April was a month of settling in and quiet observations for us here at home in Cranford. We’re continuing to find our rhythm in the new apartment, discovering little details about our new neighborhood that make it feel a bit more like home every day. It’s amazing how those small, consistent experiences – like finding a new favorite coffee spot or figuring out the best route to the park – slowly build into a sense of belonging.
April was also a busy month for Sarah with work taking her on two significant trips. She spent time in both Colombia (Bogota and Medellin) and Reno, Nevada, focusing on her company’s warehouse operations. While she doesn’t love being away from Harvey (we think she might enjoy the break from Michael 😂), she has enjoyed seeing new places and racking up a bunch of miles. A trend which will only continue as she heads of to Peru at the beginning of May.
While Mom was away, Michael and Harvey stepped up and figured out the day-to-day routines with a little extra help from a couple of Harvey’s grandparents and we are extremely grateful for their support.
What else? We squeezed Easter there, celebrating with both sides of the family. Breakfast in Lebanon, NJ with Sarah’s Mom, brothers, sister-in-law, and Harvey’s cousin Elaine. And then a great lunch in White Plains, NY with Michael’s parents, brother and his partner Xandria, as well has her mother and younger brother.
The rest of our time in April was a reminder that progress often happens in small, seemingly uneventful steps. Unpacking, finding new places to hang our art, getting organized, and simply finding our routines might not sound thrilling, but they’re the essential building blocks of making a new space feel like home.
As we move into May, we’re grateful for having a few days to catch our breath, and looking forward to an eventful Spring and Summer.
Wow, March came racing in and… well, it pretty much stayed that way. It feels like the whole month flew by in a whirlwind of big moments, bittersweet goodbyes, and exciting new beginnings.
Our Little Man is ONE!
The biggest news is that Harvey is a year old! It’s hard to believe that a year’s passed since we welcomed him into the world. The three of us spent the day together, going to the aquarium in the American Dream Mall. While we were there, he got his first Build-A-Bear, we took some fun shots in a photo booth, and Harvey had a blast taking in the spectacle of it all. We wrapped up the day back home singing “Happy Birthday” and Harvey enjoyed a sweet treat – that ended up all over the place. **Photos below**
New Beginnings and Fond Farewells
Around the time of Harvey’s birthday, we were also navigating some significant family transitions. Sarah’s mom and uncle sold their parents’ house – the home that held over 60 years of cherished family memories. It’s the house where Sarah’s spent almost every Christmas of her life and the house where Harvey took his first steps. While we’re sad that things didn’t work out the way we planned, we’re genuinely excited for the new adventures to come. Later this year, we plan to put together a proper tribute – maybe a slideshow – to celebrate the life lived within those walls.
Amidst this change, the exciting news is that our new home base is in the heart of Cranford. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, it’s a great town about 10 minutes from where we’ve been. So not much is changing day-to-day, but we are in a much more walkable area, with a great community, and lively downtown – all things that are important to us.
Work Wins, Family Visits, March Madness & What’s Next
On the work front, Sarah has been pouring energy into a major project, and we’re happy to report it has gone really well. She’s been getting tons of positive feedback from colleagues, which is always a great feeling after putting in so much effort.
We’d be remiss if we forgot to mention our brief (but fun) visit from cousins Ryan, Debbie, and Miranda Gehm on their return trip from NYC back to western PA. We had some great pizza, got all caught up, and they got Harvey some super cool 1st birthday presents.
Nancy (Sarah’s dad’s wife – not sure about the proper title lol) invited us into her son’s March Madness group and it’s been a fun distraction with everything else going on – even though Michael was knocked out in the 2nd round (St. John’s, what happened???). Sarah and Harvey are keeping their fingers crossed that Duke will win it all.
So, what’s next for the Harris crew? Our main focus for the coming weeks will be settling into our new home, unpacking what seems like a never ending mountain of boxes, and starting to explore our new neighborhood.
February’s a short month, but this one went by particularly quickly. Let’s get into it…
Sarah had a work trip to Brussels, Belgium in the beginning of February so we decided to make it a family adventure and added a few days in Paris. We embarked on our journey on Michael’s birthday (February 2nd) and celebrated Sarah’s birthday (February 9th) in Paris. Harvey was a great travel partner. He did great on the flights and added a couple of stamps to his passport before his first birthday.
In Brussels, Michael and Harvey spent their days exploring the city, while Sarah was at the office. The weather was pretty dreary, but we had a great time. Some of the highlights were the Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, the Parc de Bruxelles, the amazing old architecture, and the oddly high number of urinating statues. Here are some photos:
After Sarah wrapped up her last work obligation, we took the Eurostar to Paris. The train ride was great and it was super easy to navigate to the hotel once we got to Paris. After we all slept in on our first morning, catching up on some much needed sleep, we hit all the major landmarks, and of course, indulged in some amazing food over the weekend. A particularly special moment was on Sarah’s birthday, when we were fortunate enough to catch a beautiful organ recital at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
After we got home, we celebrated our birthdays with Mike Sr, Georgann, and Matthews and had a good time with our Harvey entertainment.
After the travels and birthday celebrations, the rest of the month has been a bit of a grind. Sarah has been particularly busy on a big project and we’ve been spending every spare moment looking for a new place to live. Sarah’s mother has decided to sell the house on an accelerated timeline while we are still in the house, so every couple hours we are checking for new listings. While not ideal, we know things will work out.
Despite the busy schedule, we’re feeling a profound sense of gratitude for some amazing moments over the last month.
We’re excited to see what the next month will bring – we’ll have a new address to share and a 1 year-old son (!!!) on March 21st.
If you made it this far, hope you have a great March!
Oh, and here are a few cute photos of Harvey (the real reason most of you are here lol):
There was political insanity, wild fires, and Harvey started walking – January was anything but slow and quiet.
Let’s start with the fun stuff – Harvey weighed in at 21 lbs. and 28 inches tall at his 9 month check-up and he started taking his first unassisted steps (!!!) around the first week of the month (video below).
Incentives are everything. The TV remote was just the motivation he needed 😂
The two major things on our plate this month, besides work and baby things, were looking for a new place to live by the end of March and preparing for our trip to Brussels and Paris.
Long story short, we weren’t able to come to terms with Sarah’s Mom and Uncle on the house, so we’ll be moving out. They’re set on an early spring sale, so we are hustling to find a place that makes sense for us. Moving can be stressful, but we know everything will work out. It will be sad to leave with all the family memories here, but we’re excited for our next chapter.
Next month, the three of us will be travelling to Brussels for one of Sarah’s work trips and extending that adventure in Paris for a few days. We’ve been making sure all of the baby stuff is ready to go. We even took a trip into NYC with Harvey’s new travel stroller (thanks Grandpa Jeff and Nana Nancy) to see how he handled crowded public transportation. He did pretty well, but please send all the good vibes for our flights – the boy can’t sit still and loves testing out his quickly developing vocal abilities. We will let you know how it goes!
If this month is any indication, 2025 is going to be a wild ride!
What a year! It’s the year that everything changed for us – in the best possible way. It’s been a wild, wonderful ride. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been up to.
January:
The year kicked off with a mix of emotions. We said goodbye to Sarah’s grandmother, Irene, a loss that we felt deeply. But there was also lots of excitement as we got ready to welcome our little one, celebrating with a baby shower surrounded by some of our favorite people.
February:
In February we were in full-on “get ready for baby” mode. Sarah wrapped up her last work trip before maternity leave., and we spent the rest of the month relaxing, preparing and trying to figure out what the heck we’d gotten ourselves into!
March:
And then, just like that, our world changed. Our son, Harvey (named after Michael’s paternal grandfather), made his entrance on March 21st, 2024, at 11:58 am, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz. He was six days past his due date, but right on time.
April:
Harvey’s first full month on the outside was a blur of new parent life: feedings, diaper changes, and figuring out this whole parenting thing. But on top of that, it felt like the universe decided to throw some wild events our way. We experienced a rare New Jersey earthquake, a total solar eclipse, and to top it off, the Knicks even made a run in the playoffs. It was a memorable month, to say the least.
May:
May was all about meeting some VIPs. Sarah’s dad, “Grandpa Jeff,” and his wife, “Nana Nancy,” came for a visit from Minnesota at the end of the month. We got to hang out with Sarah’s close friend and maid-of-honor, Emma, who made the trip all the way from Lexington, KY. And Harvey got to meet his cousin Elaine when we hosted Mother’s Day at the house.
June:
Harvey hit a big milestone in June – his first tooth! But the highlight of the month was our family road trip to Mars, PA for Miranda’s (Michael’s cousin) high school graduation party. Mike Sr. and Georgann had a great time riding with Harvey in the back seat, Matthews and Xandria joined us in the Airbnb, and Harvey got to meet a bunch of his relatives. It was a fun trip that got us prepared for July…
July:
July was our big adventure month! We packed up the car and embarked on a road trip through 11 states. Harvey was a champ, and we were thrilled to see Mike Sr. and Georgann get recognized on stage at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Plus, we got to catch up with good friends, Andrew and Emma in Lexington, Kentucky and Liz in Norfolk, Virginia.
August:
August brought another tough goodbye as Sarah’s grandfather, Loren “Larry” Decker, passed away. We also managed to get Harvey his first passport (big plans for this little guy!) and took him to the beach – though he wasn’t entirely sold on the whole ocean and sand thing.
September:
September was the last month of Sarah’s maternity leave, so we tried to enjoy as much quiet time together as possible. The highlight of the month was getting to hang out with Ryan and Debbie Gehm, who stayed with us while their daughter Miranda visited her boyfriend in NYC.
October:
Sarah officially went back to work in October, and it was an adjustment for all of us! Harvey decided to keep things interesting by throwing his sleep schedule out the window. But, we made the most of it, enjoying our first pumpkin-picking outing and dressing Harvey up for his very first Halloween. Our costume choice was fueled by our shared love of sushi, we assigned the following roles: Michael the chef, Sarah the soy sauce, and Harvey (a bit unwillingly) the sushi itself.
November:
It was a busy month, but the highlight was hosting Thanksgiving. We definitely attempted to cook WAY too much food the day of, but the time with the assembled family was special and the food ended up being delicious. We had kids running (and crawling) around, the piano got some use, and lots of jokes (of varying quality) were told.
December:
December was a month of more firsts. Sarah had her first work trip away from Harvey. Miraculously, both Michael and Harvey managed to survive those two days. We’re not sure who was more relieved when she got back. Then it was full speed ahead into Christmas. Harvey got to celebrate with three different groups of family. He was definitely feeling the love (and maybe a little spoiled). It was the perfect way to cap off an amazing year.
And that’s our 2024! It’s been a year of incredible highs, a few challenging lows, and a lot of learning and growing. Harvey’s now got eight teeth, a smile that lights up the room, and he’s almost walking 😅. We’re grateful for the experiences of past year and the people we shared them with. Can’t wait to see what 2025 brings.
Harris Family HQ 