The Move is Almost Here

We close this week! YEA! Matt and I officially started the packing process... its going to be a long one. Thank goodness we've got a couple of weeks! We went looking at appliances yesterday and I'm very excited! I can't wait to have a bigger washer & dryer. Right now we're in a constant state of doing laundry. Not that that will change once we have bigger W/D... I mean we do have a 4 month old! He tends to dirty things up very quickly!

I'm extremely excited to paint and decorate our house. We started to look at paint colors and went to Lowe's without any stuff we want to match/coordinate with. Once I got home I definitely realized my eye was not as good as I thought! Next trip, I'm bringing "props" to be more prepared!

On other notes, here is an adorable picture of our happy Jack at 4 months with his teddy bear. This is the bear that Matt and I built at Build-a-Bear. We felt a little goofy, but we wanted to start the tradition so that when we have another baby we can take Jack to build a bear for his younger sibling... and so-on!

Trying to Get Back into the Habit

So its been a very long time since I've written! We've been extremely busy around here.

The house is pretty much set to go with closing October 29... we're so excited! In fact, this evening we went to Lowe's to check out paint chips and flooring options. I am very excited to paint. We've never painted our apartment even though its allowed simply because we never knew for sure if we were going to be there more than a year. I just got a few that I thought were close... boy, was I off! Well, not too far but next time I'll be bringing examples of bedding or whatever I'm trying to coordinate with.

We took Jack on his first plane ride when we went to Texas the other weekend. We had a crazy trip down there with a two hour layover turning into a 12 hour layover! We are lucky though, because Jack was a star the whole time and only cried once when we were on the plan and only because he was hungry. My good friend Leah got married on the 10th. I got to see my closest friends from high school and they all got to meet Jack! Here's a picture of all of us at the wedding:

Last weekend was Jack's baptism and it was beautiful! My friend Brooke is a professional photographer and as a gift to us took pictures of the whole ceremony. Jack wore a beautiful baptismal gown from my grandmother. I will be sure to post a picture a little bit later.

Frustrations in the Housing Market!

Well, we've put in/written offers 6 times on 4 different homes throughout this process... and none of them have been accepted! We're definitely most disappointed in the last home because we actually let ourselves get too attached to it. It was a great home (listen to me, talking about it as if it has passed away). We're trying to continue to be positive and really hope that we'll find something great and never look back... that is getting harder and harder to do with every offer. I am a bit discouraged by reading about how great the market is and that its a "buyer's market" when no one wants to sell us a house. And to answer everyone's question, no we haven't been sending in low-ball offers. I am very familiar with how to figure out offers because of learning from every move my parents have been though, and learning so much as we go through homes. Every house we see, I become more and more confident that what we've offered have been fair prices or maybe slightly under that for negotiation purposes.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers so that we can find something SOON! We essentially need to be in contract on a home by Oct. 15th because we will need to move mid-Novemeber before going to TX for Thanksgiving w/my in-laws and Tiffany's wedding. We're going out to look at homes tomorrow evening!

I will try and keep updates coming more on Jack... we're preparing for the big plane trip in a week and a half! That will definitely be interesting. As laid back as he is, I am thinking he will likely do okay over all with the trip. I'm mainly worried about his ears popping during take-off & landing. I'm even more worried about trying to handle it all through the airport, not to mention the fact that I bet we'll overpack "just in case". I'm sure I will have lots more to tell after the trip!

Jack is getting bigger and bigger every day... he keeps outgrowing clothes, or at least fitting into the bigger ones (as we try to squeeze him into current ones to get more use out of them). I have his outfit picked out for Leah's wedding on the 10th and I think I know what I want him to wear for Tiffany's in November... just waiting to see what size to buy. We bought his Halloween costume last weekend, he's going to be a monkey, because a) Matt loves monkeys and b) Jack's been making this new monkey-like sound (that kinda sounds like "hoo-hoo"). I will be sure to post the video I got of him doing it the other day (or you may have been able to see the one my mom got and emailed to friends & family).

Its been a While!

Wow... I can't believe its been so long since I've written an entry! Things have been extremely busy at work and when I get home I just want to crash and snuggle with my little man.



Jack is officially past the 3 month mark and we can't believe it! He is getting bigger and bigger every day and I just can't believe my eyes. I want to keep him as a baby because he's just a ton of fun, but I know that he's a ton of fun because of all the new things he's discovering these days.



He had been doing so well holding himself up that we decided to put together his exersaucer. I love to put things together (the scientist part of me loves to figure things out) so I just up and did it one day. It had just been sitting in a box in his room because I wasn't sure when he'd be able to use it (and I didn't want to unpack it and have to move it if he wasn't ready to use it). He loves it, mainly a couple of toys he can use but I think he loves being held upright in it the most! Here's a pic of the little guy enjoying himself:

Well, Matt and I went looking at houses today and think we found some great possibilities! I'll updated Sunday after we go looking at our favorites again... maybe we'll put a 4th offer in. Tomorrow Matt is working, so I might go and get Jack's Halloween costume! I can't wait, I will be sure to post pictures!

This Week!

This week has already been flying by... and I think that's great! It was already a three day week for me because Scotts company holidays include Labor Day and Patriot Day (for those of you who don't know when that is, its 9/11).

If you look at the previous post, you'll see that Jack is officially on the move! He's enjoyed practicing his new trick and my mom said he even rolled over in his crib after waking from a nap yesterday. One of the first things Matt brought to my attention after the initial excitement wore off from his first roll: now we have to keep a better eye on him! Little man is officially able to move from where we put him and that's kind of a scary realization.

We're going house hunting again tomorrow... we've got our fingers crossed that we find something soon! I know we're not even halfway through this month, but our personal goal is to find something before the end of the month. That would give us 30 days to close plus time to do some cosmetic stuff in the house before having to move out of our apartment before Thanksgiving.

Well, on other notes our internet is down until further notice... something is wrong with our DSL router :-(. Hopefully its a quick fix, otherwise we'll have to shell out $70-80 for a new one. This coming weekend, I am going out for a "Mom's Night Out" with friends. I'm so lucky to have friends who are mom's too... they really understand how much lives change after bringing a baby into the world. I thought pregnancy was a big change, it is nothing compared to motherhood!

Well, until next week (unless we get the internet fixed) this will be it because I'm taking vacation tomorrow and Friday's a holiday for me. I also want to wish my parents a very happy anniversary this Friday! (If you need something positive to associate with 9/11, it is my parents' anniversary; always try to see the good [memories] with the bad [memories].)

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

A No Go on the House...

Its kind of unfortunate, but the seller's didn't even counter our offer. Their agent even told our agent that it was a good offer (and better than the offer they received earlier that day), but that they have been very unwilling to budge from their asking price. The seller's agent even told them they wouldn't get their list price in this market... they had even received an offer within the first week of being on the market for only $5,000 below asking and didn't even counter because they were 'insulted'. Good luck to them... and that house just wasn't meant to be ours!

The Big Hunt for a Little House...

So we looked at a house for the third time on Wednesday. We were pretty sure we wanted to make an offer, but decided to sleep on it! We set up a meeting with our realtor to write up the offer on Friday. Friday afternoon we got an email... someone put an offer in on the house that morning. The seller's agent said they'd like to see our offer because the other people low-balled. We had to start out offering a little higher then we were originally going to but still under what we had already decided was the highest we'd go for this property. We gave them until 5 p.m. Saturday so we'll see what happens! We're nervous, anxious, excited just to find out what they have to say. If its meant to be ours, it'll work out!

Jack is getting to be more and more alert everyday! His little personality is so fun to watch interact with people and all the new things he is noticing. Below is a picture of him holding/chewing on his "baby" that Aunt Laurie, Uncle Chic, and his Chilicki cousins gave him... he really has started to enjoy the texture! We've started to take it everywhere.

Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays...

So going back to work for week two was harder than starting back week one in my opinion! It almost felt as if last week was a temporary thing... until today. I keep telling myself I am lucky enough to have short weeks through the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30) because of having to use up my vacation.

This coming Wednesday night, Matt and I are going to check out a home (for the 3rd time) that we might make an offer on! Very exciting, nerve-wracking, etc. but nonetheless a good thing. We've asked my parents to come along to help us pick up on any possible issues that we might not notice. They've bought a house or two in their day and it definitely doesn't hurt to have extra eyes on such a large purchase.

This evening I put away some of Jack's first clothes that he has since outgrown. Its not that I hadn't known he didn't fit in them anymore, but I hadn't pulled them out of his dresser until tonight. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it makes me kind of sad to be putting away some of the adorable teeny, tiny clothes that he wore as early as his first day home! I can not believe how big he's gotten at just over two months old! Speaking of, I forgot to update everyone on his stats from his 2 month check-up: 13 lbs. 2 oz. and 23.25 inches long! That's up 5 lbs and 2.75 inches from birth!

Weekend Wrap-up

This weekend was a busy one for my last weekend before going back to work full-time!

Friday evening we went out to dinner with some friends of ours to say goodbye to a couple that is moving to KY! It's never easy to say bye to friends, but this is a great opportunity for them and we wish them the best of luck.

Yesterday we went to lunch with a friend to say goodbye as she heads back to school for her last year of grad school. We also took Jack to his first Clippers game, and it was my first time to the new stadium! And it is truly a beautiful stadium... and it was even named the 2009 Ballpark of the Year beating out the new NY stadium. Not bad for a minor league baseball team's stadium, huh? Here's a pic of us at the game:

Today we went looking at houses again. We looked at four houses and discovered an area of town that we really like! There is a potential home in Hilliard that we saw, but it didn't scream "buy me" so we're going to keep looking. Update on the house we saw last Thursday, its now in contract... kinda a bummer since we really liked the yard and the layout. Oh well, we can keep an eye on it, in this economy unfortunately not everyone's financing goes through.

Today is my last official day of maternity leave. I am heartbroken to be leaving my little guy, but as parents Matt & I have realized that we do what we have to all because of our son. We're both working at this point so we make sure he can have a good life! Matt will be with Jack all day tomorrow, which he'll definitely enjoy... and I'll be a little jealous of. (Matt has been back to work for 6 1/2 weeks though.)

I'll definitely post tomorrow after my first day back at work!

My Welcome to Blogging...

So I'm definitely new to the blogging world, but I have enjoyed reading those of friends and those on topics I've Googled (i.e. pregnancy, motherhood, cooking, etc.).

A little bit about me... I've been married to my wonderful husband and best friend, Matt, for over a year and a half. We have a beautiful 8 week old son, Jack, who is our world and our favorite entertainment. Being a mother has been an amazing experience so far and I can not wait for all of the excitement that is yet to come!

After a little over 8 weeks of maternity leave, I will be returning to work as a chemist. I know that going back to work won't be easy, but its what we have to do [for the time being.] We're blessed enough that my mom has offered to come to watch Jack while we're working. (If you've ever looked into childcare options you know how much money this will save us... can you say, college fund?)

Throughout Jack's short life I have been breastfeeding and I plan on continuing this once going back to work. I've already bought a pump and I am lucky that my work has a "Mom's Room" that I can reserve for pumping during the workday, with a fridge and lockers to store my stuff. Although I'm definitely not ashamed of breastfeeding or pumping for my son, I would feel slightly awkward lugging my pump back and forth around the office building! My main concern with trying to maintain breastfeeding is that my supply may not be able to keep up with my growing son's needs [in case I can not pump as often as he is eating], but I try to just focus on what I can do. Every blog/online article I read on working full-time and pumping says that even if you mix breast milk and formula its still a great thing for Baby. We shall see... hopefully we won't have to address supplementing with formula! That is my goal!

To make things more crazy in our life right now, we're also house-hunting! If you know me, I have moved quite a few times growing up and I truly feel it made me who I am today but I am eager to settle down for a little bit. (I have always told Matt that I am willing to move in the future.) We finally went out with the realtor last Thursday (things were a little crazy there for a while with a newborn). We saw 3 homes, one of which is a potential home for us! I keep having to remind myself that it's our first home, but I am so focused on future resale value, details, etc. The potential house is: 3 BR, 1 BA split level (built in the 70s) in a great school district and pretty good location for commuting. Positives: nice open kitchen, 2 living spaces (partially finished lower level), in a cul-de-sac, and HUGE lot (almost 1/2 acre) for in the suburbs. Downsides: no garage, only 1 bath, needs some minor cosmetic updating. All in all a good first time looking at homes, we're going out tomorrow to another area of town!