Hello, hello!
It’s been a little while since I last posted on Embrace the Chaos so I figured I’d kick off the day with a little life update to fill you in on what we’ve been up to over the past few months. If you’ve been following along with us over the past year, you are probably aware of whats been going on with moving, new babies, and chasing toddlers…
We sold our house a few months ago and moved in with my in-laws while we searched for our new home. Well, after what seemed to be the longest house-hunting journey of all time, we have finally found a perfect house to bring the kids home to. And the best part: we get to move in next week! On top of that, we are a month away from meeting our newest addition, a baby girl!
So between pregnancy, moving, trying to keep up with two busy toddlers, and navigating a remodel all while living with in-laws, you could say we are really forcing ourselves to Embrace the Chaos!
Life at the In-Laws
I cannot stress enough how lucky we are to have been able to stay at my in-laws over the past few months. While it has been a bit of a challenge to relocate with two toddlers and two gigantic dogs, it has been such a fun adventure at the same time. As parents, it has been such a heartwarming experience watching the kids develop their own special relationships with their Nana and Grandpa in ways that they wouldn’t have otherwise. The grandparents have been able to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, all while watching the kids grow up since we moved in. From the tantrums to the smiles, they’ve honestly seen it all! But let me tell you, no matter how much you love where you stay or the people you are with, being in someone else’s house with toddlers is EXHAUSTING!
Toddlers are great at getting into everything, disappearing, and making messes. I was nervous to relocate the kids into a new place that wasn’t necessarily set up for some extremely curious toddlers. But, after having 5 kids of their own, my in laws are pretty used to chaos. They understand that messes and tantrums are just things that come along with the territory of raising toddlers, and they actually prefer the messes! My mother in law and I have had so much fun sharing stories about parenting, toddler antics, and all the wild things the kids have put us through. It has been refreshing and reassuring to know that I am not alone in these overwhelming feelings that come along with raising toddlers.
We are going to miss seeing Nana and Grandpa everyday, but we are so excited for them to be able to come up and visit us at the new house… and for them to get some much needed peace and quiet!
Baby Number 3
We’ve also made it well into the third trimester of pregnancy and are so excited to welcome baby Caroline Grace in a few short weeks! AJ and I were shocked to find out we were expecting another little girl. Even though we knew we would be happy with either a girl or boy, I was pretty convinced we were getting another little boy. Other than the Hyperemesis battles, this pregnancy has felt just like my pregnancy with Oliver.
When we found out we were expecting the first time, we made the deal that if we were to have a boy, AJ would get to choose the name and if we were to have a girl, I would get to choose. Obviously there would be a little wiggle room for negotiations if we absolutely couldn’t stand the other’s choice, but luckily we haven’t had to deal with that yet!
We decided on Caroline Grace for a few reasons. I was debating between Claire and Caroline for a few weeks before finding out that we were expecting a girl. I started hearing the name Caroline everywhere and with a little (read: a lot) of input from my grandmother, we decided on Caroline. If you ask Oliver, her name is really Whale and Caroline is just the name of a girl in his favorite song, Sweet Caroline!
As for Grace, I couldn’t think of a more fitting name after the year we’ve had. This has been a journey that wouldn’t have been possible without the grace of God and believing in His plan for us, so it only made sense to honor how far we’ve come. For us, the name Grace was the perfect fit.
While we were surprised to find out baby #3 is a girl, we couldn’t be more excited to meet her next month!
New House
And finally, the new house! We couldn’t be more excited to have finally found the perfect fit for our family. It was a really long and discouraging process, but with the help of our amazing realtor, we are heading home!
The location can’t be beat! The new house is right across the street from the elementary school the kids will be going to and walking distance to friends, family, and downtown. And fortunately for AJ, only a two minute drive to the golf course! It’s on a quiet little street with only a handful of other homes, so there is plenty of space for the kids to play and explore. Since we were able to get it at the lower end of our budget, we have the opportunity to do some minor remodeling and cosmetic updates to really make it our own. The kids have been having so much fun helping me pick out all the new things for their rooms and the baby’s nursery. I’ll be posting more about our remodel and room breakdowns as we get started moving in, so be sure to check back for more updates on all the exciting changes to come!
We are so excited to finally have a space to call our own and to begin to get settled while we wait for the arrival of Baby Caroline!
Embrace the Chaos 
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