'm always surprised how fast that hour flies by!  

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Bristol Seafood.  This is another place that doesn't disappoint...always consistent with yummy food & excellent service!  I always go for their scrumptious Lobster Cobb salad and Chad had the fresh salmon.  I did manage two pics at Bristol...one of our divine dessert...

Strawberry Shortcake with lemon cake & roasted strawberry ice cream

...and the other, a bathroom selfie of me.  LOL!  

#30weeks

Sunday was back to the normal grind...housework, bills, grocery shopping, etc.  It was a fun weekend though, and we're looking forward to our 3D ultrasound scheduled on Monday!

Cheers!

Insta Recap

Another crazy, busy week has flown by without me even realizing it!  I'm totally trying to focus more on blogging, since I've been almost non-existent these days.  

I finally figured out why it has seemed so crazy around here lately.  We're focusing on so many rooms at once...basically all of them...instead of updating/decorating one room at a time.  Sheer madness!!!  I don't think we planned on doing things this way - just kind of worked out like that.  I'll do a home update post soon, but here's a list of what we've been up to lately...and still need to do.  Makes me exhausted thinking about it.

Kitchen/Pantry:

* Organized & updated hardware.  (I think we're basically done in this room for now.)

Dining Room:

* Purchased new dining room chairs, since we lost ours in the condo sale. 

* Purchased new dining room light.  Waiting for that to arrive & then will have electrician hang it.

* Still need to purchase dining room rug.

* Need to hang art

Upstairs Deck:

* Purchased new table/chairs/cushions.

* Still need to purchase outdoor rug.

* Need to hang art.

Living Room/Foyer:

* Purchased new rug & console/media table.

* Purchased new foyer light - electrician needs to hang.

Master Suite:

* Had professional closet installed.  Hallelujah!!!

* Need to hang art.

* Eventually - next year - want to switch out lighting & faucets in master bathroom.  

Hallways (up/down):

* Purchased & hung 5 new semi-flush mounts.

Guest Suite:

* Purchased new nightstands & linens.

* Hung new curtains

* Installed shelves in guest bathroom.

* Need to hang art.

3rd Bathroom (Gnocchi's):

* Purchased & hung new vanity light.

* Need to hang art & shelves - already purchased.

* Need to paint.

Nursery:

* Purchased & put together crib, dresser & storage shelves.

* Waiting on replacement for rocker/glider.

* Hung new curtains.

* Need to hang shelves & art.

General:

* Haven't started on laundry/mudroom area - needs work.

* Haven't started on downstairs half bath - needs work.

* Haven't started on office yet.  Need to purchase day bed to add an extra spot for our guests.

Wow!!!  There is still a ton on the "To Do" list that I want to accomplish before Delivery Day!!!  I better get to the sharing of random pics, so that I can go accomplish something else.  LOL!!!

(Clockwise from top left)

1.  Super cute sleeping sack I purchased on clearance from Gap!  I can't get enough of those ants!!!

2.  K&T - such an adorable shot!  Miss these two!!

3.  Gnocchi's Halloween costume - glow-in-the-dark style!  LOL!  He can't go without on Momma's favorite holiday!  He'll be just a wee newborn then, so I'm sure we'll just be chillaxin' at home.

(Clockwise from top left again)

You know I can't end this without sharing pics of the fur babies!!

1.  Lucky can barely fit on my lap these days, but she figures out how!

2.  Smokey helping dad put up lights.

3.  Lucky napping on Momma's new laptop case.

4.  Smokey chillin' in his new favorite spot - our deck.

Hope you're getting some R&R this weekend!

Cheers!

The 5th & 6th Months

My how time flies when you're having fun!  I'm obviously super late in posting these.  it's been truly crazy around these parts lately.  I look back at this time frame and it seems like so long ago.  We've actually accomplished so much since then, but we still have quite a way to go.  

I celebrated by 38th birthday during my 17th week of pregnancy.  I definitely am glad that I waited until later in life to have a child...but I still feel like an "old momma".  I picture Chad & I being the oldest parents in the school.  LOL!  At this point, I still hadn't felt Gnocchi move yet, so I was using the Doppler a couple of times a week...mostly to make myself feel better.  :)

We closed on our new home this week!  It was truly bittersweet!  I was ecstatic to start designing & decorating our new home - the home in which we'll raise our sweet little man!  On the other hand, I was super sad to be leaving our friends at One Park Place.  We loved our little community there - not to mention our awesome condo & its amenities.

At this point, my iced tea cravings had really started to kick in....AND I FINALLY FELT GNOCCHI MOVE!  Yahoo!!!

Week 20 was awesome!  My mom came in town, and we all went for a Level 2 Ultrasound.  Wow!  What an amazing experience!!  We basically got to watch Gnocchi move around for about 30 minutes.  It made it so much more real!

 Here's a few of my favorite pics...

The upside down gymnast

Mr. Muscles

 

It's All Good, Man!

 

Week 20 consisted of continued bliss from the ultrasound the week before, more iced tea cravings and lots of new home planning.

 

 

Week 21 began and ended with bathroom trips.  LOL!  For some reason, I thought that this pregnancy symptom came along later.  Not true.  Barely showing but definitely know where the bathroom is!  I also started to have some back/rib pain about this time - very uncomfortable.  I knew I'd have back pain during the pregnancy, but it's very different than how I pictured it.

Week 22 commenced with work on our house, as well as a contract on our condo.  Yahoo!!  Baby planning was on hold while we focused on the house.  Back/rib pain & iced tea cravings continue.  
 

Week 23 - we moved into the new house!!  Again exciting and bittersweet all at the same time!  Mom & John came into town to help us since my stamina just isn't what it used to be.  Thank goodness for the help!  I'd probably still be unpacking.  LOL!
 

Week 24 - more back/rib pain.  Boo!  This week we were able to plan for both the new house, as well as the baby.  It really felt good to start baby planning again!!

We've accomplished so much more in the last month!  Stay tuned for more Gnocchi updates!!

Cheers!

Insta Recap

Wow, how time flies!  I can hardly believe that it's been over a month since I blogged last.  I must say that we've been quite busy getting the condo ready to sell, moving, unpacking...and, oh yeah, growing a human inside of me.  Lol!  

I hope to start blogging on a more regular basis soon now that things are calming down, but for now I've put together some snapshots from the past several weeks.

1.  Lucky chilling out on our stairs.  The cats haven't dealt with stairs since we were in STL...and even then it was only basement stairs.  So Lucky is in love with the fact that she can chill on the stairs and still see everything that goes on!

2.  A view of our mess living room area from the second floor.  (I wish I would have moved the toilet bowl brush prior to snapping this shot.  LOL!)

3.  Lucky caught in the act!  She's found her food & treats in the new pantry.  (By the way, we are truly in love with our pantry, and it's color.  We've never had one before!!)

4.  The long and winding (and hilly) road to our home.  Our house is way down at the end.  We took a walk one evening - wasn't sure I'd make it up to the top of the hill.  It's amazing how much lung capacity you lose growing a human!

5.  Lucky patiently waiting for us to arrive home.  (I'll share paint colors & info in a upcoming blog.)

6.  Snapped this shot after a storm this past week driving North out of the city over the train yard.

7.  Smokey chilling out on the patio.  Smokey loved the patio when we lived in the loft in the River Market.  He'd chill out there for hours, and it's seemed to come right back to him here.  The cats have transitioned so well this move.  We're so thankful!!  

8.  Finally started unpacking decor this weekend, which means the last of the boxes are finally getting touched.  Yahoo!  

9.  Realized tonight that Lucky matches our decor!  LOL!  (Totally loving our new rug, by the way.  #rugsusa)

Had to share some shots of family & friends!!  Love & miss them!!

1.  My niece, Lehni, and nephew, Miles.   

2.  My niece, Teddi.  Can barely believe that she's 6 months old now...and starting to chunk up a bit!  :)

3.  My niece, Hanna, all dressed up to celebrate the 4th!  Too cute!

4.  The OPP Peeps - Deborah, Heather & Chrystal - doing it up right!  Don't miss Chad photo bombing us in the background!  LOL!

More to come soon, I promise!

Cheers! 

The 4th Month

Wow! This pregnancy is truly flying by!!  I've been slacking a bit on my posts recently.  Things have just seemed so busy!  So I figured I'd better post this now that I'm entering the last week of my 5th month.  

I think I've had it quite easy overall compared to the severity of symptoms that other women say they have.  My nausea has basically completely vanished, cravings & aversions have definitely set in, and "the bump" finally decided to make an appearance.  I guess the symptom that seems to still be the most prevalent is the tiredness.  I had a few weeks in the first trimester where it was shear exhaustion, but I wouldn't say it's that severe anymore.  That actually went away while I was still in my first trimester.  I've had so many people tell me that I'll get a boost of energy and feel fabulous in my 2nd trimester, but I haven't experience that just yet.  I'm beginning to wonder if that "boost" was when the severe exhaustion went away in the first trimester.  Who knows?  I just have to keep reminding myself that my body is working overtime to take care of two people instead of just one like it's done for the past 37 (ahem, 29) years.

It was around 13 weeks when I really started feeling uncomfortable in my normal clothes.  I tried the belly band extenders, which worked best with my jeans.  Unfortunately nothing worked with my work pants...and those Bella Band things are completely useless.  I have no idea why people love them so much.  Chad & I actually made a trip to the Motherhood Maternity store near us to grab a few dresses which would work for both the early & late stages of pregnancy.

I feel like it was the 14th week when my bump really started to show.  According to the Baby Bump app that I'm using, Gnocchi grew a whole ounce and 0.6 inches this week...more than any of the previous weeks.  The app is kind of cool.  It gives you daily tips and weekly growth updates for both the baby & you.  So for the 14th week, Gnocchi was 3.4 inches (a lemon) and 1.5 oz.

This week was super busy dealing with new house stuff, doctor appointments, etc.  I did manage to squeeze in my first prenatal workout...finally.  I figured I need to up the ante here since my exhaustion is not as bad as it was.  It was also this week when my meat aversion really started to kick in.  I'm eating very little meat these days and needing to find my protein source in other things...beans, peanut butter, protein powder, etc. 

Week 15 was probably the most exciting so far...the gender reveal!!  It's a BOY!!  Now Chad and I were initially quite thrown off by this, as we both thought it was a girl.  We really have no reason for thinking that.  I even had one gender dream in which I opened up the lab paperwork and saw that we were having a boy, but I still continued to think we were having a girl.  I guess my subconscious must have known all along.  LOL!

We had ordered a gender reveal cake from a local, scrumptious bakery.  We saved this precious moment to share just between the two of us.  I definitely should have cut a larger wedge from the cake, so you could see the blue ombre effect.  I'm glad we decided to surprise ourselves with the gender reveal cake.  Not only did it make it a bit more special than just opening an envelope, but we got to eat cake all week!  Score!!

Week 16 seemed to be quite a busy week.  We had initially intended to "tell" our family with the gender that week, but our surprise for them didn't arrive as planned.  So it was a week of attempting to NOT call anyone for fear that I might accidentally give away the surprise.  So we kept busy with a daycare visit and baby gear research.  

By this week I had also developed a new craving...iced tea!  I just can't get enough of this stuff!!!  I'm thankful that I'm not craving anything more fattening than this.  Cravings are strong!  If I was still craving mac & cheese, I'd be as large as a house by now.  LOL!  I'm also thankful for Fre wine - the alcohol free wine that a friend of ours recommended.  Phew!  I'd definitely recommend the white over the red...especially the Chard & Brut!

Cheers!

Random Reading

I haven't posted my random links in quite a while.  I was reading blogs but couldn't find the time to organize the ones that I liked.  So now that we're starting to get things in order at home, I thought I would on my blog as well.  Enjoy!



{Family}
Apparantly this is what I have to look forward to.  LOL!


{Fitness}
A healthy - but delicious - snack after a workout.


{Food}
Love, love, love avocado toast!!  This is my go to "single girl's dinner" when chad is not around.  It's also good for a weekend lunch, but after reading these, I think I'm going to add an egg and try it for breakfast. 


{Fun}
Disney movie secrets.


{Home}
Great organization ideas!  I may have to try out trays in my pantry - ingenious! 


{Travel}
I've always wanted to live in Europe!!  This article only strengthens that.  

Birthday Weekend Recap

Last weekend we celebrated my 38th (ouch!) birthday AND Mother's Day!!  It was my "first" mother's day...and my only kid-less Mother's Day that I'll have.  It was a very productive and fun weekend.

We kicked off the weekend with a birthday dinner at Bristol on Friday night followed by a yummy brunch on Sunday - both with delicious mocktails!!  Chad had given me an early birthday gift a week or so ago - a Kate Spade zodiac bracelet.  Love that it's the perfect green and goes great with my watch!!  Then the best husband in the world surprised me with a picture of The Eiffel Tower.  Love, love, love that the view of it is exactly where we sat when we were there...just to the right of the carousel!!!  Can't wait to hang this in our new place!!

We spent Saturday purchasing new appliances for our new home - expensive but fun!  Chad's going to have to take up a part-time job after that visit.  LOL!

Sunday we headed back down to Buy Buy Baby to submerge ourselves in the strollers once again.  Remember last post when I mentioned how many strollers they had?  Well, here's a visual for you...and this is only about half of them!!  It was a good experience this visit though.  We had done our research and went with an agenda...to test certain strollers.  Then one that I had originally thought I'd like the best ended up being waaaayyy to heavy for my back.  So glad we tested these out!

 

We also spent time touring the KC Parade of Homes - a free tour of more than a hundred homes located all over the city and its suburbs.  It's fun to pick and choose which ones you want to tour.  We spent a portion of Saturday touring neighborhoods in the Northland near our new home and Sunday we toured homes in the Southern suburbs.  I haven't done that much walking or stair climbing in a over a trimester.  LOL!  Good exercise!!  Here's a pic of some of the fun lighting that we saw on the tour...

...and some fireplace inspiration, as we plan to change ours up a bit.

This past week has been super busy and this weekend and next week won't be much different.  We had a fun evening with our designer on Tuesday picking out paint colors  (I'll share soon!), and Thursday evening with our realtor talking over final details on our new home.  This weekend is filled with Yankee's/Royal's games all weekend.  Then it all comes to a head on Friday when we close on our new home!!  Let the painting & light remodeling begin!

Cheers!

Strollers and strollers and more strollers

We've been so busy with the issues in our current place, dealing with the inspection on our new place and touring daycares that we haven't had a ton of time to research baby gear.  Babies can live in a box for awhile after they come home, right?!?!

Just kidding!!

Seriously though, we haven't had much time to deal with any of it.  Granted we have time yet before Gnocchi arrives, but I'd feel much better if we could check a few things off the very long list.  After our short & overwhelming visit to Buy Buy Baby last weekend, we promptly came home and started researching strollers.  I have no idea why we started with strollers other than there were at least 50+ at Buy Buy Baby...no joke!!!

There were a few features that we knew that we wanted...mostly to relieve the stress on my already aching back.  So we started with coming up with a list of "must haves".  Logical, right?  :)

• 5 point harness
• Adjustable handle 
• Lightweight
• Car seat compatible
• Decent sized storage
• Tray/cup holder (child)
• Tray/cup holder (parent)

So after an afternoon of researching every stroller known to man, we narrowed it down to these...

The UPPAbaby Vista
This is a top contender on our list.  Lots of what we want without features that we don't.  It can even be made into a double stroller (which we don't anticipate needing), and it has more rugged wheels for "off roading".  Also, the bassinet is included in the price, which I understand to be a better position (flat) for the baby to lay while its still young.

The UPPAbaby Cruz
This is the other top contender.  This one is similar to the Vista just without the rugged wheels and 2nd child attachment.  So it makes it a tad cheaper (except that we have to buy the bassinet separately - still cheaper) and a bit lighter.  I'm just not sure if we'll need the more rugged wheels to use it on the trails near our new place.

A few others that we've considered are...

The Orbit G3
Love the fact that the seat (including the car seat while in the car) swivels.  This would be a dream for my back!!  Unfortunately it's quite a bit pricier and missing a few other features.

The 4Moms Origami
This is probably our least favorite of the bunch.  It receives good ratings & reviews.  It's just a bit expensive and quite heavy.

We'd love to hear any experience that you may have with any of these products.

Cheers!

Insta Recap

I didn't get to blog much or take pics last week.  Chad was off on a work trip, so things were crazy around here!  

Aside from having to keep the house clean for potential showings & being super tired, we also had construction going on & a negative-pressure containment tent up all week.  A couple of weeks ago we noticed water leaking into our unit from the tops of our living room windows.  After some investigation, we were told that the drain on the 4th floor ledge (above us) had sprung a leak, which was causing the "water feature" in our unit.  (Not a useful feature when attempting to sell your home.)  The only good thing about it is the issue was in a "common area" and not our unit.  Translation...it's of no monetary expense to us...just time & aggravation.  So they called in a contractor, who had to cut into our ceiling and through the building firewall, which contained asbestos (not conducive to breathing let along pregnancy), to fix the drain.  I basically spent the week confined to the bedroom, because the living room was impossible to use with the large tent and constant fan running.  It was like having your stove vent on high x100....so annoying!!!

 

Things are getting back to normal this week.  Chad returned home on Friday, and the containment tent was removed today.  The repairs should all be complete tomorrow hopefully, and we can get back to selling our unit!

Here's a few randoms from the past week...

1.  Chad & I tried out a new place for a quick Sunday Brunch yesterday, The Mixing Bowl Noshery.  It's like a home-cooked diner.  It was a beautiful day, so we decided to sit outside.  The patio is right next to the drive-up sign, which is right next to the front door.  Too funny!
2. A great pic of K & T!  I couldn't resist sharing!!
3. Chad's replacement.  'Nuff said.  LOL!  Actually we're calling this "The Lifeboat".  I truly feel like I could float on this thing at sea.  It's huge but very comfortable.  It's just missing a cup holder and remote pocket, because one you're in - you're in.
4. New arm candy!!  Chad surprised me with this early birthday present...a super cute zodiac bangle from Kate Spade!!
5. Another that I couldn't resist sharing....Hanna is so excited to be playing in the mulch! 

Aside from all the fun above, we had a busy & productive weekend.  Chad & I hit up First Fridays in the Crossroads for the Food Truck Fest on Friday night.  Saturday, we ran errands and picked up some maternity clothes from a friend.  (Thanks, Jen!!)  We spent Sunday checking out the Brookside Art Fair and being completely overwhelmed at Buy Buy Baby.  LOL.  Now it's back to the grind.  Hope everyone had a fun & relaxing weekend!!

Cheers!

 

Insta Recap

Getting back into the swing of things still...even with Instagram.  Here's what I've been up to lately...

1. Brunch at Eggtc.  I really look forward to our weekend brunches these days...and not only for the cappuccino.  I'm really digging breakfast foods right now!  So it's a double win in my book.
2. Gender reveal envelope from our OB's office.  We promptly gave this to our building concierge, so I wouldn't peek at it.  LOL!  The next morning a local bakery came to pick it up to make us a gender reveal cake.  So exciting!
3.  Gnocchi has received several presents so far.  This day Smokey just wasn't having it.  We might have some jealousy issues once Gnocchi arrives.  Eek.
4.  Sadly this is what our living room looks like right now.  We had some issues with water coming into our unit due to a faulty ledge drain outside.  To fix this they had to cut into our ceiling and through the fire wall on the outside.  This contraption was set up not only to contain all the dust & debris created from the construction but also to create a negative-pressure area due to the asbestos in the fire wall.  *sigh*  Thankfully the repair went well and the ceiling should be repaired this week.
5. I worked at home this week...from the bed...due to the living room being a mess and all our furniture displaced.  The fur babies were "helping" me work.  :)
6. Maternity clothing arrival!  Yahoo! I'm between regular sizing and maternity sizing.  So happy to be able to breath again!!
 

Hope your week was fabulous!

 Cheers! 

 

The First Trimester: Months 1-3

I'm so glad that the word is finally out.  I completely suck at keeping secrets...hence the absence from my blog.  But now...now I can finally catch you up on everything that's been going on.

One of the first things that I wanted to figure out was how to document this pregnancy.  This will probably be our one and only journey down this road, so I wanted to do it up right.  :)  However, I'm not a scrapbooker.  I'd barely even have a creative bone in my body.  So we wanted something simple to document both the growing baby bump, as well as all the pregnancy & life changes that we would go through.  After researching several different options, we came up with the following.

 
The First Trimester seemed to fly by quite quickly actually.  I felt pretty "normal" up until 9th week mark.  Prior to then I had a tad bit of nausea when I woke up in the mornings, but it was quickly remedied by a slice of peanut butter or almond butter toast.  No big deal.  Right around the 8th week my nausea became pretty debilitating...lasting about 5 hours or so per day.  This made anything - especially my work day - almost impossible.  Fortunately I had been seeing an acupuncturist prior to becoming pregnant and had read that acupuncture can actually help with morning sickness.  I made another appointment and my nausea was reduced to almost nothing within a day or two.  Amazing!!!

By week 10 the nausea was still pretty minimal, but I had developed some serious sinus symptoms.  Since you're not supposed to take medications during the first trimester, I was pretty miserable.  I headed back to the acupuncturist in hopes that would help....and it did!!!  Yahoo!!  Gnocchi and I are totally loving acupuncture!

Around the end of the first trimester started my food cravings changed from wanting everything in sight to just wanting specific foods (mainly mac & cheese) and total aversion to other foods (BBQ, pizza & meat).  Craziness!

There were several things that totally caught me off guard during the first trimester:

• The exhaustion!  Oh, the exhaustion!!  You hear about how pregnant women are exhausted, but there's no way you can truly understand what that means unless you've actually experienced it.  My typical work day doesn't allow for many breaks, if any.  I think I basically walked around like a zombie for the second half of the day - every day!  I still haven't gotten my energy back yet (like they say you do in the 2nd trimester), but it isn't near as bad as it was.  Thanks goodness!
• Motion sickness:  I have never had motion sickness in my life, so this one totally threw me for a loop!  I could not look at anything in the car that I used to be able to...phone, magazines, etc.  Man, this totally makes for boring car rides!  LOL!  This one has subsided some, but it still sneaks up on me from time to time.
• Food cravings & aversions:  I guess this one shouldn't surprise me, since it's probably one of the most talked about pregnancy symptoms.  I think it was just different than I expected it would be.  I guess I thought I would continue to like foods that I liked before I was pregnant and my aversions would be for foods that I didn't like. So when I began to crave mac & cheese, it didn't surprise me at all, since it was my absolute favorite food as a child.  However, my aversion to pizza was like a smack in the face.  I love pizza!  So much so that I attempted to eat it about three different times - experiencing an aversion each time.  LOL!  I've finally given up on pizza...at least for the time being.
• New aches, pains & cramps:  I'm not sure how to describe this one.  I guess it's just all the new things you experience & feel.  You have to figure out what they mean...and if they meant one thing prior to pregnancy, they definitely mean something different now.
 

It's been a wild ride so far and only getting crazier!

 

Cheers!

 

Movin' on Up...

...to the Northland that is!

Yes, yes, you read this correctly.  We're moving out of the city...to what Kansas Citians would call "just North of the river".  I'm calling it the "Subcity", since it's a combination of the city and the suburbs.  It's seriously just North of the city - 10 min from downtown.  We love the city so much, so we didn't want to move far.

I still can't believe I'm writing this.  We're moving.
We're moving.
We're moving.

Still seems surreal.  We're so sad to be leaving our wonderful condo that we've called home for the last year and a half.  We truly never expected to leave this soon regardless of children, but we decided to become responsible adults.  Ha.  

Actually it was the daycare costs that got us.  Holy moly!  I knew that daycare was expensive, but it's just downright outrageous!!!  Now don't get me wrong, we'd pay an arm & leg to ensure that our little Gnocchi was safe & taken care of.  But having that daycare reality smack us in the face made us reevaluate our financial situation...and the crazy high HOA fees that we pay at our current location.  We have the best amenities here, so the fees are worth it to those who live here.  However, we're trading in our HOA fees to be able to put Gnocchi in a good daycare - one that gives us peace of mind - and still be able to live the lifestyle we want to live.

So...if you know anyone that is in the KC area and wants to live in the most fabulous building in the city, send them my way.  Here's a couple pics of our current place...

...and a sneak peak of our new place!

It's a crazy, busy time for the Gravelle's, that's for sure!

Let's hope we can keep our sanity!!

Cheers!

The Gravelle Family Forecast

Wow, I can barely believe that it's been almost 2 months since I last posted!  There's been sooooo much going on in our lives!  The blogging break was probably needed, but it was also the only possible way to ensure that I didn't spill the beans.  :)

I think everyone knows by now, but our family of 2 will become a family of 3 this Fall!!!  It's been something that we've been "working" on for the past year, and at several points thought that it wouldn't become a reality.  (Story to come later.)  

I truly love the announcement that Chad created!  

So unique...and so appropriate for our family!!

Since we publicized our announcement last weekend, we've received such an outpouring of love and support!  It's been amazing!

Thank you all for your kind words & encouragement!

More to come on all our changes!

Cheers!