A ring and a camera and a bridge that’s still one of our favorite places. A trip down the aisle, absolutely in awe that we were finally married. A surprise honeymoon that exceeded every expectation and that will rival all other vacations for us. A new job and apartment together. Handwritten notes. Getting a pup who was definitely not over the max weight requested by our landlord. Reading next to each other in bed. After dinner walks on the trail. The way we like to stick together on weekends, especially when it means we’re going to Sam’s club. Job changes and promotions. Late-night conversations that stretch into the early morning. A spur of the moment puppy adoption, turned tiny best friend. Being at home during COVID and not-so-secretly being thrilled to be together even more. FinalVibe, vlogs and all that comes with doing projects together. The life-changing joy of becoming parents. Watching him grow, learn, and turn into a mini version of you in the best ways. Making our houses “home”. Countless deep conversations, debates, and rants (mostly yours) about technology, politics, and everything in between. Making up songs. The ability to make each other laugh, even when life is hard. Especially when life is hard. Watching you be the best dad, the kind of dad our son will always look up to. The comfort of knowing, no matter what, we’re in this together.
The list goes on and on. A decade in, and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Because at the end of the day, the best part of our life isn’t the big trips or the big milestones—it’s the ordinary, everyday magic of being with you.
Putting baby’s nursery together has felt like a very daunting task – I’m caught in the middle of wanting to be prepared while also realizing that I’ve never had a baby and have truly no idea what they could possibly want nor do I have any idea what I could possibly find helpful. We’re strong believers in keeping things minimal and flexible, so I’m trying to narrow things down to what we really need and then go from there. We’re not going with any specific theme, and just sticking with a neutral color palette that says boy without screaming it (hopefully).
This look changed at least 5 times, but choosing our priorities and then working from those really helped to narrow things down. Our priorities, more specifically, were 1) a black crib (for some reason, very hard to find multiple options at a reasonable price point) and 2) a rocker that also reclined, so we knew that everything else would have to be flexible around that. I’m such a visual person so it’s nice to see the room virtually come together and cut out the things that I just couldn’t make work.
The first (and only) thing we have bought for baby or his room at this point, is this rug from Boutique Rugs. We have been thankful to have already been gifted with the rocker/recliner and the dresser which leaves us with just a few more nursery necessities. We are working with a relatively small space and at this point, there are still some things leftover from the room’s previous life that we are still needing to donate or relocate. Thankfully, we’re not planning on painting the room other than a few touch ups here and there. I painted it Sherwin Williams’ color Gracious Greige a few years ago and am still 100% obsessed with it.
I’m really hoping that this nursery will be a calm and cozy spot for all of us to enjoy and that, over time, the items that we’ve chosen can easily be transitioned into whatever makes sense for us down the road.
Restaurants we loved: CC’s City Broiler (always), Pancheros, 44 Canteen, Barred Owl
Meals we made: Korean Beef, Barred Owl Burgers, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Salads, Sausage and Roasted Veggies, Smoothie Bowls
Shows we watched: Veep, Better Call Saul, You, Dr. Disrespect and Kitboga on Twitch
Movies We Saw: Fantastic Beasts, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Isle of Dogs, Wont You Be My Neighbor
Places we went together: La Jolla/San Diego, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Lake Geneva, WI, Kansas City, MO
Things We Did: celebrated a huge and exciting job change for Kevin, invited two of our favorite people to live with us for extended periods of time, went to multiple gaming events and expos, joined Twitch, played (and won!) at trivia, celebrated 9 years together, watched some of our best friends get married, remodeled our bathroom, and tailgated for almost every Mizzou football game.
Restaurants we loved: CC’s City Broiler, Coley’s, Adison’s, Chick-fil-a
Meals we made: Chili, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Chicken and Swiss Bake, Chicken Salads, Spaghetti Squash, lots of yummy BBQ on the flat top grill
Shows we watched: House of Cards, Fixer Upper, This is Us, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Movies We Saw: Ingrid Goes West, Get Out
Places we went together: Kansas City, Omaha, NE, and lots of trips to St. Louis
Things We Did: joined a small group, celebrated a promotion, cheered on Mizzou football and basketball, celebrated a couple PUBG chicken dinners, went on our first photo date (now that we have two cameras in the house), celebrated 8 years together, dressed up as PB&J for Halloween, celebrated Kevin’s mom’s wedding, drank lots of diet coke, hosted game nights, dinners, and overnight stays
