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Hello! I’ve got a sleeping baby sitting beside me and an iced lavender latte in hand and thought I’d take advantage of nap time this morning to pop in with a long overdue life update. ♡

I realized the other day that it’s been over a year since I last typed out one of these posts while sitting in our sunny kitchen in Barcelona. Which, to be honest, feels like a lifetime ago. (And also somehow like…yesterday?) It’s hard to know where to even begin to summarize how life has changed since then. We’re now back across the ocean living in Kansas City, which is slowly beginning to feel like home again ever since our whirlwind move back with a toddler, elderly dog, eight suitcases, and a newly-positive pregnancy test last June. Since then, we have…

• moved into a 90-yr-old Tudor, which we (probably over-ambitiously) decided to renovate before our second baby’s arrival, while working to stock the place 100% from scratch with everything from beds to bicycles to blenders and beyond
• walked through our second pregnancy and gave birth in the States, which went mercifully smoothly this time around (and was also a very interesting contrast to how things are done in Spain)
• welcomed a wonderful 24-yr-old Costa Rican au pair to our family, who’s going to be living with us and helping with the boys over the coming year
• checked off what felt like a million “getting settled” logistics, including purchasing two cars (a super sad farewell to European walking culture), re-establishing our businesses in Missouri, and diving back into the wonderful world of American healthcare, insurances, taxes, etc
• navigated an intense year of “sandwich generation” learning curves, doing our best to try and care for aging parents and little kids at the same time

And then of course, we brought this little sunbeam home. ♡♡♡

We joked on the day Milo was born that he seemed just “just happy to be here”, and four months later, that still pretty much sums things up! He has turned out to be such an easygoing little baby who’s just happy to eat, happy to sleep (major change from our first baby!), happy to smile and coo and snuggle with anyone…and we truly could not love him more. It’s remarkable how much joy he has added to our little household. And after a fairly disorienting year, his arrival has felt like the missing puzzle piece that’s finally helped Kansas City begin to feel like home again. Of course, the newborn stage has been intense and exhausting in all of its usual ways, but getting to step away from work for a few months to soak up sunny spring walks with Milo and nuzzle his soft skin and and be there for all of his adorable little “firsts” has felt beyond special. It’s never lost on Barclay and me what a privilege this is to get to do this all one more time, especially after the long road to meet him, and we’re just so grateful that he’s finally here.

All that to say, goodness, it has been a year. Definitely one of the more challenging ones on record for our little family, but still with plenty of glimmers of love and joy and fun sprinkled in there all along the way, as life always seems to provide. We’re feeling very grateful to (at least mostly) now be on the other side of the international moving chaos. And while I’ve enjoyed time away from Gimme Some Oven during these past few months of maternity leave, I’m glad to be getting back into some work rhythms again. More updates on all of that below.

Anyway, clearly, lots to share! So without further ado, here’s the update from our little corner of KC… (more…)