The Big Move: Cville to Princeton

After six years in our beloved Charlottesville, it was finally time for us to leave. We are so excited to being a new chapter in Princeton, but feel a great deal of sadness leaving our home. Cville has been a place that has brought us so much joy for so many reasons: we have family here, we have incredible friends, our professional and academic lives were fulfilling and successful...and we really loved the restaurants;) It was time to move on, but we will miss Cville. Our last week was quite hectic, but seemed a fitting end to our time. We had one of our dear friends, Rebecca, come and visit. She and her husband Mike lived here for the last few years before moving to DC. She got to meet Ellie (sadly, Mike had to work and didn't get to make the trip). Ellie was so happy in her arms that she promptly fell asleep!

On Wednesday, the movers came and packed everything up from our house. It was surreal to see the moving truck with our belongings. Oddly, getting movers made us feel just as grown up (or even more grown up) as having a baby...

We felt a little slap happy that day, part sleep deprivation, part exhaustion (physical and emotional). Here is the photographic evidence of our delirium. Isn't this the best way to pack Ellie's stuff? :)

After the truck was loaded, Phil drove up to NJ with the truck to supervise the unloading while Ellie and I moved in with Steve. Phil came back to Cville on Thursday night so the three of us could spend our last few days together with Steve, Dawkins, and Rugby. It was fitting to end our time in Cville with lots of time on the back deck with our family. Ellie loved living in the same town as her Padrino, even for just a few weeks of her life.

A typical afternoon: Ellie in repose and Phil working

Ellie trying to sit with Rugby

Big Brown (Dawkins)

Brunch the day we left on Steve's back deck: we know Ellie will love bacon as much as her Aunt Rachel!

After brunch, we said a difficult goodbye to Steve. Then Phil, Ellie, and I drove from Cville to Princeton in just about seven hours. Ellie was a very, very good baby and slept for almost five hours of the trip. It was pretty impressive. She had her moments of freaking out (crossing into Delaware; clearly she does not love tax free shopping or sports betting), but all in all, she did an incredible job. We arrived at around 8 p.m. - there were boxes everywhere, but we were home. And so we began the Princeton chapter of our life...