Living in Boston - First Two Months

Living in Boston has been interesting so far and full of challenges. Here are some things I am working on.

Food
It is hard to not go out a lot here because there are so many food options! According to grubhub.com, there are about 180 places that will deliver to us. We have decided that we can go out once a week and we always look for cheaper options at that restaurant; I generally get a $10 sandwich. I am also attempting to try many pizza options in Cambridge to find the best for the price. So far, Basta Pasta is it. Beauty's is close second due to slightly higher prices.

As far as groceries go, we have Shaw's and Stop and Shop. Shaw's is a 15 minute walk if I desire to do so. But, in general their prices are higher than Stop and Shop. Shaw's does have a better selection sometimes, including the only place to buy Smucker's Natural Chunky Peanut Butter (something we decided we would not void ourselves of), and a much better generic cereal selection. Generic cereal is one way I have found to reduce my grocery bill. So every couple weeks, I quickly run to Shaw's for those things. Every week I take Nolan to Stop and Shop and fill up on what ever fruits and veggies are on special that week, and replenishing staples. So we can eat relatively healthy and cheaply throughout the week. I think so far, I am averaging ~$250 month in groceries. Also, things like berries and soy milk are expensive here, so I don't buy them anymore. There is always a brand of ice cream on sale, and every few weeks Boca goes on sale, so I stock up. Brand loyalty is out the window now as we try to conserve money.

Church
We have visited two churches here in Cambridge. Since it is the summer, many people are gone. One church has very few people coming now (maybe 20?) and has a nice feel to it. Not many young people but enough for there to be a couple kids that go downstairs during the sermon. The other church is larger with more people, and I liked the music there much better. There appeared to be more, younger people here. Neither place has felt like it could replace CGPC and we honestly have not been going every week. This is something that is missing from our lives and hopefully in August when students return, a church home may present itself. We miss our CGPC small group!!!

Site-seeing
There are many opportunities for seeing sites in Boston! So far I have seen the JFK Library, Quincy beach, tall ships, New England Aquarium (not really a great one), walked the piers, Acadia National Park (Maine), Portland (Maine), Cape Cod, walked a lot around Cambridge and downtown Boston, walked the Freedom Trail, USS Constitution, Boston Common, walked around North End a lot, Harvard and MIT of course, and watched the 4th of July fireworks over the Charles River. Coming up will be the Science Museum, Fenway, a boat ride, Boston Harbor Islands State park, and I am sure many more things. I will take suggestions from those who have lived in the area!

Not Working
Due to not being able to find daycare, I am not working and am staying home with Nolan. This is fun, hard, and rewarding. I have not yet decided if I will work when daycare becomes available. There are plenty of good, high paying job options for my field if I choose, but staying home is also fun and we are considering our time in Boston as a chance to try new things. So while it would be nice to have some income for our extremely expensive rent and not live off of and clean out savings, we will take it one step at a time. Selling our house last week has made this decision much easier (Yay by the way).

It is hard to be a stay-at-home dad. The few people with kids near Nolan's age we have met are all women; this is fine, except that it is hard to really become friends with them. Maybe I need to just give it more time as they are all very nice. As Nolan is still nursing, this makes being dependent on mom another complication that stay-at-home moms do not have to worry about. He gets cranky for milk sometimes, and I take him to MIT every day to eat with mom.

Money
Luckily, the program that Kacey is in is partially sponsored by partner companies; so she is getting a top 5 MBA program degree for not too much money. But as I am not working, we are living off of savings. Technically, this is what savings are for, but it would be nice for it to not all go away. Hopefully, Kacey can find a few scholarships, but we will also need a school loan. Most of the loan will go towards rent; while sad, it is part of the college expense, especially in this city. We are finding ways to reduce the money we spend yet still enjoy living. We will constantly learn how to do this. We are limiting ourselves to going out to eat once a week; and even then we try to do it cheaply. I now review grocery store circulars before going shopping. I review the web for coupons, but there are very few things we buy that have coupons available. We save maybe a few dollars a month with coupons and that is it. I look for free things and discounts. A Charlie Card gets you discounts on many things around Boston. Also, there is a company sponsoring different free events every Friday throughout the summer. We have utilized a few and hope to do a few more. I welcome any other tips you have out there.

If I keep trying to think of more things to write about, I will never publish this post. Hopefully now going forward I can write things as I think of them and not bottle them all up for a monthly post.

Nolan is One Year Old!

Well, we made it! Our little guy turned 1 on July 11th. Even though we are now in Boston, we were able to see some family on his birthday. My mom was visiting us, Kacey's parents were live via web cam, and my brothers, sister-in-law, and niece/nephew-to-be also joined via web conferencing. My vimeo account shows some video from the occasion.

Here are the stats:
19.5 lbs
29 in
Fully walking and trying to run a lot. I think he now walks more than he crawls because it is faster that way.
He can almost pull himself up on the couch.
He is learning to point things out like trees, lights, and daddy.
He is eating almost everything we give him, so let's hope that continues.
He is getting goofy! He likes to play head-bobbing games, peek-a-boo, and is ticklish.
We think he is working on cutting his 7th tooth as he is currently chewing up all his books.

Pictures from his big day!

Nolan and his homemade birthday cupcakes

First taste of icing. The verdict is...

Good! Digging in!

Big bite

Thanks, mommy and daddy!

Yay!!

Grandma and Grandpa Fetcho joined in on the festivities

Grandma Phillips was here too

The LGOs had a cookout for dinner. Here Nolan is playing with the other kids.

Pictures are posted up to June. www.chrisandkacey.com

Thank you Lord for the wonderful blessing of our son, Nolan Phillips.

Nolan is Eleven Months Old!

Sorry I missed the ten month update, but we were in the middle of our move. He has grown up so much since the last update, so here we go.

19 lbs
28.5 in.
He takes steps! To this point, he has evaded the camera during his walking time.
Says mama and dada occasionally.
Hair is finally starting to get long in the back and is still blond.
His personality is really starting to show. Nolan is very goofy and fun to play with during the day.
He is starting to get ticklish.
He loves to climb on stuff and is trying desperately to climb on the couch.
He claps. When he first started clapping he would do it when he was mad. Then he stopped for a few weeks. Now he claps when happy.
He loves to "read" books. Sometimes he will stop playing, crawl to his room and start flipping through books. It is very cute.
He eats lots of food including spaghetti, bell pepper, potatoes (sweet and white), lots of fruit, green beans, zucchini, squash, crackers, bread, and what ever drops on the floor.
We had to call Poison Control for the first time. He ate a little deodorant, but is fine.

April pictures are posted on http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Nolan. May should be up soon.

Just Trying to Keep Up

So the past week or so have also been pretty interesting, especially that last few days.

Kacey started school last week. We had a few get-togethers with her classmates and it was nice to meet them. There really is a great group of people in this program. Also, June 4, 2009, Nolan gave us his first intentional, successful step! At the end of May, we got a successful step, but I really don't think he meant to or understood what he did. He has been very close to walking for a while now and this was a "giant leap" for our little man. As of today, a few times I got him to put a couple steps together and both Kacey and I got to witness it. I will give an eleven month Nolan update later this week, hopefully with a video of his walking action.

On the job front, I received a good offer from a great company based out of Cambridge. Unfortunately, we don't have daycare, and daycare for young ones is very hard to come by around here. After much deliberation, praying, and reviewing the details, I have decided not to work at this time. This is huge as we will now have no income during school. I know I will not regret this decision, but it is still hard to make the decision especially since I have been offered a great job. Family needs are much more important and I am going to take care of those for now. We will have to wait to see what the future holds.

Lastly, on June 5th we received and accepted an offer on our house! This is great because we know and trust the family who desires to buy our home, and I have been told they are excited for the opportunity. Now we have to survive two home inspections and then we can sign it over. This helps our current (lack of) income situation because we will not have to be making two large payments every month.

Thanks to those that read this who have also been praying for us. God is working in interesting ways now and I am just trying to hang on for the ride without going crazy.

Reason for the Lack of Posts

So I have not posted much this year except for Nolan updates. Here is a brief update of what went on this spring.

March - Kacey got accepted to the MIT Sloan school as a fellow in the LGO program. She accepted! We started the process to sell our house, sell our belongings, sell my car, quit our jobs, and find a new place to live in Cambridge, MA.
April - Kacey stopped working mid-April. We visited Cambridge for an orientation for Kacey and an interview for me. We spent time visiting friends and family while continuing to sell our things.
May - I quit my job. On May 16th, we packed a moving truck with our remaining things (many thanks to all our family and friends!!!) and on May 17th, my brother and I drove from Indianapolis to Cambridge with two cats sitting in the cab. It was a long day!

So we are now living in Cambridge near MIT. Our house is still for sale, hopefully not for too much longer. Life has drastically changed in 60 days! God has provided the direction thus far and while we continue to figure a few things out, I am sure he will take care of us.

I look forward to posting Nolan updates and also updates on our new life in Cambridge. Don't worry, though, these posts will not contain the text "Go P_atriots" or "Tom B_rady rules". So far we have walked a lot of the Freedom Trail, visited Acadia National Park in Maine, and walked around Cambridge.

If you visit Boston, let us know!

Nolan is Nine Months Old!

Here is an update on my boy

17 lbs 9oz
28 in
eating avocado, banana, apple, potato, apricots
using a sippy cup for some water
walking along the couch, and considers not holding on sometimes
we think he tries to say "hi" sometimes
waves occasionally while saying "hi"
claps his hands (we think when mad)

It has been a busy month, but he keeps growing!

See new pictures on http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Nolan

Nolan is Eight Months Old!

Or, he was a couple weeks ago. It has been a very hectic March, but more on that to come. Here are his stats.

16.8 lbs
28 in
Crazy crawler!!! He is all over the place.
Pulling himself up on anything that looks semi-stable.
Tried potatoes and bananas.
Top two teeth are pushing through (he is now grinding his teeth).
Having fun at school.

A Quicky

I have not posted much this year because, as usual, I am spending lots of time with my boy. There are some other things going on in our lives that has preoccupied my mind, so posting has been deprioritized for now. I can't really go in to it at this time, but probably in the next few weeks the cat will be out of the bag.

I have, however, posted pictures of Nolan from December and January. So if you have a few spare minutes, enjoy!

http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Nolan/

Nolan is Seven Months Old!

It seems like these updates are coming faster and faster!

16lbs 6oz
Belly crawling/scooting - He gets up on his hands and knees but when moving forward, he drops to his chest to move his arms forward.
Finger painting! - He painted at school and had lots of fun.
Eating rice cereal
Traveled on an airplane, and he did very well

Nolan is doing well at school. He likes to watch the older kids who can get around better than he can. He has already mastered the art of removing socks as soon as they are put on. We got videos on Nolan eating cereal and crawling; they are posted on Youtube.

January 2009, Recap

January was a whirlwind. Life has felt like a whirlwind since Christmas. I was in Liverpool for work for a week, we traveled to the east coast for a long weekend, and between starting daycare and trying to catch back up at work, I feel like I have no time. I understand this is probably part of life now, but I feel like I need to find ways to get some more minutes out of my afternoons while home with my boy.

If you are in Indiana, drive safe out there. It's not worth yours or someone elses life to get home a couple minutes early; and especially should not be speeding. I really wonder what people are thinking on a day like today when people in an old car feel safe and in control driving 45 on a road that has not yet been cleared, with 2 feet of clearance on either side of them. I need to end this rant...

I should have some pictures from January up soon. Nolan is trying so hard to crawl and I have some pictures of him trying.

Night and Day

But where??? Comment your guess. (If you already know where we are, please don't reply).

Nolan is Six Months Old!

Our little guy turned six months old! He is such a great boy and such a joy to be around. Everyone that sees him gets a glimpse of him and his smile just gets huge. His little personality is starting to come through. He loves to smile and even gets a little shy when seeing someone giving him a smile.

Nolan's stats
16 lbs
26.5 in long
16.25 head
Trying really hard to crawl. We expect it to be soon! He gets up on his hands and knees, and while trying to push falls on his tummy and then wiggles like a turtle.
First sickness - Chest congestion started on his 6 month birthday, got a slight temp, and at the doc she noticed he had an ear infection! Boo! The doc was surprised because he sure wasn't acting like he had an ear infection.
He loves to bounce!
Mommy has found another tooth. She lost count, but maybe 5 or 6?
He is grabbing for the cats, but they don't like their fur to be pulled :)

Nolan's first airplane trip is coming at the end of the month, but more on that later. Luckily it is only a two hour flight and non-stop to our destination.

The First Week is Over

This was Nolan's first week at daycare. He did great; mom and dad, not so much. He is good at keeping himself entertained and doesn't mind all the different helpers that come in to play. He has ate and slept well there too. Mom and dad had a pretty sad week. Everyone says it gets better, but after a week I don't feel much better about it. We won't rush to any decisions, though. We will give it at least a month. The Phillips Family may have some changes coming in the future which is why we won't rush to any decisions here as they may work themselves out.

Nolan turns six months old tomorrow and we are hoping to make it to the Fort tomorrow to visit family. If not, we will have some fun here while we update his baby book with pictures and his milestones.

Now that I have been back to work for a week, things are extremely busy. I have been trying to accommodate everyone since I have been gone, but that means I didn't say no much this week. My to-do list got a little too big, but I should be able to get it under control by the end of the month.

Let's Bounce!

Happy New Year everyone. Nolan has been jumping a lot lately so for Christmas we got him an activity center that he can also jump in. Just yesterday, he really figured out how to make it go. Check out the video.

http://www.vimeo.com/2689868

Hangin' with Nolan

That has been my motto for months now. Friday, December 19, 2008 will be my last day home alone with my little man (unless something happens). I am saddened that this chapter will be coming to a close.

But I hope that my transition back to work and his transition to day care can be a blessing. Kacey and I both feel led to contribute through our jobs and feel this is the right decision for us. I pray that day care continues to develop his need for love and attention during the day and that Kacey and I can make up for it each and every night.

I am not sure what else to say right now about it except that Nolan, I love you, and these three months spent with you have been the best I can ever imagine. I will miss spending each hour of each day with you, son.

Nolan is Five Months Old!

I haven't really had the time lately to blog because I have been working on a DVD of Nolan's first four months that we will be giving to some people. I have also been working on getting my pictures from November online. Lastly I have been working on taking pictures of Nolan for a Christmas card. Oh, and I have been working on buying Christmas presents, filling out some insurance paperwork, finding a day care (boo, another story), buying and getting a treadmill, getting a Christmas tree, trying to decorate, was sick for a few days, visiting friends, working on some home software issues, and probably a few other things. OH, and enjoying my days playing with my boy!!!

Nolan's stats
15lbs 8oz
25 in long
Rolling both ways!
We believe at least 3 teeth coming in
Grabbing more toys

New (to me) Website - YES.com

If you are in to music like me, you may deal with the same situation I find myself in a few times a week. I am listening to a classic rock station on the radio and they play a long lost classic that I do not have or have not heard in a while. I think to myself, I must get this when I get home. (I do not have an iPhone, so I can't use Shazam)

Then, by time I get home and remember that I heard a song I wanted, I have forgotten the tune and even the band if the DJ mentioned it at the time!

Well, you can worry no more. YES.com keeps track (or brings together from other sources) of all songs played for the past 7 days of each radio station, or at least the ones I checked. It also gives the time of day the song was played, so if you know you were in the car around 7:30pm and were listening to both WKLU and WJJK on the way to the store, you just put it in and get your song list!

Example: http://www.yes.com/WFBQ

Nolan is on Vimeo

I have put up an HD video of Nolan playing at 4 months old.

http://www.vimeo.com/2322743

New Pictures are Up from October

I have posted some pictures from October of Nolan.

http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Nolan/

Nolan is Four Months Old!

It's hard to believe that Nolan is 4 months old today. I have not really blogged that much about fatherhood largely because I am busy living it, not typing it. Here are the 4 month stats.

14 lbs 1 oz
25 in long
turning from back to tummy (although he doesn't like being on his tummy)
standing on his own, with daddy balancing (since 2.5 months)
blowing spit bubbles
starting to grab things
one tooth popping through, and we believe a second one is coming
follows mom and dad around
lots of smiles!