Hi, everyone! These last few weeks (months?) have been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of changes and new routines to get used to. I’m here with an update on all of the newness in our lives including a new job, Invisalign, new daycares, and a new furbaby!

Beauty

I cut my hair and I started Invisalign!

You can’t even see them!

In middle school, I wore braces for two and a half years. Over these last few years I could tell that my teeth have been shifting. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my smile and finally decided to do something about it – Invisalign! I started mid-November and wear a special set of trays for one week and then change to the next special set. Each set applies the right amount of force to move my teeth to where they need to be. I’ll be wearing them for about 9 months, which is a piece of cake compared to the years I spent in metal braces. I’m slowly acclimating to them but the best part is I’ll be done before you know it!

Work

In November, I started a new job at Duke University as a program coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research and I’m housed within the Department of Population Health Sciences. I coordinate the social and behavioral sciences program for investigators who research HIV/AIDS, so I’m still working in the field of sexual health – my passion – but in a slightly different capacity. I’ve been with this job for a little over a month now and I’m loving it so far. My team is amazing, my office is bright and happy, and I really like the work I’m doing it. It was a much needed change of pace and a great step up in my career.

My sweet digs at the new office.

Home & Family

As if a new job and new teeth (sort of) weren’t enough, we decided to move Sebastian to a new daycare and then we adopted another dog!

New School

Santa visited Sebastian at his new school. He was so excited! He told Santa he wanted cars for Christmas.

Seb’s new daycare is about 10 minutes from my new office and I like being so close by in case anything happens. It’s located farther away from our house than his previous daycare (about 20 mins vs. 7 minutes) so we’ve had to create a new morning routine to make sure we’re ready and out the door without being late. It has been worth it, though, because in the short time that he’s been at this new daycare he has flourished! He’s happier, speaking more, and singing songs. At his old daycare, he was having a bathroom “accident” almost every day but at this new daycare he hasn’t had a single one. I had had some suspicions about his former teachers not paying enough attention to the kids and this kind of confirms it. But the important thing is that he’s thriving now!

New Puppy

Meet Milo, our new puppy!

Milo Pilo

He’s a 1.5-year-old Chihuahua mix, and he’s quite the snuggle bug. We adopted him at the beginning of December and fell in love immediately. He’s such a sweet, wiggly little guy and we’re so happy to have him. We had a few early hiccups but he’s settling in quite nicely! We chose his name because we thought it sounded good with our other dog, Mia. Mia and Milo… kind of rolls off the tongue! His full name is Milo Pilo with ‘Pilo’ being a subtle nod to Nick’s and my favorite TV show in the whole world, Parks and Recreation per the clip below…

…and also because we make our dogs’ names rhyme! Chico Antonio, Mia Sophia, and Milo Pilo. It’s just what we do 🙂 I mean, look at how cute they are!

Mia & Milo

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. With the holidays coming up, we’ll be even busier but I have a few things in the works for the new year so I hope you’ll stick with me. Wishing you all the best!

Xo, Nicole

2016 was a bumpy year for Nick and me. It started out great; Nick and I got healthy and lost some weight, and I finally had a job with some vacation time so we visited my best friend for a week in Los Angeles. Then we experienced a heartbreak we never knew was possible when we suddenly lost our little Chihuahua and the love of our lives, Chico, to complications from adrenal cancer. It happened so quickly that I’m still recovering from the trauma but my therapist has helped a lot. On the flip side, the year ended with a very much-wanted and planned pregnancy and the thrill of waiting to welcome our baby boy in the spring. My Instagrams (from my personal account) are a reflection of the year, with a focus on the positive so I’d like to share my favorite ones with you.

Spending a freezing winter morning in February with a cup of coffee and a book.

Chico is taking a rest in the fresh spring grass. We would soon learn that he had developed arthritis in his hips.

Spring in my neighborhood. This beautiful tree is in my neighbor’s yard and the color of the flowers against the color of the sky is stunning!

2016 was the year we got healthy and spent a lot of time eating better and working out at the gym.

Toes in the sand during a girls’ weekend at the beach.

My sweet, silly Chico with his eyes closed. I miss him more than anything.

Summer date night with sushi and beer. This was taken at the bottle shop.

Homemade churro cupcake for brunch club, courtesy of Nick. Yum!

NCsquared travels to Los Angeles, CA.

NCsquared in California. That’s the Santa Monica Pier behind us.

My sweet Mia. If ever there was a daddy’s girl dog, she is it.

Mia is getting a little brother in March!

This photo warms my heart. Mia has never been much for burrowing or being covered up (that was Chico’s expertise) but when I brought this blanket home, she fell in love with it and claimed it as her own. She even laid in it like this for a while.

24 weeks pregnant.

NCsquared at the Durham Holiday Parade.

Christmas dog. Mia waiting patiently until she can open her presents. She got a new squeaky toy and plenty of treats for Christmas.

Hello Monday Linkup | Confident Twosday

Our Christmas was pretty magical, which was very nice considering how lousy this year has been so far. Here are a few of my Instagram photos from Christmas thus far. We have another celebration coming up so I might be able to do another post like this before the end of the year.

Mom’s Christmas tree. It’s magical

How can I NOT love this face? *kisses*

Mia by the tree, waiting to open her presents.

NCsquared at the Durham Holiday Parade

Proud papa-to-be with his nerdy Star Wars gifts <3

As I was making breakfast one morning, this is what I saw out of my kitchen window. It’s Nick and Mia, playing around outside. And it’s one of my favorite things about my life 🙂

Mia Sophia and Chico Antonio – our two little furbabies.

These are my babies. They make the world a little brighter, even on days when they don’t feel like behaving and I get really frustrated with them.  One thing that I will always look forward to is coming home from work each day to frantic, eager, wet and happy puppy kisses.  Nothing beats a puppy kiss, that’s for sure.

Mia has been here for almost a month now and she seems to be settling in fairly well. I think she’s still getting used to the schedule and Chico is still getting used to her. Just about every evening now they’ll play-fight on the couch, even though we keep telling them to do that in the floor and not on us. But at least they play well together.

Tonight I think they were feeling a little more lovey than usual. They sat with me until Nick got home and then they took their turns jumping up into his arms to be held and petted by him. Now they’re cuddling with us on the couch. Adorable!

So I just want to say that I truly believe if you don’t know the unconditional love of a dog, then you’re really missing out on something incredibly amazing.