Friday, September 28, 2018

Watching Your Husband Become a Dad

This post was sponsored by JORD Wood watches. As always, I'll only share products that I truly love, along with my honest opinion.


Although I totally friend-zoned him for the first eight years I knew him, I've always known that my husband was the best guy. He is kind, considerate, and sacrificial, not to mention he's good at basically everything he does. He's the type of guy who pulls over on the side of the road to help people with car work, who pays for people's meals at restaurants, and who willingly puts in extra hours to help people when he knows it won't be repaid. And none of this is a surprise to me, because he was this same way when I knew him as an acquaintance, a friend, a crush, a boyfriend, and a fiance'. I love him a lot, guys. I love him so much that I was honestly really nervous about how things would change for us once we had a baby (see Nine Reasons I'm Afraid to Have a Baby for more on that). But what I didn't know is all of the sweet new joy that awaited.


 There's nothing quite like watching the one you love become a dad. That transition from the love of your life to the love of your life who has also created this little love that's a piece of you both is the most incredible, unexplainable thing. I can't express the joy that I feel as I watch my husband love on our 19 month old son. Hearing the giggles and squeals of delight from both of them as they play down the hallway is the best sight. When I glance over in the lamplight as our son cuddles up on Daddy's shoulder, I think I can legitimately feel my heart burst. And in the moments when our eyes meet in delight at something our kiddo is doing: those are powerful moments, y'all. My love for my husband is even stronger when I watch him be a dad.


And while we're on the topic of "watching", Aaron is totally loving his new Jord watch! (Pardon my pun, it just happens!) His new Dover Koa & Black watch is automatic and requires no battery. And I was even able to get the box engraved with one of his favorite verses that is near and dear to both of our hearts.



JORD watches are the perfect mix of classy and handy enough for everyday wear. They're tough enough for dads, which is a big deal now that I'm married to one. And guess what?! They're giving away free codes for 10% off any JORD watch.


If you win the giveaway, you'll get a code for $100 off, but you'll get 10% off just for filling out the form! 
The contest will close October 14th at 11:59pm, so hurry and enter now

I hope that you can gift a JORD watch to an amazing dad in your world, whether he's your own dad, your husband, or just an amazing father you know and love. One thing's for sure, it's important to celebrate these men who love our kiddos in the most amazing ways. Watching my own husband love our son is such a blessing and a joy, and I'm so so grateful to be along for the journey. 

Currently,

Monday, September 24, 2018

Our Fifth House-iversary

Oh my goodness, we've been in our house for five whole years!!! That feels pretty significant! It's been so sweet to enjoy this year together as a family of three. Our fourth year in our house was mainly about getting a gender neutral nursery ready for our sweet baby. This year, I focused on finally brightening up our bedroom, a room that I neglected for about four years because "nobody ever saw it". Now that we've hit year five, I've already tackled lots of projects and I'm honestly a little unsure what my next one will be! I'm loving the cozy farmhouse feel of our house and I'm pretty content with it! Here's what we've been up to this year, along with fun pictures of all our "house-iversaries".


Modern Farmhouse Bedroom

The main project that I tackled this year (and it took every bit of eight months, y'all), was finally updating our bedroom in the modern farmhouse look of my dreams! I pinned and planned and prepared for a long time, and then all of a sudden we found the perfect king bed and headboard and boom- there it was! If you haven't already, you can check out my entire post about it here, but here are some of the dreamy photos!



Let's just say that repainting the walls in the bedroom and bathroom and doing white trim was a lot of work, but I love love love the results! Throw in Aaron's beautiful handmade wooden nightstands, a peaceful white comforter, some fun decor, and some great pillows, and you've got the perfect room in my book. I love walking into it each day and falling asleep in there each night. In the world of crazy and busy that is ours, it's the perfect calm retreat when I need to wind down. For all the details on colors and where to find the pieces in our room, click here.



Like I said, we didn't really accomplish a whole heck of a lot in year five when it comes to decorating. But to be honest, I didn't really have many goals in that direction this year because I've been too busy training for half marathons and trying my best to survive this whole working mom thing. For real though, I'm actually quite content with our house on the decor end and I'm not quite ready to tackle any big new projects that would be fairly significant in cost, things like a kitchen remodel or making our bathroom downstairs a full instead of half bath.

Now enjoy these photos of our house-iversary years one through five: a lot sure can change in five years!! You can also click the links below to take you to the posts from previous years where I shared the changes that we made to make our house a home!

Year One



Year Three


Year Four



And here we are in all of our year five glory. Look at that little man's smile!!



I'm thankful for the over 1,825 days in this sweet home of ours, and I'm excited for all that the future holds. Thanks for stopping by- we hope you can come see us in person someday!

Currently,
Kelsie



Thursday, September 20, 2018

A Checklist for Your New House

This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Currently, Kelsie.

Moving into a new house in an incredibly exciting time. All the blood, sweat, and tears you put in viewing tons of houses, getting your money in order, and putting in offers is over, and you can finally moved in and start settling into your beautiful new home! But homeowners know there is always work to be done. Once you’ve moved in your furniture and unpacked your boxes, it’s time to think about what you need to do next. Here is a checklist for practical tasks to knock out in your new home.

Inspect The House

First things first: inspect the house. In fact, do this as soon as you have the keys and before you start to move in your own stuff. This gives you a chance to look around and make sure that the property is exactly as it was when you viewed it. If there are any differences, such as any new damage or some furniture that was included in the sale agreement isn’t there anymore, you can take this up with the estate agent. They can then contact the seller to address any issues. Don’t waste any time trying to sort this stuff out.

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Do A Deep Clean

Once you're sure that everything is alright with the house, you'll need to give it a deep clean. Even though they cleaned before they moved, it's still best to get it super super clean before you start filling it- especially if the house was empty for a long period before you moved in! That way, you can deep clean all the carpets and wash the walls without needing to move any heavy furniture around to make room. Don’t forget to clean all those rooms and areas that are often forgotten about, such as the garage and basement. You won't clean them again for a while, so do it right!

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Sort Out Utility Bills

If you haven’t done so already, make sure your utility providers know you moved to a new property. In most cases, they will be able to seamlessly continue providing you with your utilities once you have moved, and will only need to be informed of your new address. However, there might be some firms that don't supply their specific utility or service to the new neighborhood that you move to. If this is the case, you'll have to cancel your account with them and make sure that you pay your bills right up to the last date you were in your old home. Then you'll need to start looking for a new utility provider to sign up with for your new property.

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Change The Locks

Don’t forget about changing the locks! It's highly recommended that all new homeowners change the locks as soon as they move in as a safety precaution. After all, you never know just how many extra sets of keys are out there in the world. For example, what if the old homeowner gave a set of spare keys to a contractor so that they could access the house while the homeowner was at work? There’s no way of knowing whether the contractor got their own set of keys cut - these could easily have fallen into the hands of someone they shouldn’t have! Replace all your locks so that you know exactly who has keys to your home.

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Get Some Double Glazing

If you've moved into a fairly old property, there’s a chance that it might not have double glazing in the windows. This isn’t a huge problem, but you'll eventually want to get them replaced with double-glazed windows, as it will massively increase your new home’s insulation. The replacement windows will use all of the latest double-glazing technology and will be expertly fitted into the walls so you don’t have to worry about drafts in your new home. As a result, you'll feel a lot warmer and more comfortable through the winter months!

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Consider Child-Proofing 

If you have kids, go ahead start childproofing the house. You may even want to consider it now if you don’t have children yourself. (We already had a baby gate in our house when we moved in and it's awesome! Additionally, if lots of your friends and relatives have kiddos and will be visiting you on a regular basis, then you might still want to ensure your home is a safe place for them. It isn’t too hard to do, just need to make sure that there are no sharp edges or corners that they could fall into. It’s also worth putting all fragile objects, such as ornaments, on high surfaces where kids won’t be able to reach them. If you will have children in your house on a daily basis, consider installing child locks onto your kitchen cabinets and put a baby gate at the top and bottom of your stairs.


Get Major Appliances Up And Running

If you bought the house with major appliances included, such as the refrigerator and oven, then you might need to turn them back on. If the previous owner left the house empty, then they will likely have turned them off to ensure that no faults developed while no one was in the house. In most cases, just plug them back into a socket to turn them on. If the house has been empty for a really long time, then the previous owner might have even turned off all the electricity and power in the property. If this is the case with your new house, find the main fuse box and switch it back on.

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Change Your Mailing Address

I’ve already mentioned that you'll need to change the address on all your utility accounts, but they aren’t the only companies you'll need to inform about your change of address. Let the bank, post office, insurance companies, and other important entities know your new address so you don't miss important mail.

Set Up Home Security

Make sure your home is safe and secure whenever you leave it. One of the best ways to do this is to install a burglar alarm. Not only will this deter potential burglars, but it might even bring down your content insurance premiums. If your budget permits, you could even go the extra mile and install some CCTV cameras as well. Lots of people are using the "Ring" device these days. Another thing to to consider is adding a light to your front porch. This should be a responsive one that turns on whenever it detects any movement.

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Say Hi To Your New Neighbors

Finally, don't forget to go over to your neighbors to say hello and introduce yourself. They want to know who is living next door, and they just might become good friends of yours: people you can ask for help someday when you need it!

As you can see, the work doesn’t stop once you move in! But it's an exciting and fun time, and it really isn't that bad once you start knocking things off of your list. Happy home ownership!

Currently,
Kelsie


Tuesday, September 18, 2018

7 Pregnancy Essentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NatureMadePrenatalDHA #CollectiveBias

It's crazy to think that it's already been two years since I got pregnant with my son Eli! Pregnancy is such a beautiful, exciting, and sometimes challenging season that leads to the even more challenging and exciting journey of parenting. In this season of overwhelming preparation, it can be hard to know what you really need as a pregnant woman! Here are seven tried and true pregnancy essentials for expectant mothers.

Comfy Clothes

This may seem obvious, but you're growing a human, so don't even mess around with trying to squeeze into your old clothes. Once things start to get too tight, jump right into maternity leggings, flowy dresses and a bigger bra. I was mainly pregnant in the fall and winter, so I lived in my comfy leggings that I could dress up or down. There's no shame in wearing maternity clothes sooner rather than later- just embrace them. It's not worth it to be uncomfortable.

A Solid Sleep Routine

Sleeping is only going to get harder as you continue to grow your sweet baby. Work hard now to set up a good sleep routine that may include new supportive pillows and an earlier bedtime (or maybe even a nap). You'll be glad you did once your baby is here and you're running on little sleep!

Excellent Prenatal Vitamins

You should start taking a prenatal vitamin six months before you start trying to pregnant, so I'm already taking my Nature Made® Prenatal Multi + DHA (200mg) 150 ct. softgels  in order to prepare for baby number two! I took them before I got pregnant with Eli and they are BEST. In fact, Nature Made® is actually the #1 Pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand.* These prenatal vitamins are best taken with food, so I've always taken mine at night on a full stomach and I don't have any problem with them!


The best news is that by taking these softgels once a day, you're providing essential vitamins and minerals for you and baby (before and after pregnancy) including Folic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Iodine, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D3.† Folic Acid is an important B Vitamin for Women of Childbearing Age and Pregnant Women, and it plays a crucial role in the proper development of the baby's nervous system.† In addition, Nature Made® Prenatal from Sam's Club provides 200mg DHA, which may help support fetal brain and eye development.† I love that these vitamins pack a double punch and are so good for both mamas and developing babies. They're gluten free, with no artificial flavors or synthetic dyes! You can pick up your five month supply for a bargain at Sam's Club: the perfect place to meet your prenatal needs. Don't skimp on the best for your little miracle.


Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

Not everyone gets morning sickness, but I did. I found that I felt better and could prevent nausea if I ate a larger, more protein heavy breakfast, and then had lots of healthy snacks throughout the day. Things like crackers, ginger, and bread can help, but definitely don't overlook the power of protein! My favorite protein shake is the perfect breakfast option, or drink it any time during the day when you need a little snack (and trust me, you'll need lots of them)! It's simple and yummy, and the ingredients are easy to have on hand! Here's the recipe:

  • 1 scoop of your favorite protein flavor
  • 1 banana (can replace with your favorite fruit)
  • 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
  • 6-8 ice cups
  • 1/2 a cup of milk (can be almond, soy, skim, or 2%)
Throw all of these together in a blender and blend until smooth or slightly creamy. Enjoy!



A Dress That Makes You Feel Beautiful

It can be hard to feel beautiful as you watch your body get bigger, but you have to remember that the rising numbers on the scale just mean that your healthy little baby is growing big and strong. Splurge a little and find a gorgeous maternity dress that will make you feel just as beautiful as you are while you grow a little life!

A Good Water Bottle

You'll be drinking a ton of water while you're pregnant. Seriously, a ton! They recommend that you consume far more water than you're used to and you'll be making extra tips to the bathroom as result. Make sure you have a really great water bottle that will make it easy for you to stay hydrated!

A Way to Document Your Pregnancy

Pregnancy seems to march on and on, especially for those last few months, but honestly it goes so quickly as a whole! Find a fun way to document your pregnancy, whether that's weekly or monthly photos, a maternity shoot with a photographer, or even just a fun bump measurement. This time will be over so fast, so take time to treasure the beautiful journey of growing and carrying a child!


All of these were pivotal to my first pregnancy and I'm already thinking about them again as we move closer to getting pregnant with our second baby. Don't forget to stop by your local Sam's Club to pick up your five month supply of Nature Made® Prenatal Multi + DHA (200mg) 150ct. softgels and get your pregnancy off to a great start! You truly can't beat their quality or price. Pregnancy can be challenging at times, but this little one will be so worth it- I promise! Best of luck, Mama!

Currently,
Kelsie

* Based on a survey of pharmacists who recommend branded vitamins and supplements.

† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.


Thursday, September 13, 2018

How Moms Can Re-Enter the Workforce

This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Currently, Kelsie.

Everything changes when you become a mother. Everything. Your priorities change. You devote all your energy and attention on the sweet little human who is under your protection. But after a few years, you don’t need to devote quite as much attention to making sure they have everything they need. They’re becoming more independent, and eventually hopping on the bus to their first day of school, leaving you asking yourself a question: what now? The obvious answer is to rejoin the workforce, but of course, this can be intimidating if it has been some years since you had a job. If you're a mama who finds yourself in this position, here are some tips that’ll help ease the transition!


Get Serious

You’ve been on mom duty for a long time, but now it's time to rediscover your professional side. To do this, you’ll need to become something of a split personality, in much the same way as many people who have a personal and professional side do. When you’re looking for work and exploring opportunities, bring your serious face. You can be all smiles and fun when you’re with the kids and other parents - which up until now was most of the time - but make sure the people you’re talking with about jobs know that you’re serious.

Look For Opportunities

No-one’s going to come up and offer you a job (or if that does happen, then count your lucky stars and take it!); you have to go out there and find the opportunities for yourself. If you had a professional career before you become a mother, look at jobs relating to that industry, and make some tentative inquiries. Keep in mind that most jobs that need to be filled never get advertised, so it’s a good idea to reach out to companies that interest you and see if they have any positions available. Also consider any connections you have- it's often about who you know, not what you know!

Top Up Your Education

If you didn’t have a career before you entered motherhood, then you may need to top up your education to make yourself employable. But what path of education should you take? It’s a good idea to look for qualifications that will build on the skills that you’ve acquired as a mother. (And believe me, those are some serious skills!) If you’re already familiar with certain skills needed within an industry, then you’ve already got a head start on other people looking for jobs. Logistics is an industry that’s particularly suited to mothers, so take a look at studying a master operations management course. You can study online, and from home, so you take care of your parenting tasks until you’ve finished and are ready to get a job. I did my entire master's program online while also working a full time job, and it was nice to not have to show up anywhere to take a class.

Talk With Friends

When you’ve been out of the workforce for so long, it can be difficult to know where to start just to find a job. On this front, your friends and past work colleagues can be a source of great encouragement and help. Network within your own circle, and let everyone know that you’re looking for work. Someone might just have something for you. Beyond that, it’s all about being patient and waiting for the right opportunity! You've got this mama!

Being a mom is hard work, and it's really the best, hardest job we'll ever have. But when it's time for you to re-enter the workforce, you're going to be awesome at that too! Got get 'em!

Currently,
Kelsie

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Modern Farmhouse Bedroom Reveal

Ohh friends, it has been a LONG time coming, but I am beyond excited to FINALLY share our bedroom remodel with you! Our bedroom used to be a mostly brown, mostly dark kind of place, and I'm so thrilled with the way that it's turned out!! It has taken us about nine months to finally finish it, but I'm in love! Here all of the details and dreamy photos, along with where you can get some of the items yourself! I hope you love it too. 


I've taken my sweet time working on our bedroom because, to be honest, not that many people see it. I focused instead on things like our gender neutral nursery, our farmhouse front living room, and our rustic dining room: all projects which I absolutely love! I'm honestly super glad that I took my sweet time decorating, because I feel like I've actually figured out my decorating tastes and styles- something I totally didn't know anything about when we moved in five years ago! 


We started with a dark room with lots of brown: beige walls from the previous owners, my old oak headboard, random side tables that were hand me downs which didn't match, and a dark brown bedspread. So lots and lots of brown. Sadly, the photo above is from the original listing when we bought it, and it actually looked way better than our "before" shot (yikes)- especially with the wide angle lens. Just picture this with an even darker bedspread and super dark walls near the bathroom and you're on the right track. (Here's just how dark!) 


My vision for our room was a lighter, airy palette that really made the room feel bright and almost spa-like, a retreat where I would feel well-rested. I first wanted to start with putting in new white trim (and painting the old in a few places). We did this in Eli's nursery, and I LOVED the way it turned out. This proved to be quite a bit of work, since we also did the master bathroom as well (which went from a very dark brown to a light, airy shade of gray). We used Valspar Bistro White for the white trim. We also upgraded to new white blinds in our bathroom and bedroom, and bought and painted new Bistro White doors for the bathroom and closet. 



While we were redoing the trim, we painted all the walls. We used a Sherwin Williams shade of green gray that I love called Sea Salt. To pair well with the bedroom, we did a Valspar gray called Filtered Shade in the bathroom and vanity area. Aaron also redid the tile and grout in our bathroom (it used to be dark brown), and I love the way that the pale marbled tiles and white grout make the bathroom look sophisticated and modern. The accent rug is my fave!

After these major changes, we stalled for a while. Life got busy and there was a lot going on, so we just made it through the everyday. Aaron built some amazing nightstands for us, personalized with our wedding date and last name, and I chose a dark, deep brown stain for them that I just love - especially now that the rest of the room was so much brighter! Aaron and I had both hated the way our phones had to be plugged in via extension cord, so we splurged a bit on matching lamps that had usb plug ins and outlets built in. We love them so much, and I thought the colors and the shape brought in the perfect modern texture and complements.




Since we'd been preparing for a room change so long, and planned on eventually purchasing a king bed, I bought our comforter, mattress pad, pillows, and bed sheets way in advance (I'm talking TWO YEARS, people), when they were way on sale! I knew that I wanted a textured white comforter to really pop in the room and tie into the new white trim. Let's just say that going from a full bed to a king has been incredible!!




I really didn't want a dark headboard that matched our nightstand, because I felt like that would be too much dark brown. One day on a random visit to our local Cheapo Depo, I found the perfect padded headboard that I loved. The beige color fit perfectly with our burlap-colored lamp shades and my farmhouse patterned pillow. We bought our king bed, and I filled in the gaps with some pillows and decor we'd used previously in other rooms. Having the white comforter made it easy for me to bring in texture in any colors I wished! I really love my cotton stems and Target picture frames for a nice little pop of white on each nightstand.

I debated hanging something over the top of the headboard, and I still may do so, but it's pretty large so I feel like I may just let the space breath above it rather than crowding it up. I'm usually a "gallery wall, fill the space" kind of girl, but I'm finding that in a world that's so loud and crowded, I'm loving the quiet and serene simplicity of this space. It's not busy, which is so what I need. I'll probably add a few smaller touches here and there in the long run, and Aaron is going to build some new dressers for us that match the nightstands (in that gorgeous darker stain instead of the oak), but I'm seriously in love with our room and it makes me so happy every time I see it. It has been worth the wait!


Here are the links/details for the items in our room:
Drop me a comment or question below if you have one! Happy decorating!

Currently,
Kelsie





Saturday, September 1, 2018

July and August Recap

I'm not sure quite how it's possible, but the months of July and August always seem to fly by so quickly! Why do some April days drag on, but the days of sunshine, tan lines, and vacations are gone in a blur? From family trips to soaking up some fun in the sun before we headed back to school, we've been pretty busy the last couple of months. Here's our July and August Recap!

JULY

July kicked off with a bang with a quick free visit to the zoo. Eli was SO much fun this time around- he truly loves animals and being outside so it was totally his jam. We had a really great 4th of July, where Eli stayed up late and watched the fireworks while pointing to the sky and saying his new favorite word. My parents were out of town for the fourth, so we even got an additional bonus 4th of July! (Hello, perks of living outside the city limits.) Then Aaron helped lead our church's Breakaway Sports Camp (like VBS), where Eli loved running around but was very confused why he couldn't be a part of the games with the big kids! Soon enough, buddy!




 

Lake Weekend

Shortly after VBS ended, we hauled our pontoon boat out to the Lake of the Ozarks for a relaxing lake weekend with friends. We stayed in their family's lake house, and it was so great just being able to hop on the boat and enjoy a relaxing ride whenever we wanted. There were plenty of hours of card games, discussions over yummy snacks, and lots of memorable moments- like a late night boat race back home to escape the pouring rain. Eli really loved feeling the wind in his hair and especially helping Daddy drive! We look forward to more future lake weekends with friends!




Family Trip to North Carolina

After coming home from the lake for just a couple of days, we flew off to North Carolina for an amazing family trip with Eli. Let's just say that Eli is a HUGE pail and shovel fan. I shared a pretty detailed recap with lots of fun photos and tips in a recent post, Visiting Southeastern North Carolina. Check it out here!




AUGUST


Trip to Hermann

We kicked off August with our last little getaway before it was back to reality. We'd been thinking about visiting Hermann for awhile, and the opportunity presented itself in the form of free Airbnb credit, a couple of free days on our calendar, and a willing babysitter in Grandma Kleinmeyer! We had a fabulous time just the two of us, and I shared all about it (along with gorgeous photos) in my post, Tips for a Getaway to Hermann.


Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

Another last minute highlight of August was our first trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park. Eli was free and it only cost $2 each for Aaron and me. We had a lot of fun walking around, checking out the animals, and of course giving milk bottles to the goats. Eli was a little bit nervous, but it was actually really cool!



Settling Back Into It

From there, reality settled back in and we had to say goodbye to summer and hello to school. The time off is so incredible and I'm so grateful for it, but it made being without our baby that much harder after getting used to seeing him all day, every day! Not to mention, losing the ability to do whatever we wanted all the time and honestly forgetting what day it was! But now we're back into our world of teaching, cooking, cleaning, working out, and surviving the daily grind. I honestly have some pretty good kids this year at school, so I really can't complain.


Eli's 18 Months! 

I can't believe it, but our little man is a year and half old!! Where has the time gone? He honestly gets more and more fun with each month. He's saying probably around thirty different words at this point, including lots of choo choo, plane, milk, blocks, boat, french fries, doggie, papa, bubbles, and basically anything that he hears me say first. It's the most adorable thing and I love it! He still loves dancing, and runs circles around the house these days. I love when he chases me and then dives into my arms, when he pours cups of water on himself in the bathtub, and when he insists on putting his socks and shoes on so that he can go outside- his very favorite place to be. He's also incredibly cuddly and sweet before bed, and reading God Is Watching Over You before singing worship songs while rocking him is truly one of the very best parts of my day. He's acclimated back to his daycare situation like a champ, is still taking a three hour afternoon nap, and waves bye bye while saying see ya to basically everyone. He's FINALLY caught up a bunch in weight to more of the middle of the curve, and I swear he's grown more every time I see him. I honestly can't even believe how much I love him- being his mama is the best!

That's our months in a nutshell. Thanks for hanging with us. Let's do this fall!

Currently,
Kelsie