12 for 2012

Jumping on the “2012 Year-in-Review” bandwagon with 12 pictures! Enjoy.

 

January

We moved. To this little abode pictured below. Admittedly this picture is NOT from January, but it works:) At the time I was far too busy unpacking and trying not to throw up from morning sickness to even think of taking a picture of our new rental home. Please ignore my husband and his crazy soccer moves. I have no idea.

 

February

Thanks to my parents’ willingness to drive 7 hours to our place and watch our kids, Joe and I were able to go on our first trip since BEFORE kids!!! Yep it had been 5 years. Far too long. We chose Vegas because it was cheap and warm:) Though we do not gamble we enjoyed our child-less (ok not counting the in-utero babe) time greatly. Thanks mom and dad!

 

March

20 weeks. As always those weeks managed to draaaaag and fly by all at the same time. Yes, I torture my children by making them take a picture with me and the belly every month during my pregnancy. They love it…ok honestly they love the chocolate they receive for participating:) But I do love these progress pictures. Totally worth the bribery. Fun fact: Joe found out the baby’s gender. I did not.

 

April

Easter in South Dakota with both my siblings and their families and my parents. The best! We all love spending time on the ranch and just being together. Pictured are the cousins on the church steps or at least the BIG cousins that were trustworthy enough to NOT fall down the stairs. I love how Charlotte is looking at her cousins…I think she was surprised to be included in the big kids’ picture.

 

May

This little lady asked to use the potty and DID! So I took on one of my least favorite parenting duties and worked on potty training her while just the two of us were home for a few days. Our boys were on their annual kayaking and camping trip. This time for 4 days and 80ish miles down the Wisconsin River. These events took place just days after Joe finished his first year of medical school (yay!!!!) and over our 9th wedding anniversary. How romantic.

June

My parents took us to Pompano Beach, Florida for a week!!! Have I mentioned how awesome my parents are? They ROCK! We swam, ate, slept and played all week. It was perfect if not a little hectic with 6 adults and 6 kids (ages 7 and under) all traveling and vacationing together. June is also our busy birthday month. I turned 29 (and that officially suspended my birthday for the next decade:). Charlotte turned 2 and Isaiah turned 5!

July

We spent a lot of time HERE. Well not actually on the path, but IN Lake Michigan trying to stay cool. It was a HOT summer. Too hot for the likings of this pregnant mom:) We spent so much time in the water that Isaiah went from being very timid to a completely independent swimmer. I was amazed. We also did other fun stuff. I volunteered at camp for 2 weeks (family tagged along for the fun). I survived camping alone with 2 kids at 8 months pregnant while my husband was in Costa Rica (for a medical class/experience). Oh wait that wasn’t so much fun for me. I continued to work part-time. Lastly the boys went on one more kayaking and camping trip for 3 days with Joe’s parents. Fun fact: We live one block from Lake Michigan!

August

We welcomed our third child into our family. Hannah Rose. And I was completely SHOCKED that she was a girl! Joe kept the secret well. I was also shocked that my labor lasted 24 hours. That wasn’t quite the fun surprise I was hoping for. 6 days later Joe started his 2nd year of medical school. 2 weeks later the kids and I went crazy and drove 500+ miles to celebrate my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary with my entire extended family. Thanks mom for being my travel companion and sanity keeper:) We also picked, stewed and froze 40 quarts of tomatoes. Because taking care of a newborn and two “big” kids just isn’t enough work for me…

September

My baby started school. Real school. Kindergarten! How did that happen? There were many tears shed. Mine. Not his:) I am sure other things happened this month too, but I can’t recall them now. It was all just too big and monumental for me. *Full disclosure: Isaiah’s school year actually began at the end of August. But Hannah’s birth needed it’s moment to shine. So we will just call it good enough.*

October

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard with friends. Always a good time. We wouldn’t miss it. Even though it meant I got to drive nearly 300 miles just me and the kids. Did I mention our portable DVD player died in August? Well it did. See I am crazy:) Not pictured were the kids’ cute costumes. Isaiah was a vampire and Charlotte was a fairy/princess. Hannah? She was just a lump in the moby wrap:) We will try harder next year. Other notable moments from the month: Hannah started sleeping through the night!!! Isaiah designed and directed (with written instructions) our pumpkin carving. Very cute.

November

So much to be thankful for. We made our first “thankful tree”. Each day we would add a new leaf with what we were thankful for. “Dollhouse” was Charlotte’s answer 99% of the time. I know I personally am very thankful for my parents. They are the best grandparents. They invest A LOT of time in their grandchildren. And they are always willing to help us in any way they can. My mom actually potty trained Isaiah for me while I was in school! See I told you they are the best:)

 

December

We were all in our church’s Christmas program. It was such an amazing experience. It really made me reflect upon the TRUE meaning of Christmas. “Baby Jesus” only fussed a little bit during the first performance and slept through the second! I am a bit biased, but I think those might be the cutest little lamb and wise man ever:) We had many, many Christmas celebrations with family. Hannah vomited for 2 days straight and Joe had a fever/sore throat, but that didn’t stop us! We ate too much, played games, exchanged gifts and just enjoyed being with extended family on both sides. Oh and of course we visited Santa. Charlotte was afraid of him (again). And Isaiah only asked for 1 thing (a Ninjago rattlecopter lego set). Let’s just say Santa had to work pretty hard to find one of those…but he delivered!

2012 was a good year! A little bit crazy, but good. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us in 2013…


*Yes I realize I have 13 pictures. Such a rebel. And just because I can’t control myself…
Here we are ringing in the New Year with our best friends and root beer floats:) Because we are cool like that! We had all 5 kids sleeping and we were able to get in a game of “hand and foot”. The girls won. First time ever! Definitely a party worthy evening.

And now I am going to attempt to link-up with Dwija at House Unseen and join her virtual end of the year party. Or is it a beginning of the year party?!?   If that didn’t work, sorry. Please be patient with me. I am still pretty new at this whole blogging thing:)