We're Building . . .

Not only are we building a family, but we have decided to build a house in Chatham County, NC (five miles from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus)! Our past few weeks have been completely consumed with starting this building process. We had a vacation week the third week in February, and so we traveled to NC to see family and friends . . . and check out the real estate market in Chapel Hill. We arrived in Wilmington to spend time with Matt's family (Becca and David, his parents) and then onto CH. I actually interviewed with UNC Hospitals (anesthesia dept) on that Tuesday, and then we spent Tuesday afternoon house hunting. We ended up at a community under construction called Briar Chapel. That afternoon, after spending about 45 min there, we decided that this could be something good. So we cancelled the rest of the prospective houses on our list to see, and spent all day at Briar Chapel on Wednesday. By the end of the day, we had decided to build a house! (We make decisions really fast!) We extended our stay in Chapel Hill another day in order to pick out our lot, sign our builders contract and apply for a mortage. Matt and I really agreed on just about everything . . . which floorplan, which lot, which upgrades, etc . . . the only thing we debated about was the outside house color. And, surprises never cease, we ended up with Matt's pick for color (two shades of brown with gray stone). Anyway, if anyone is interested in checking out our new neighborhood, go to: briarchapelnc.com
To see the floorplan and pictures of the model house ("Holloway" model), go to:
http://briarchapelnc.com/homefinder/models/holloway---b.aspx?

The house is going to be around 3100 square feet, with 3 bedrooms (and we're making the downstairs den into a fourth guest bedroom), 3 full baths, two car garage, screened in porch, and a bonus room over the garage. We love the open layout! As soon as I walked into the model, I told Matt "this is what I want!" We are really happy about this decision and have a lot of peace with it. The neighborhood was a huge draw as well . . . big community center with 2 pools (including a toddler wading pool with slides and sprinklers), 24 miles of hiking/biking/walking trails, 900 acres that will remain natural park/forest areas, and a charter school that is supposed to be really good. The downside is that there is still much construction to be done in the neighborhood, but it is a sacrifice we are willing to make.
And, a quick baby update . . . at the 18 week checkup, he was 8oz and in the 70th percentile for growth. Definitely a boy! I will post pictures later of the ultrasound (and house). Still no progress on finding a name. We'll keep you posted! (Suggestions are welcome)