2014 ...Nothing Short Of An Amazing Year!

Hello Everyone!

Well, we don’t know how it has happened but we are saying goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. Simply said, 2014 has been the most amazing year of our lives. Here is a recap of the Crawford Highlights of 2014 …

Found out we were having a baby boy over Valentine’s Day Dinner!!

Had a beautiful baby shower with my preschoolers (and mom flew out to be there too!)!

Got the official word we were being transferred to the Hartford office!

Over the spring and early summer, we traveled to St. Louis, Springfield and New Buffalo … our last Midwestern excursions!

Finished teaching at FXW!

**Had The One & Only, Jack Francis Crawford on July 6, 2014!**

Bringing home Jack and meeting his big sister Tilly for the 1^st time!

Said goodbye to the beautiful friends we made in our almost 3 years in Chicago!

Moved from Chicago back to the East Coast!

Jack meeting Nana and Pop Pop for the 1^st time!

Living between Vermont and Connecticut for almost 2 months!

Jack meeting his Nan for the 1^st time!

Bought our first home together in Simsbury, CT!

Celebrated my 30^th Birthday!

Had Jack’s Baptism (Met Uncle Adam & Aunt Ashley)!

Bought a Subaru!

 

Jack's First Halloween (As A Spider)!

 

Hosted Jack's First Thanksgiving (Met Uncle Danny & Aunt Lindsay)!

Jack’s First Trip To NYC!

Jack Got His First Tooth!

Had Jack’s First Christmas in Vermont!

Celebrating our 2^nd Wedding Anniversary!

 

And now it is on to 2015. I usually love moving into the next year but this year I leave 2014 with a swelling heart and wanting to soak in every moment of the last 365 days just a little longer. This year has brought our family to a place I only ever dreamed of. All I am is full of gratitude, gratitude for an amazing year filled with so many life changing moments but above and beyond everything, brought us our beautiful son. We have never known a love like this and whatever the future holds, we will always hold 2014 fondly in my memory for the rest of my life.

With that said, bring on 2015! I can’t wait to see all that this New Year has in store for The Crawford Family. With this crew, anything is possible and I would have it no other way.

One last thing before we leave you for the year. We need to say a special thank you to our baby boy, Mr. Jack Francis. As you all know, this past year has been hectic to say the least, especially since Jack arrived on the scene. He has gone with the flow at every turn and we truly don’t know what we would have done if he was anyone else. They say that baby’s pick their parents. All we can say to that is thank you Jack. Thank you for picking us to be your Mommy and Daddy and thank you for being the most amazing baby we could ever ask for!

We are wishing all of you a New Year filled with Love, Health & Happiness! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

All The Best,

Katie, Shannon, Jack & Tilly

 

We went from this on December 31, 2012 ...

 

To this in 2014!

*Truly Blessed.

The Crawfords Are Connecticut Residents!

Hello everyone!! 

Well, as most of you know it has been a whirlwind for The Crawford Clan since our departure from Chicago. We arrived in Vermont on Aug 15^th and began looking at houses on the 17^th. We were spending half the week at my parent’s house in Vermont and the other half of the week in a hotel in Connecticut. We nearly put an offer on a house we found on the first go. We decided to see a few more properties and decided to put an offer on a house that was on the market for 360 days. The day we put an offer in, so did another couple. I know it doesn’t seem plausible … but it happened lol! As fate would have it the house we bought was put on the market 3 hours before our final offer was to be submitted on the other house. We were the first and we believe only couple to see our house. We closed within one month and it still all seems so surreal.

Sue, Shannon’s mom arrived from Australia at 11 pm October 1 and Shannon and I went for our final walk through at 730 am the next morning. We signed papers by 915 am and then we were off to Vermont that evening. The next morning, Shannon and I rented a 14’ van (which I drove) with all the stuff we accumulated and bought in Vermont, dropped it off at our house, went to our CT storage unit and dropped that all off before heading back to Vermont that night. The next morning we were on the road to start unpacking the house and hosted our first dinner party the next evening. It was the last night of my twenties and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend it than with family and friends.

Throughout the week we finished purchasing furniture and other odds and ends. On Saturday my mom came down and she and my dad bought us Jack’s nursery furniture. We put that all together that evening. Mom and dad also bought us Dr. Seuss prints from a special gallery in Chicago that mom and I went to the day after we told them I was pregnant along with a beautiful Dr. Seuss bedding. It is so beautiful and unique, I couldn’t imagine anything better for Jack! And we have a fully furnished home and it feel wonderful!

On October 12, we had Jack’s baptism at our new church, St. Mary’s. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day, ceremony or time spent with family and friends! It was so wonderful to have everyone here (minus a few important people we missed) and to have our first party. It is pretty wild that we did that 1 week after moving into our house. It was a day and a memory for Jack that we will always hold near and dear to us.

And … SHANNON GOT HIS ADULT LEARNER’S PERMIT!! He had an Australian license but in order to obtain his license he needs the permit first. He also has taken the required safety course so now we just needs to take his driving test. It takes a while to schedule because it books quickly.

 I am convinced that the old adage, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, is the slogan for our lives the past few months. Shannon and I have had a beautiful baby, moved 5 weeks later, moved in with my parents for half the week and living out of a hotel the other half, bought a house, had Shannon’s mom here for the first 3 weeks while moving into our new home, had a baptism within days of moving in, finally bought a car (a Subaru Legacy) and Shannon got his permit. That is it. Simply put, I told Shannon no more major life decisions until Jack’s first birthday. I think we have earned just existing and truly living in our new home. I love saying that, home. I have always felt at home when I have been with Shannon but there is something beautiful for us to be in one place that is ours. We have been around the world together and have had an amazing time doing so but now we blissfully enter this next chapter of our lives and have a home for our Jack and Tilly to grow up in. Simsbury has always been on our radar. It is about 30 minutes from Shannon’s job in downtown Hartford and the schools are amazing … we truly couldn’t ask for more!

We also just needed to recognize our parents! They helped in so many ways ... we are so grateful to them! We are truly blessed!

That is all here for now. Next, we look to Thanksgiving. We are hosting it this year and we are so excited. We are supposed to be getting a snowstorm … come on now you know the Crawford Family doesn’t do anything unmemorable hahaha. These are the memories that we will forever look back and think, this is what made our house a home. 

Best Wishes,

Katie, Shannon, Jack and Tilly

And On To The Next Great Crawford Adventure ...

Hello Everyone,

Well, we don’t know when it happened but the time has come and we are East Coast bound!

Many of you know that Chicago was not an easy start for this family and although we are excited for our new adventure, it is indisputable the amazing and life changing events that have happened during our time as Chicago residents!

Shannon and I moved here at the end of November 2011. It was his new job with UBS that allowed us the opportunity to finally live in the same place and take our relationship to the next level. We got our very own downtown apartment!

That following May, on the second anniversary of us meeting, Shannon got down on one knee under the Navy Pier fireworks and proposed!

We got Tilly here in Illinois. We flew home 2 days after our wedding and immediately drove to get her and make her the newest member of the newly established Crawford Family.

I got my first real teaching job, post grad school at FXW. It was such an amazing positions and my colleagues, students and their parents were fabulous. I learned so much about myself as a teacher and made so many good friends, I could not have asked for anything more from a job.

We applied for, interviewed and got Shannon’s green card which was such an accomplishment! It made us feel so good knowing he had that for our family!

And finally and most importantly, it was here in Chicago that we made the decisions to have a baby! On our third anniversary, over dinner at Petterino’s, Shannon and I made the decision to start trying for a family in the fall. Little did we know how quickly that would happen and Jack Francis would be conceived immediately! 41 week and 1 day later, on July 6, 2014 the most wonderful gift came to us here in Chicago, our sweet baby boy, Jack!

Chicago, it has been a wild ride. You have truly put this family to the test in more ways than one but you have also given so many of our most important memories to date and for that, WE THANK YOU!

And now, it is on to our new great adventure. A new chapter for The Crawford Family is right around the corner and we cannot wait to see all that it has in store! 

All Our Love,

Katie, Shannon, Jack & Tilly

Welcome To The World Jack Francis!

Hello everyone!!!!!

Our beautiful Jack Francis has arrived!!!!! Jack came into the world on July 6, 2014 at 12:27 am. Jack weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 22 ½ inches long! My labor nurse said it was the longest baby she had seen in some time.

It was amazing how quickly he came once he made the decision that he wanted to be here! We spent Saturday, July 5, taking Tilly to the park and running errands. We knew that we would be induced the night of July 6 if Jack hadn’t arrived earlier so we thought it would be a good idea to do some last minute errands. While we were walking around Target I started to feel a little funny and when we go home I had started showing signs of early labor. We called my doctor and he agreed that I was in labor and we should head to the hospital.

We arrived at triage around 7pm, checked in and was in my labor and delivery room by 830. By 10 my water was broken and by 1045 I was feeling the contractions about 3 minutes apart and asked to get my epidural. They had not even gotten my epidural when I kept saying that I needed to push. The nurse said that only 1% of women need to push that quickly however she checked me and said she couldn’t believe it, I needed to start pushing. The nurse paged the doctor and called Shannon back into the room (they don’t allow husbands in the room while you get your epidural). The epidural wouldn’t even take effect by the time I started pushing! Shannon had no idea what was going on because when he stepped out of the room only a few minutes before, they assured him we had plenty of time! Well, Jack had a different story in mind. I pushed for an hour and then our beautiful and perfect son came into the world!

Our time at the hospital was wonderful! We had the greatest nurses and our view of the lake was amazing! We could not have asked for a better experience. From how I went into labor, to how quickly Jack came to us, to the lovely stay, we were truly blessed by the experience. The details truly make no difference, we have Jack Francis Crawford! 10 fingers, 10 toes and loved like no little boy has been loved before.

We have had a great few weeks of transitioning from a family of 3 to a family of 4! Tilly has been loving her little brother … we love watching our 2 babies interact! We have even been toying with the idea of making a purely picture blog … The Adventures Of Jack & Tilly! We shall see!

Now, we look onward to the next big adventure … MOVING! We are figuring out the details but we will be with mom and dad for part of the time and will be looking for a place ASAP! We will keep everyone posted! It will all work out, as life always seems to! Jack is here, healthy and happy … everything else we will deal with!

 

All Our Love,

Katie, Shannon, Jack & Tilly

 

 

 

Last Post Before Jack Francis Crawford Arrives!!

Hello everyone!!!!!

Well, needless to say it has been very exciting time in the Crawford House! Here are the updates since the start of the year!

First, Shannon got a promotion at work and I could not be any prouder of him! He has worked so very hard and is so very deserving of this honor. Our little family (and extended family too) are just in awe of his accomplishments and he is so humble that I will be the one to tout his good work to the world! CONGRATS MY LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At our 20 week sonogram on February 11, which was actually 20 weeks and 4 days. We decided to find out what the gender of the baby was but instead of finding out there, we had it written down and sealed in an envelope. It was so close to Valentine’s Day that we thought it would be even more special if we revealed it over dinner. You have no idea the patience and restrain it takes to walk by an envelope with the baby’s gender on it for nearly 3 full days but somehow we did it!

We had a beautiful and intimate dinner at The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. We were seated in the wine cellar/private dining room downstairs. It was so cozy and although we were in public, it felt private to do the reveal and by the end it truly seemed like our own little world down there for the evening!

After drinks (wine for Shannon and water for me of course) were ordered, we got through our starters and then, FINALLY, we opened the envelope. We cast one more vote before the big reveal. I have always felt it was going to be a boy and since Shannon saw the sonogram he felt it was a boy too! So with ballots cast, we opened the envelope to reveal a sonogram and written below was, “It’s a boy!!!” I burst into tears of joy! We truly did not care one way or another but when you are finally told for sure what you are having there is such an unexplainable sense of joy!

We have decided on the name Jack Francis Crawford. We have always loved the named Jack and Francis is in honor of my Papa, Francis Mallon! The kids in my class are completely obsessed with the baby and often refer to the baby as Jack Jack from The Incredibles!

The next day, February 15, I felt the baby move for the first time (for sure) when I was driving to do some baby shopping and then the following Friday, February 21 Shannon felt the baby kick too! I wish I could have captured his face, it was truly priceless! Shannon has been such an amazing support and he is going to make such an amazing father! I can’t wait to see our baby boy in his arms. On March 15 when talking to my mom I noticed my shirt moved. I lifted my shirt and then saw for sure the baby moving … it was amazing! Shannon got to see it just after that and again I wish I could have captured his face, it was absolutely priceless! The same day we went to several baby stores to get an idea od what to do and get for the baby and all we can is THANK GOD for Amazon baby registry and not having to go into those stores ... very overwhelming hahaha!

A part of our life that few knew about was the possibility of Shannon getting a transfer to the Hartford, CT branch. By the grace of God we got the notice a few weeks ago, so the Crawford clan will be New England bound a few weeks after Jack arrives. For anyone that knows us well, you would not be surprised by this at all. Shannon and I have never seemed to do anything in the conventional way … so why not have a baby and move hahaha! We will be staying with my mom and dad in Vermont for a few weeks to decide where in Connecticut we will be moving and then Sue will be here shortly after to meet the baby!!!

My co-teacher threw a surprise Baby Shower for me and not only did Shannon come but MY MOM FLEW IN FROM VERMONT! I have been really surprised twice in my life. First was my engagement and the second has to be this! It was an amazing moment to be surrounded by my students, their parents, co-workers and family! My students have made this pregnancy such a unique experience because seeing the wonder in their eyes makes it all the more special. I feel like Buddha with all the belly rubs I get from not just my preschool class but from the entire preschool … it is pretty amazing! A huge thanks to everyone that was involved in the surprise, it is a memory I will cherish forever!!! After the shower, my mom spent the weekend and we made a coming home sign for Jack and went to The Drake for High Tea … one of my favorite things! Mom also made Shannon lasagna and meatballs! It was such a phenomenal weekend and I have said it before but I will day it again, I am so truly blessed with the people in my life!

School officially has only 2 weeks left! 6 days with kids, 1 day of conferences and 3 days of breaking down etc. I don’t know where this year went but it has been amazing. From my awesome co-teacher, to my students to my co-workers, I can say that as excited as I am about our next chapter as a family, I will miss being a part of the FXW community! I have never loved a job like I have being a teacher there and will look back fondly at my experience and growth as a teacher and as an individual.

Shannon and I are going away for a little Baby Moon next weekend. I surprised him with the trip for a getaway weekend about an hour from here. It is near the beach and it will be the last time we can just scoot of with Tilly! We just celebrated meeting 4 years ago so I thought this would be fun! We are so excited!!

Well, I am going to end that here! The next time I write, it will be all about the baby! I can’t believe my pregnancy is almost over. I have been so lucky to have had such an amazing pregnancy but we are so ready to meet this baby … we are just bursting!!!

Thank you to everyone for the love and support they have shown us!

With Lots Of Love,

Katie

We Can't Wait To Meet This Little Man!