Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy Trails, 2012: A Year with Our Little Baby

The past three years have been big for our little family. First, we birthed a Maddie Bear, then we bought a house, and in true modern-era-family tradition, finally got married this past summer.  Eric and I joke that 2013 is going to seem pretty boring in comparison...

Just like last year, I though I'd bid adieu to 2012 in style...and so I transport your back in time.....

January

In January, I re-watched Season One of Felicity enough to make me realize that I'm old.  I vowed to get organized, (spoiler alert: still hasn't happened) and we showed off M's new vocabulary!  We made a leap into the work of grownups by buying our first dining room table.  Then we took an even larger leap when Eric decided he liked it enough to put a ring on it.   Toward the end of the month, M got to play in the snow for the first, and only, time that winter.  Meanwhile, Madeline amazed me with her incredible juice-box-drinking skills, and her incessant desire to knock over every block tower bigger than hers.

February

I failed at taking a self portrait before spending a night at Mohegan Sun to celebrate Amy's 30th.  I marveled for the 100th time at Eric's rad parenting skills.  Madeline got to play in a giant pit of plastic balls for the first time, and she quit the bottle for good.  Meanwhile, I shared plans for M's room, and we painted the dining room.  Madeline's room has not had any significant improvements since then...the dining room is coming along slowly.

March

In March, I shared embarrassing pictures of my youth to prove being a redhead isn't always easy.  I tried easing the boredom of playing indoors with some cloud dough and a bowl full of Pom-poms for M to play with.  We braved the cold wind with a day at the beach.  I laughed at the five-second rule due to M's constant practice of eating day-old Cheerios off the floor.  We took advantage of some early warm weather by eating Popsicles on the porch, and we tried to get a 1-year-six-month bunny picture update.  I shared the story of naming Ellis Jane, and the less endearing story of teaching Madeline to swear.

April

Eric and I found our wedding location, and I debated holding the ceremony at an amazing Vermont  rest area.  Meanwhile, Madeline enjoyed her second Easter with her cousin, Katie Belle.  We found the mysterious drawer from the basement, and M had a brief stint as the playground bully...a phase that thankfully did not last.  As the weather warmed, we cleaned up the yard and installed a raised vegetable garden.  We had a fantastic spring break sitting porch side and traveling to Montauk to visit with Nana and Pop.

May

In May, Madeline learned to climb on everything.  We visited playgrounds, picked dandelions, enjoyed a local farm,  and ran around the yard in squeaky shoes.  I shared some fears about raising a confident daughter.   We ended the month looking forward to summer vacation while lounging by the beach.


June

We celebrated the life of Madeline's great grandfather.  M and I took the train to New York, which had me nervous, but turned out fine.  We ate breakfast on the porch and watched our garden grow.  We celebrated father's day, and the last day of school.    Madeline learned how to avoid bedtime by crying pooh-pooh.  Wedding planning got serious with a trip to Vermont and an epic invitation-making marathon...complete with Dawson's Creek.

July

We rang in Madeline's second Fourth of July with a parade (which she slept through again), a messy red, white, and blue arts and crafts, and some sangria...for me, not her.  We listened to Dada's concerts on the common with Mimi and Bob.  We visited Montauk where we cruised around on Pop's boat.  We enjoyed the fruits of our garden, and tasted some cupcakes in Vermont. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this madness, I decided to stencil ALL the walls of our office, and I roped Eric into hacking an old set of bookshelves into a dollhouse for Madeline.  Best of all, at the end of the month I was surprised twice in the same weekend with a bachelorette party and bridal shower!  Phew...July was bus-say!

August

In August we finished up with baby gymnastics, but more importantly, we got MARRIED!!!  After the celebration, I shared some DIY projects...invitations, ribbon wands, pinwheels...oh my!  After the wedding madness, we relaxed by baking zucchini muffins.  Then I forever traumatized my daughter with her first haircut.

September

Back to reality!  I bemoaned going back to work and missing out on such precious moments as Madeline singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  We celebrated Madeline's second birthday with visits by both grandparent sets.  I even created a cheesy video montage... A few weeks later, we commemorated Ellis Jane's fourth birthday.  Finally, we welcomed fall by apple picking...it's the American way!
  October

In October Madeline welcomed us to the wonderful world of temper tantrums.  We ran through some hay mazes, watched football, and Maddie Bear gave her poor Mumma a heart attack by eating a poisonous red berry from the front yard.  We updated the bunny pictures, made some artwork for the office, and I carved Madeline's first jack-o-lantern for her since she was not at all interested in the pumpkins.  We braved Hurricane Sandy, and put Madeline's homemade Halloween costume on hold for the second year in a row due to unnatural weather.
November

Madeline FINALLY got to go trick-or-treating for the first time.  She was the cutest lawn gnome I've ever seen.  We visited Connecticut with Eric's family where we had to fish a googly eye out of Maddie Bear's ear.  We enjoyed some beautiful fall days by jumping in leaf piles before celebrating Thanksgiving with Mimi and Bob.  And we enjoyed one more crisp day at the beach before the cold really set in.

December

I got my act together and finished M's advent calendar after two years of procrastination.  We went to the premiere of Curious George where we got to meet the man monkey himself.  We got in the Christmas spirit by visiting Santa, attending the tree-lighting ceremony, and Christmas-fying Eric one strand of lights at a time.  Finally, our hearts were crushed along with the nation's after learning of the tragedy in Connecticut.  After that, I took a break from the blog to enjoy Christmas with my family....which I did...and will tell you more about soon.




And so, 2013?




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