2012

2012 was a busy, exciting year for our family.  Here is our year in review!

january

January was busy--Claire and I were in MN for half the month, and headed back to NC after a nice long MN vacation.  Claire and I found our routine again with just the two of us, and she really started turning from a baby into a big girl.

february

February was busy!  We spent a lot of time outside, Claire and Lacey officially became BFF's, and I accomplished a big goal in the house.  With the help of a friend, I put a tile backsplash in our kitchen that I am still completely in love with.

 march 

March brought warm temps back into our world.  The countdown to Bud being home began and my parents came for a whole week to see us.

april

April was an exciting month.  It was our last one with out Bud, Claire turned 18 months old, we celebrated our last holiday with out Bud and I finished all my last minute projects.

may

MAY was finally here!!  The first day of May brought our favorite guy home, and the rest of the month was spent as a family, enjoying figuring out our new normal again.  Bud and I got a much needed vacation just the two of us thanks to his parents coming to watch Claire.  May was probably my favorite month of the year. :)

june

Early in June, we found out Claire was going to be a big sister!  I spent the rest of the month feeling pretty crummy, and trying to keep up with Claire. :)  Claire and I spent a lot of time in the garden--her favorite thing was to pick broccoli right off the plant and eating it. We also had visitors in June that won the prize for longest travel--our friends from Alaska came to visit for a couple days!

july

We celebrated the 4th of July with some friends and my sister and her sweet family visited!!  Having Lainey and Claire play together was SO fun.  

august

We took a trip to MN in August!  It was a WONDERFUL break from the heat of NC, and Claire loved having her daddy around so much, which also meant a nice break for mama!  I was still feeling pretty awful in August, so all the extra help from Bud and grandparents was very welcome!!  We were able to help sweet Lainey celebrate her first birthday--and it was the first time my entire family had been together since 2010, so it was extra special to me!  We also learned that Claire was going to have a baby brother!  August was a busy month!

september

After such a crazy August, September was a quiet month.  We spent lots of time playing inside (still very hot and mama still feeling not so hot), and doing yard work when we could stand being outside.  Claire starting learning her alphabet and caught on very quickly--she knew about 10 letters by sight within a week or so!  I was very impressed!

october

We were so happy to have Bud home this year in October!  He got to help us celebrate Claire's 2nd Birthday, and took her trick or treating for the first time.  We celebrated Claire's birthday with a Mickey Mouse party with her best friends, and the night before her birthday we took her to dinner at one of her favorite places (she LOVES the nachos at O'Charleys!).  She caught on to trick or treating very quickly, and would run from one house to the next saying, 'more!, more!'  The clown costume was mine when I was her age--and she is WAY cuter as a clown than I was! :)

november

We spent a lot of time outside in November.  I finally was feeling good, and the weather was beautiful!  We got our first Christmas tree in this house, and started decorating for our first Christmas at home.  Claire vocabulary exploded after her birthday, and it seems like she was learning a new word or phrase every day!

december

We started December with a trip to VA to see Bud while he was away for work.  DC is clearly very tiring when you are 2!

Right after VA, Claire and I packed up and headed to IA to meet this little dude, Wyatt!  Claire completely fell in love with her baby Wy, and asks for him almost daily.  She had a lot of fun playing with Lainey too, even though she did 'poosh' her a few times.  Stinker. :)  My parents are loving the complete choas that comes with having all the grandbabies so close together...it is quite the experience! (There will be 4 kids in less than 2.5 years!)

We celebrated Christmas with our very good friends, who are like our family here.  The kids loved playing with new toys and the adults enjoyed some Just Dance.  So many laughs were had after a very yummy meal...we are so thankful for our life here!  

2012 was a wonderful year, and 2013 is shaping up to be pretty great as well!!  We will welcome our first little boy into this world, and besides many (many) work trips, will spend the entire year together as a family, and that is more than I could hope for.  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have a happy, healthy 2013!