2013 in review.

in january

... we recovered from the holidays and took lots of trips to barnes and noble to play with legos and trains.

in february

... we celebrated valentines day.

in march

... we found out that we were going to be a family of 4!

...  we had a million snow storms.

... we took avery to the butterfly pavilion and aquarium and bought season passes to the aquarium.  still one of the best purchases of the year!

... we built a firepit in our backyard and then watched the snow pile on top.

in april

... i attempted to survive being pregnant in the first trimester

... we celebrated easter with church and ham.  and i will now never eat baked ham again.

...  we started to do a few more house projects.  we replaced the window in our family room and the backsplash in our kitchen and we painted the soon-to-be nursery.

...  we had a million more snow storms and i began to research moving places like texas and florida.

in may

... it snowed for the last time and the weather slowly started to warm up. 

...  i began to recover from being pregnant and slowly started feeling better.  we took avery to the pool on memorial day weekend and did a lot of work in the yard.

in june 

... we went back to maryland for two weeks!  we visited friends and family, took avery to the beach, and celebrated at a wonderful wedding.

...  we did every summer activity imaginable and enjoyed warm weather, flip flops, popsicles, front porch sitting, the pool, and open windows.  

in july

... we celebrated the fourth on a boat with avery and dunkin

...  we had grandma and alex out for a visit.

...  we made fires in our fire pit, ate ice cream, took the dogs to the reservoir, ate lunch outside, and discovered lamar's donuts, and bought a new car.

... avery started walking!!!

in august

... i told my boss about my decision to be a stay at home mom after baby number two.

... we took avery to heritage square and the county fair.

...  my dad came out for a long weekend.

in september

...  we celebrated my 30th birthday!
... we took our first real family vacation in southern california.  and then we came back to the floods in colorado.  

...  we enjoyed the last of some warm weather.  we took avery to climb on red rocks in boulder and squeezed in a few more evenings with the firepit. 

in october

... we went pumpkin picking 

...  we continued our annual tradition of pumpkin carving and cooking rice balls

...  we also took avery to a halloween party and then celebrated on halloween by dressing up and handing out candy

in november

... i had my last day of work, we finished the last of the preparations before ellie's arrival, and planning a lot of versions and inductions. 

... we counted all of the things we're thankful for right now.

...  my mom came out to visit and take care of avery during ellie's birth.

...  ellie alex was born on the 25th!

...  we celebrated thanksgiving.

in december

... we enjoyed all of our time as a family four.

...  we decorated for christmas and really enjoyed the season.

...  we celebrated charlie's birthday and avery's birthday.

... alex came out to visit and we had a relaxing christmas eve and christmas.  and then we took down our decorations and got ready for 2014!

30 days of thankful: week 4

day 22:  thankful for crafts at Barnes and Noble, time alone in a bookstore, a husband who puts the baby down for her nap, and watching Avery get so excited about the train around the Christmas tree. 

day 23: thankful for alone time, a nap on the couch, a dog who restless gently with Avery, a 39+ week  bump, and a much overdue date with my husband. 

day 24: thankful for this time as a family of there.  Trying to enjoy this time with just Avery.  Lots of snuggles, coloring, playing animals, trips to the playground, and book reading are happening these last few days. 

day 25:  so, so thankful.

day 26:  thankful for adorable moments like these, an amazing big sister, charlie for being such an amazing dad, and my mom for taking such great care of Avery.

day 27: thankful for naps, these three people who i get to call family, and the ability to watch these two grow up together.  oh, and a husband who i love and who changes lots of diapers, brings me water, and takes amazing care of our kids.

day 28:  thankful that this little chunk was born healthy.  i'm so excited for A to have a sister to grow up with. also very thankful that we were able to spend the holiday at home. 

day 29:  thankful for this guy and these girls.  even when everyone is crying. 

day 30:  thankful for this view.  doesn't get much better than this.

30 days of thankful: week 3

day 15:  thankful for gorgeous, warm, fall weather.  it's been the perfect playground and walking weather.

day 16:  for a backyard.  after so many years in apartments it is so nice having a little space of our own.  also very thankful that charlie takes such good care of it. 

day 17: thankful for health and lots of happiness.

day 18: thankful that these two are now best buds again.  daddy is now cool in avery's world as evidenced by the matching broncos shirts and fist bumps for all.

day19:  thankful that my mom is here! avery's so excited.  she can't stop patting her and saying "hi grandma".  also, she brought early birthday presents.  lucky, a. 

day 20:  thankful for healthy food and the ability to cook while someone else (an awesome grandma) is entertaining my baby.  

day 21:  thankful for homemade biscuits and tomato soup, christmas decorating, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a solo target trip, warm oatmeal cookies, snow in november, and catching up with a good friend, all of which were had today.

30 days of thankful: week 2

day 8:  dunkin feeling better to join us on walks again.  

day 9:  i know some people would be annoyed with their kid climbing all over things but after taking over 18 months to walk i'm just so thankful that she's walking, running, and climbing at all. 

day 10: so thankful for how much this little one loves books.  love reading with her. 

day 11: thankful for time with the hubs after the baby is asleep.  taking advantage of this time while we can.  

day 12:  this awesome dog and how much this kid loves her animals.

day 13:  the fact that my sweet, sick baby fell asleep in my arms for an hour.  i miss those snuggly moments with her.  hoping she feels better but i'll take those snuggles anytime.  

day 14:  thankful for tinfoil and a cat.  throwing the 'ball' to toby gave me all of 5 minutes of peace while cooking dinner. 

30 days of thankful: week one

so i'm attempting to take a picture each day and post something that i'm thankful for on instagram.  it's pretty much my favorite way of quickly capturing moments that i want to remember.  i wanted to post to the blog, too so that i'd have more than just the pictures if one day i want to print them out or actually do something with them.  i figured doing one post per week would be slightly less overwhelming than 30 pictures all at once.  so here's week one:

day 1:  this girl, this dog, and the fact that they love/tolerate each other.

day 2: this man who works so hard both at work and at home

day 3: sunday morning breakfasts.  a little helper.  and hearing "i love you, daddy".

day 4: the excitement of the holidays through this one's eyes.  she found this at home depot, became mildly obsessed, and is insisting in showing each of the animals. 

day 5: pillow time with these two.

day 6: a full term baby bump with a HEAD DOWN baby (as avery would say).

day 7: first day as a stay at home mom.  so thankful that i'm able to spend my days with this kiddo and her future brother or sister.

thankful.

i've been feeling really grateful and content recently.  and i figured it would do me some good to not wait until thanksgiving to make a list of some of the things that i feel really thankful for.  these are some of the 'big' things, although there are about a million little things that i am thankful for on a daily basis, like watching the rain on our front porch with my daughter or when avery sleeps until 7 am or when charlie makes blueberry pancakes.  those things matter, too! 

1.  my job

it's not a perfect job, not a dream job, nor what i pictured myself doing when i was graduating from college.  but, i work with some really good people.  i don't deal with a lot of the workplace drama that i know a large amount of the population does.  i have a great boss, multiple bosses really, because who i technically report to has changed pretty frequently.  everyone has treated me more than fairly and been more than flexible with my schedule both when i was pregnant and then after i had avery.  i can tell you that not many jobs would allow for an employee to return part-time after maternity leave and then stay part-time AND allow them to telecommute.  my days can be pretty crazy but i wouldn't trade the ability to stay working and help provide for our family while being at home with my daughter for anything.  i also feel pretty fortunate to work for a company that i think is actually making a positive difference in the world.  i feel like what i do does matter and what our company does matters as well.  

2.   charlie

i won't write much about charlie because i keep most of that stuff between us.  i will say that i feel really fortunate to be married to a person who is my best friend and who i love more each day.  he's a great role model for avery and a really involved dad.  we can argue with the best of them but we agree on the big, important things.  some of the best times in my life have been nights spent just hanging out with him.  

3.  our house

i really do love our house.  i was freaking out a bit when we first purchased it because it didn't feel like a home, but over the past year it's really become much more than 'just a house'.  it's not huge by any means, which is one of the things that i love about it.  i love that there's still a long list of things that we'd like to do or would want to do for fun to make it even more 'ours' but it more than meets our needs and the needs of our growing family.  our kids won't grow up in a huge place, but hopefully that will make them closer since there are less places to 'escape' to and i definitely see some room sharing in their future.  

4.  avery

she's so much fun.  i love watching her grow up and i love the age that she's at right now.  she's a really sweet kid; i get lots of unprompted kisses and hugs throughout the day.  i cannot wait to watch her grow throughout the years and see the kind of person she becomes.  

5.  avery's brother or sister

charlie and i knew that we wanted more kids after avery but i have to say i always thought that if she was all we 'got' i would consider myself more than blessed.  we are both so excited for this second baby.  i'm even more anxious this time to find out if it's a boy or a girl.  and i'm looking forward to the chaos of 2 babies and the possibility of three december birthdays.  i think having avery makes this even more exciting in a way because not only do we know how awesome it is to have a baby (even if it is really hard!) but we're also so excited to see how avery reacts and for her to have a sibling as she grows up.  

6.  family

we don't live close, although i really do wish that we did, but we have great families.  i really do wish that we were closer to everyone but i feel so thankful that we have people in our lives who make the effort to stay in touch, visit when they can, and be a part of avery's life even if we are far away.  

7.  our crazy animals

they've definitely taken a backseat since avery's come along but they are great companions.  they're all great with avery, even henry the grump and toby the jerk.  they let her get away with things that they would never allow from us.  the dogs also force me to go for walks when i don't want to and the cats are always up for cuddling, unless they're outside hunting rabbits.  they also all get along really well, which is really lucky considering how many people i know who have cats and dogs who hate each other.  

8.  living in colorado

there are definite downsides, like the cost of traveling back to maryland or the fact that we couldn't be farther from the beach.  i also will complain pretty heavily during march and april when it's snowing and all i want are some cherry blossoms.  but we love living here for so many reasons.  i'm really excited to raise a family with so many outdoor activities, the weather is really amazing (except in the spring when i'm over the snow), and we've been able to live a lifestyle out here that would have been much more difficult in the d.c. area.  i also love that people out here are just much more laid back and friendly.  a part of me will always consider d.c. to be home but the longer i'm away the more that i feel out of place when we're back visiting and the more i can't wait to get back to colorado.  

2012.

this year was the best.  seriously.  and i blame avery for it all.  i'm so, so thankful for our little family.   

in january i was on maternity leave and spent most of it cuddling a very tiny baby.  charlie's parents came to visit and meet their granddaughter for the first time.  we also started house hunting in colorado and then debated about moving back to d.c. for a bit before finally deciding on staying in colorado.

in february i went back to work, we celebrated a very mellow valentines day, and avery met her cousin for the first time.

in march we made an offer on our house and read a lot of books.

april brought a lot of packing & work on getting ready to move.  my mom also came out for a week to spend some time with avery.

in may we finally moved and my sister came out after she finished finals.

we had a visit from charlie's mom in june and spent a lot of time working on the house and taking avery to the pool.

we took avery on her first roadtrip to telluride in july and then came home to a visit from my parents & then had another visit from family at the end of the month.

we finally made it to the reservoir in august.

we did some hiking in september & alex and jeff came to visit for labor day weekend. 

in october we took a trip back to maryland to see lots of family and friends and celebrate a wonderful wedding.  we also celebrated avery's first halloween.

we celebrated thanksgiving in november.  

and we finished the year with two family visits, two birthdays, and christmas in december.

thankful.

i'm thankful for so many things this year, both big and little:  all the time i've been able to spend with this lady this year, the fact that we're all feeling better enough to eat turkey today, a husband who is not only my best friend but a great dad, and all the friends and family we couldn't celebrate with this year.  but mostly it's the family thing.  right now we have a turkey in the oven, a baby napping on charlie, and we're already full from riceballs and stuffed mushrooms.  if thanksgiving happened once a month it wouldn't be such a bad thing.