Happy Birthday Olive.

Goodbye. Part III.

(An Apology)

Our last six weeks in St. Louis are a blur. We swung hammers and waived brushes (and other implements of repair and creation). We packed boxes and cleaned (and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned).

We said goodbye to a few of our friends, but, in the madness of packing up, fixing the house and leaving, we did not say goodbye properly to everyone.

I am truly sorry, because our friends made St. Louis home for us. Without you, the Lou would have been just another city to pause in on our journey. Without you, I would not have survived Kyle's time in architecture school. I would have no fond memories of Sunday afternoons gabbing and laughing with the girls over good food. We would have had no Saturday evenings spent playing speed scrabble and laughing, no shared adventures and no reconnecting with found friends. We would have had no moments to lighten and liven the work day.

Thank you. We miss you already.

Goodbye. Part II.

St. Louis.

You are:

the first time a call to one another wasn't long distance;

the place we arrived knowing only each other;

the place where Kyle realized how manic taking a (second) bar exam would make me;

the place where I realized what the words 'busy' and 'school' mean when they come out of an architect's mouth (Phew!);

the place where we joined our homes and our hearts;

the place where we made great friends, where we were reminded again and again how wonderful it is to be in a home filled with laughter and joy, good friends and good food - even if it isn't your home;

the place where we welcomed our Little Olive.

We love you. We will visit.

We will miss you.

Ah, Change.

Olive and I arrived in Houston on Monday.

We've run many errands.

We are trying to get Olive back into her routine here, but she is resisting. Change is hard, and she fights sleep with both hands (literally and even when she's being rocked and cuddled). Eventually, she gives in, she relaxes, and we put her quietly in her crib with Pink Bear to snuggle. She whispers him secrets and finally finds dreamland. (No, we don't know why Pink Bear is a boy. He just is.)

It is trying.

But, when I think about it, I am having trouble sleeping too. My mind races through the lists and lists of things that need to be done to the house in St. Louis and that will need to be done once we've closed on our house here.

It is both a blessing and a curse to be here - where I cannot help with the St. Louis house and where I cannot yet work on the new house. It forces me to be still (as still as I can be while caring for Olive and running errands around town!). Hopefully, my mind will follow suit soon.

Kyle and his dad arrive this weekend. I am very much looking forward to Kyle joining us here.

- H

Goodbye. Part I.

Have you tried Kefir?

Olive loves the stuff ...

House.

So. In early August, we are scheduled to close on a house in Houston. It was built in 1962-ish and has had one owner. I kind of have a Mad Men addiction, and the house totally makes me think of Don and Betty Draper (but not their disfunctions). There are many 'vintage' fixtures and it has been well cared-for but not re-done. And - big plus here - there is not a single drop of silver metallic paint. (I really think we have exterminated enough silver metallic paint for a lifetime.)

If you are interested, take a gander at this album. They aren't great photos, but you'll get the idea.

Houston House

- H

Huh?

Our time in the 'Lou is quickly coming to an end ... and Kyle and I are frantic to finish all of those last minute details before we leave our house (hopefully to a lovely family we came across this week!!) and continue our time of chaos in Houston ...

That doesn't sound right. But things are (and, we know, will continue to be) a bit chaotic.

Our house is (almost) packed and (almost) clean and (almost) empty. The movers came Wednesday and most of our household goods drove away. Now we have a card table, an air mattress and a pack-n-play. (And a few other odds and ends - largely cleaning and house project supplies.)

I leave (with Olive) Monday morning for Houston. We are flying, for many reasons, but largely because Olive's current car-ride-tolerance is about 3 hours ... and the drive to Houston is a TAD longer than that.

Kyle and his Dad will drive down the things we need to exist for the next several weeks (plus a bit more, I'm an over-packer and come by it honestly) as well as some of our fragile things. He has work stuff to wrap up, and house chores to finish up so they'll come later in the week. (Getting some of our messier chores done while Olive is crawling around is very difficult!)

We will stay with my Mom and Tim for a few weeks, take a vacation to New Mexico for a week and THEN close on our new house and move in. We are hoping and praying that things will continue to go as smoothly as can be expected and that the final house details come through without too many hitches. (Has anyone ever closed on a house without hitches?!?)

That is our brief-ish schedule, but how are we?

Olive is largely well. Her last day of day care in St. Louis was yesterday. (We LOVED our day care. Childgarden was a WONDERFUL place for her!!!) So we will see how she does when she is out of that routine for a few days. We can tell that the move is wearing on her (not surprising, it is wearing on us!!) as she is having trouble getting to sleep and she is becoming quite clingy.

Kyle and I are hanging in.

We are tired.

We are a bit stressed.

Moving is stressful. Moving long distance is stressful. Renting our home and getting it ready to be rented is stressful. Finding and buying a house is stressful. Starting new jobs and finding new routines is stressful.

BUT those things are also very exciting as well. I am VERY much looking forward to getting dressed and ready for work in an office again very soon (although I've done a bit of work lately from my kitchen table, the mental preparation - for me - of getting ready for and going to work is key).

We are focusing on the little details of our everyday life - like Olive's smile and laughter in the morning - that make us happy and eyeing a more settled September! (Trying to enjoy the now while also looking to the promise of the future. Not a bad life lesson.)

More to come for sure.

H

Bouncing.

Olive has recently discovered that she loves to bounce ...

... on Grandpa's chest



... in the early morning hours on the air mattress in Mommy and Daddy's room



Sometimes she bounces a tad vigorously. (I got whacked in the face with her head this morning - didn't phase her, but sure-as-heck stung for me!)

- H

Being a Grown Up

So. There are a few indications that Kyle and I are adults, grown ups - if you will.

This afternoon, Kyle and I stood giddy in front of our home, admiring our new glass block basement windows. (There is also a new glass block basement window in the back.)

Real, honest-to-goodness giddiness.

Over glass block windows.

Yup. Grown Ups.

Fun.

And, yes, that is Zoe peeking out of the front window.

:)

Some Goodness From The Third Floor.

We finished our third floor painting project. At weekend's end, we were all exhausteed: sitting like zombies on the couch, knowing that it is anti-social to just stare blankly into space, but having energy for little else.

We shook it off and got some sleep.

Russ and Rae hit the road with a car full of stuff: stuff to return to a friend's dad, stuff that we intended to sell in a garage sale (but who has time for a garage sale?!?!) and stuff for their church rummage sale. (Hey. Right now I am more than happy to get stuff out of our house. We are trying to keep the items we move to 1 - stuff that belongs to us, 2 - stuff we use or 3 - stuff we LOVE. So much easier to say than do, but I am trying.)

Olive went to daycare to visit friends, enjoy yummy food, take a good nap and allow her mommy some time to work!

Kyle hopped a flight to Houston for the day. (More on that jaunt later.)

My chores for today included heading up to the third floor, rearranging the remaining furniture and snapping a few photos to show of the fabulous results of our toil.

For comparison's sake, I dug up two photos of the third floor taken shortly after we purchased this house.

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


(OK, the after shots were taken on my phone, so their quality is lacking, but there is a difference, no?)

Thank you, Russ and Rae, very much for all of your help and hard work! We would still be drowning in dust and paint fumes without you.

- H

So.

... a few more details about our skydive ...

Last Friday (June 18) was my last day at work here in St. Louis. I learned a lot from the firm. I worked on some really interesting projects. I made some great friends. (Ultimately, we decided that we wanted to be closer to family now that Olive is a part of our lives.) They sent me off in style:

First, the awesome pretzel:



Second, the fabulous cake: (Cake Wrecks anyone? A guilty pleasure. For. Sure.)



Thank you so much, guys!! I will miss you. (And I will definitely keep in touch.)

Since Friday, I have focused on preparations for our move to Houston.

While some pieces have fallen into place, we have many (many!) loose ends that need to be tied up.

Our next steps, you ask?

I decided against firm life to develop my own practice and work with my stepfather.

Kyle will continue working for Cannon Design on the Oakridge project - just in the Houston office rather than here in St. Louis.

We are excited about our new opportunities and the possibilities that this move will bring. (And a little scared, but that's healthy, no?)

We will keep you updated as we finalize our next steps.

- H

P.S. - I do know that July is the BEST time to move in Houston. Seriously. The absolute BEST.

Our New Project.

The Third Floor.

Those of you who have been to our home may know that the grey/silver paint that once covered the entire interior of our home (save the cloud covered ceilings and various other murals. yes. murals.) still lingers on the third floor of our home.

However.

Today we began its extermination. Russ and Rae even came to town to help. (Their visit has nothing at all to do with visiting Miss Olive. Not a thing.)

What will replace this dull dark sad dirty-looking (and dirty - sometimes) paint? The lovely butter yellow with bright white trim that now marks our home's interior. But. Of. Course.

I snapped just a few photos of the beginning of our project:






There will be more when its all said and done. Naturally.

H

Jumping ...

Very recently, we jumped off of a cliff (um, metaphorically, do you KNOW me?!?).

Our little family has gone through anticipation, excitement, disappointment, concern, consideration, more anticipation, nerves, more excitement, fear, comfort, peace ... all before the jump.

It brought with it all things that I imagine a sky dive would bring: fear, exhilaration, adrenaline ... that frantic clutch for your parachute cord.

But in the end, we are floating toward earth, carrying a healthy amount of fear, enjoying the peace of the float, and tremendously excited about the possibilities this will bring.

Whew!

Swinging.

We went to a park yesterday with Matt, Will, and Russ.  It was our first opportunity to let Olive swing.  We think she really enjoyed it: she wasn't scared and giggled up a storm!