Moving Again!

I am pretty sure I had a post titled "moving again" last year at about the exactly the same time. I also think I was exactly the same amount of pregnant. Funny how our move always happens around the third trimester, and that is no fun for mommy!

Either way, I wanted to let everyone know that we are doing quite well and looking forward to our move. We have fabric swatches picked out, painting estimates coming in, and movers arriving within the next few days. We can't wait to set up everything in our new home (rented, but still) and start settling in for a few years. After so much moving (my entire life, really) I am feeling really blessed to be in the same spot for awhile.

Hubby forwarded me another great kids discount deal-of-the-day site and I thought I would pass it along to my other mommy friends:

http://Kids.woot.com/

I also like:

http://www.zulily.com/

If you sign up for zulily, say I referred you :)

I am sure we will have a good belly shot for you all soon, and oh what a belly it is... I certainly feel ten weeks ahead of where I was last time, which is consistent with a second timer.

Steve is looking through his many law firm offers and trying to decide which firm is the right fit for him. It is a big decision as some firms are more "family-oriented" than others. It is really important for us to be able to spend time together at night. We often don't go out or do anything, especially during the week. We just sit and play with little Dalia (and her growing number of toys).

Speaking of toys, Dalia is quite obsessed with her Thomas and Hank trains. She loves to read books, play with anything that resembles a small person or animal, and use her magnadoodle. Play-Doh and crayons are also high up on her list.

She is still not too aware of what baby in the belly means, and we anticipate mixed feelings in October when her little sibling (we didn't find out if it is a boy or girl!!!!) arrives healthily and happily. We can't wait to have our birth experience again using the same amazing doula. The addition of Hillary Keiser, CNM, from Gentle Birth Care is also very exciting for us. We know that the birth experience we want is a valuable goal and that for us at least, changed the entire experience of caring for a newborn. It will be even better this time around, we are sure.

So that is my update. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for photos of our new place coming together through the rest of summer!

Annnnnnd We're Having....

We don't know!

It will be a surprise!

So few in life, why not enjoy this one?!

Because Licking the Bowl is Classy

She just can't get enough: brown rice with Indian-spiced spinach and lentils.

She has to lick the freaking bowl!!

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18 Months of Nursing Milestone!

I am so excited to write that we have made it to the 18 month milestone of nursing.

I am so proud knowing that I have given Dalia the very best for so long. Breastfeeding was a goal of mine, and then making it to 6 months, and then 1 year. My main support has been my own tenacity and empowerment through knowledge and research. Being educated is a girl's best weapon! I also don't care what other people think about it, and that always helps!

Dalia only really nurses in the mornings now, but she loves starting her day with a snuggle in mommy's bed. And some people might think this is odd, but in fact my mom's group has several mothers (pregnant and not) who are currently nursing--it isn't a "weird" momma group either. We were brought together by zip code through an organization called Moms Club. Oh, and everyone in my group has a 18 month old. Oh, and there are former lawyers, yoga instructors, health professionls... you get my drift, right?

18 months have gone by so incredibly fast. And though she may look and act like a big girl, she is still a little one in my eyes!

New Home

After a whirlwind trip to Chicago, we finally picked our next home:

We couldn't be happier with our decision, though it was a difficult one. Chicago has so many lovely homes and areas. One of our main concerns was proximity to public transportation (.5 mile walk--Steve currently walks .7). The area we chose is known for being close to the lake, having great schools, being Jewish-friendly, being very family friendly, and having a lot of unique, older homes.

The trip itself was obviously stressful (flying, getting a rental car, getting to the hotel, realizing the hotel doesn't have a pac and play....) and mommy and Dalia spent plenty of quality time together. I managed to feed her every meal in between appointments. She even got to check out a few local parks, lucky girl!

I can't say bye bye to DC just yet... we still have another couple of months, but those months are much easier knowing that we have a place to live and a place to call home.

Moving... AGAIN!

As many of you know, Steve was offered a Supreme Court Clerkship this year with Justice Kennedy. With an offer as amazing as that (really, like no one gets that), we both knew we had to uproot and move to the Washington, DC area. Needless to say, the transition was difficult for me, especially as a new mommy who had just bonded with so many other women who had recently become mommies themselves.

All through this year we thought about where we might move to next. With the average townhouse in our area costing over $500,000, and the general "culture" of the city being pretty, well, not present, it was clear pretty fast that we didn't really belong in the DC area. There is the other places we have lived (Boston and Philadelphia) and of course, one of our favorite places, Chicago. Boston was hardly a competitor--for more reasons than I can count--and Philadelphia firms aren't as ready to fork over a signing bonus. And this isn't the easy way out. We have both spent our lives studying, researching, and working our way through this year by year--each step leading to the next step, everything and every job for a reason... everything in our lives leads up to this point, and it isn't luck, it is hard work and serious planning.

It hasn't taken too much time for us to realize that Chicago is the best choice for so many reasons. And with Steve's academic career really taking off these days (did I mention is newest article is going to be published in University of Chicago's Law Review? As in, one of the top five academic placements in legal academia?) we can't imagine a better place to be. So we are thrilled with our decision.

Now is the time where we search for homes. And there are two lovely, lovely beauties that we have our eyes on. Both are in Evanston, IL, an amazing town (home to Northwestern University) and part of Chicago's "north shore". Both are walking distance to the lake, walking distance to whole foods and yummy eateries, and of course, lots of coffee shops. The decision is difficult as one is on a tree-lined street with gas street lamps and unique homes all well-kept and maintained. The other is more "city-like", though with a beautiful fenced in back yard. It is .1 miles to the metra and within walking distance to everything, including streets of beautiful homes, with much less charm than our other choice (a 100 year old dutch colonial revival).

Either way, stay tuned as we reveal which place we select for the next two to three year stretch of our lives. We aren't settling yet and planting roots--that will come when Steve takes on his academic job, which I know he can't WAIT to do :) Congrats, honey, I am so proud of you!

So that is that. That is what is up with us :) And update on the pregnancy may be next...

And You Just Can't Hide This

So what do you do when you aren't telling people you are pregnant (hmmm did we wait until like 23 weeks to announce on facebook the first time LOL) but your belly begs the question:

"oh my, when are you due?!"

You realize that your belly does the announcing for you!

Walking Videos!

With apologies for not having the videos uploaded directly to the blog, click HERE to see the very first steps of a little girl named Dalia! It only took 16.5 months! But, our Dalia is not a risk taker. She waits until she has it mastered!

My favorite part is the point at which she starts screaming, "walk walk walk walk," and a close second is the part where she says, "dada dada."

Enjoy!!