2013: In Review

 I know I haven't posted since MAY, but these are always fun to do and pretty much the only way I'm keeping track of my year at this point. 



1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
Got MARRIED! June 22nd, and officially on July 1st. Went camping with the children (never again).
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did not make any last year, but this year I am striving to be more active, find time for myself again, and buy a house.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, we all had babies the year before.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What states did you visit? (I changed this one, as I will never get to visit one country a year.)
Nebraska! It's really hard and expensive to travel with a baby and a small child. 
Las Vegas for the ABC Kids show with my job. It was so wonderful to hang out with my co-workers. That is the downside to working from home. 
Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents. It was over too fast but I really love my Grandma Pat. 
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you didn’t have in 2012?
I'm still waiting on a place to call our own, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. Finally!
7. What dates from 2013 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
June 22nd, because we got married!

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?
Convincing Chris that we should finally get married. I've been waiting for about 5 years now. Managing to take care of all of us AND work with an active toddler.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Doing too much. I can't do it all but I can certainly try and wear myself out.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had two bouts of a stomach bug this Spring. One was so bad I had to send Elise and Jacob to Chris's parents and Chris had to come home from work to help me that night. The weight loss was nice but not the helplessness.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I didn't buy it but I got a leaf blower for Christmas and I am super jazzed about it.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jacob for being a pretty stellar big brother. Elise for being so adorable and hilarious.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Christians. If you aren't spreading the love of Jesus then you are doing it wrong.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Sallie Mae and Ford Credit.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Vegas! And getting married, but I had three whole nights of not taking care of the baby for Vegas.
16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Two Black Cadillacs, Whistle Baby, Springsteen
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
I can't say I'm happier or sadder, but it's about the same.
Thinner! Baby weight be gone. Almost.
Poorer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Playing with the kids with their toys.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Yelling. I hate it but sometimes I get so frustrated.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
At home in the morning with just Chris and the kids. Later we went to Chris's parents and then my mom's. It was a good day.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
Scandal, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Nashville, Modern Family.
22. What was the best thing you learned? (I changed this question.)
How to make pretzels.
23. What was the best book you read?
I Know This Much Is True.
25. What was your greatest food discovery? (I changed this question.)
I can make Patty Melts and they are the best.
26. What did you want and get?
A FitBit
27. What did you want and not get?
A fire pit
28. What was your favorite film of 2012?
I really liked Catching Fire, but that is the only movie I saw in the theatre.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30 this year. We didn't do anything special though!
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Buying the house we live in currently.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2013?

I was really happy to be back in my pre-Elise clothing. Nothing new, but my body is going back to normal.
32. What kept you sane?
My mom, and sometimes Chris but his idea of talk therapy isn't really the same as mine.
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
It's not political, per say, but I was very upset about the response that the Duck Dynasty comments about homosexuality received.
34. Who did you miss?
My grandma and now that they are gone again, I really miss my brother and sister in law.
35. Who was the best new person you met?
I don't think I made any new friends this year.
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
Don't judge people. Easier said than done, I know, but it's really not our place.
37. Show us one of your favorite photos from the year. (I changed this question. It used to be about music. Which I don’t really listen to.)

Easter Was Last Week, Right?

 No, not it was not. But yet, those are the most recent photos I have.

Two kids, one almost husband, one wedding, a job, a dog, and a house take up all my time. Although I have read a few books in the last few weeks (Sookie, Robin Hobb's last dragon book, something else that I thought was important and forgot)

We planted our garden last Monday and already the corn, cucumbers, and squash are up. Flowers are starting to bloom and our grass is getting greener. Winter seemed to never end this Spring and suddenly, it's summer and we spent yesterday afternoon at the pool. 

Time seemed to go so slowly before I had children. Suddenly, it's 3 days until June and my baby girl is going to be a whole year old. I hear Jacob is turning 5 this Fall and I'm choosing to ignore that. Surely, he's only 3, maybe 4?

Naked on a Snowy Day

 The other day was cold and snowy, which meant we stayed in almost all day. It also made my bedroom super bright and the perfect place to take a few photos of Elise for a little work project. 

Her eyes here are the very best! I mean that more from a photo point than a beauty one, since I've never been great at capturing eyes in my pictures.

 Always chewing on something, the little biter.

Points to you if you can spot Jacob's shotgun...

9 Months

 So this is where we are at nine months. She is almost to the age where she's been outside as long as she was inside and I have never been more aware of how fast the days go by. 

Not only can she pull herself to standing, she has 8 VERY, VERY sharp teeth, and she can say "dada", as well as crawl across the room now. 

Jacob may as well have hung the moon for her, despite the fact that he bit her the other day. Yes, he bit her! Because, and I quote: "She almost bit me, so I bit her." I think the key word in that there sentence is almost, my little friend. He also managed to knock a Demdaco angel onto her head this morning when he was trying to throw a Cheerio into something on the mantle and knocked it over. I was blow drying my hair for all of 30 seconds and maybe this is why I should start attachment parenting. Since the 4 year old is proving to be a bit crazy on some days. 

But then he proves himself when I need someone to entertain her after she wakes up too early from her nap, and they both sit in the car patiently when I'm gathering all the items we need for an adventure out of the house. He can't wait for her to get bigger and play with him and I can't assure him enough that those days are coming. So much faster than I'd like. 

Fresh Out of the Shower

 A few weeks ago, we had a little dance party before bed right after bath time.  You can see the sheen of Aquafor on Elise's head and Jacob's little face is red from the hot water. It almost looks like a sunburn, actually.

 He's taken to memorizing some of our favorite songs and performing them for us on a regular basis.  It's all kinds of awesome.

These are some serious eyebrows. He may look like his daddy, but the boy got all of his crazy expressions from me.

You're welcome!

Posing

 I remember when Jayden was three or so, I took her picture and she started posing for me. Quite dramatically, if I remember correctly.  Jacob has reached the age where he also poses. It's kind of awesome.

 Chris took this one of us. I love it.

More silly posing.

We've been sick for about two weeks now and I'm hoping that we are all on the mend now. Jacob got sick, then I did, then Elise, then Jacob again, then Elise. Again. She still has a cough and quite the snotty nose but the fever is gone and she's able to sleep at night again.  She's night weaned herself for the past three nights, we'll see if it sticks. The other night, Chris got up with her at 4 AM, and she allowed him to lay with her and let her stick her fingers in his eyes and pull his hair. I got to sleep. For the first time ever, I think. Up until now, both Jacob and Elise needed to be nursed back to sleep until they were weaned, for the most part. If Chris didn't sleep like the dead, I'd expect him to do a lot more in the middle of the night. However, I honestly think he might sleep walk and terrible things could happen.

I remain very thankful that Elise hasn't figured out crawling, except of the backwards variety. More free time for me! But then she gets on her hands and knees and gets stuck, so not really. Motherhood is a lot of work, friends.

I'll try to get back and post some crafty things I've done. I sent off three projects without taking any photos! This is what happens when you procrastinate and then have to rush. No photographic evidence.

My Cute Baby, LET ME SHOW YOU!

This was Elise's smile during the holidays. I suspect it is due to the two teeth poking out of the top, since she has since stopped the cheesy, nose-crinkling smile.  It was the best, and we all miss it.  

She is now 7 months old and on the very cusp of crawling. The last month was practically blissful, as she was content to sit up and play with her toys for long stretches of time. Occasionally, I'd have to pick her up after an accidental face plant, but she has great head control.  Now, she is reaching and moving her legs back which leads to compromising positions that almost always involve some help from me. Freedom, I hardly enjoyed it. Now we will have to baby proof in earnest, I suppose?  Mostly just Jacob's room will be off limits and I will need a gate for the stairs. We never had to do this for Jacob!  

Elise is ready for some solids, but she hates purees so I've been testing the waters of baby led weaning. Although last night I put a spoonful of rice in her mouth and we are just not there yet. She does like pickles, french fry waffles, rib bones, and will occasionally chew on a broccoli floret. But she wants everything I have and clearly we need to re-vamp our menu to accommodate that girl. 

I left her in the church nursery this past weekend and I think she was in complete heaven as there were 4 or 5 pre-teens watching over her. They were all enamored, one girl asked if she was always this happy. 

Yes, yes she is.