The Big Update

Hey y'all!  It's been a while, and there is plenty to catch you up on in life here in Georgia.  You know I love my lists, so let's start this up!

1. We're having another little boy in the spring!  When I met JP, I wasn't even sure if I wanted kids, and yet here I am with a third in my belly.  I'm telling you, just looking at him makes my ovaries want more babies.  We're really excited about a new addition, and it's so cool to go through this pregnancy with August totally aware of what's happening.  At three and a half, he's capable of understanding that there is a baby growing inside my belly, and is also very concerned that the baby is not wearing pants.  So- clearly worried about the important things.
I'll have to cover how different these three pregnancies have felt, or more like how differently I've reacted to each, in another post.  It's been eye-opening to feel what a woman's body is capable of.

2. We've bought a new house!  It's closer to the Diego family, only 15 minutes from our current address.  The new digs are on a larger piece of property (nearly 3x more 'yard' than what we currently own), so our boys will have plenty of space to wander and explore, plus we are across the street from where JP used to play while growing up.  A big part of his initial attraction to the house is the nostalgia that comes with it; our boys will get to wade in the creek behind his parents' house, explore the woods near his aunt's yard, and the house actually used to belong to JP's friends.  He knows where the light switches lead!
This was a really difficult decision for us to make, not least of which is the timing of everything.  Our new baby is due in mid-April, and there are some house renovations that have to happen before we move in.  That means we will most likely move in March, and welcome a new family member within weeks.  Our boys are so young, and JP and I know how much change that is to take for adults, much less little boys.  It feels too good an opportunity to pass up, though, so we will deal with the crazy for a while for the long-term pay off.

3. I've actually been able to read some books this year!  There were so many great titles released in 2016, and a few of my favorites were: Commonwealth by Anne Patchett, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (not released this year, but SO GOOD!), Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom (great parenting book about raising your kids with unrestricted outdoor play), My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, The Forgetting Time  by Sharon Guskin, and, of course, Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Michael Chabon's latest is on my nightstand, and I can't wait to dig my teeth into his fictionalized account of his late grandfather's life.

4. This year's holiday playlist has been updated to include some Pentatonix, Hanson, Jackson 5, and Dolly Parton.  Do you have any favorites to play around this time of year?

That seems as good a place as any to press pause.  I'll do a little Thanksgiving recap next week; my lovely sister and her sweet family made the trek up here to celebrate with us!
xoxo A