Looking back . . . .

I've seen many of posts like this the last week or so, and I had no intention of writing one until I realized what a great source of reflection it would be to look back at the year, through the struggles, lessons and celebrations of 2013.  In January, by far the greatest thing was announcing our pregnancy.  I had dreamt of that moment for years and it was by far one of the most joyous moments of my life.  It was beyond fun to feel everyone's excitement for our baby to come.  I also wrote my first letter to our baby and experienced the first of many surreal moments.  February marked the half way point of my pregnancy.  It was also a hard month as I lost my grandpa and went to California for his funeral.  I also wrote out our infertility journey and what we went through to get pregnant.  In March we found out we were having a girl and I couldn't have been happier! I continued writing letters to our baby girl and my belly continued to grow.  I answered some readers questions about my shopping routines and awkwardness of "posing" for outfit pictures.  In April Chris and I had a relaxing weekend away in Wisconsin.  I shared a tutorial for a polka dot tee, along with my obsession with everything polka dots when it came to making things and working on the nursery.  This month our family experienced the start of a scary and challenging trial, as we found out my mom had some serious heart complications and was going to need open heart surgery.  I learned a lot about surrendering to God and trusting him with one of my most precious things in my life.  In May I lost count of the amount of poptarts I had eaten and blamed it on pregnancy, although I never really had extreme cravings.  My class at school threw me a baby shower and I continued to work on our baby girl's nursery and loved every second of it.  Chris and I celebrated eight years of marriage this month, but the biggest news this month is that my mom's heart surgery went well and I was reminded of God's perfect timing in everything.   In June I stopped wearing anything but maxi skirts and loose t-shirts, as my belly was getting quite large with only one month to go.  I had two amazing baby showers, felt beyond lucky and over and over couldn't believe that we were really going to have a baby.  I had many more surreal and tender moments and Chris and I got ready to welcome our baby girl.   And my good friend took some great maternity pictures for us before our baby girl arrived.  It's no surprise July was our biggest month of the year as we welcomed Addilyn Jane to the world.  I still get teary eyed looking through these first pictures. (Will that every go away?)  We spent some hard extra days in the hospital as Addilyn was in the nursery for jaundice, but thankfully came home five days later with a healthy baby girl.  I started my first of many posts about new lessons of early motherhood.  In August I wrote out Addilyn's birth story and we finally picked birth announcement cards using Addilyn's adorable newborn pictures.  Thanks to sleep deprivation I put the wrong weight on her cards.   I shared my struggles with transitioning to my new identity as a mom.  I shared my one month mom and baby favorites and not too surprisingly did not manage to keep up that series.  Opps.   I shared pictures and details about Addilyn's nursery.   In September I shared my favorite and best idea yet when it comes to things I've "made" for Addilyn.  I managed to start making some projects again, like this chalkboard vase and welcome banner.  I started writing Addilyn monthly letters and couldn't believe how fast times went already.    In October I made a video of Addilyn's first few days and still cry when I watch it.   I wrote an honest post about my feelings of blogging during this huge life transition and the future and purpose of my blog.  We successfully carved pumpkins this year and to my extreme happiness put Addilyn inside of one.  We went to our first big event as a family of three when we went to a family wedding.   I continued to struggle with finding any kind of schedule or routine to our day and shared my thoughts on enjoying baby snuggles and not stressing about routines.  We took Addilyn on our first "vacation" when we spent a long weekend at a lake house in Wisconsin with my family, which is also when my sister got to meet Addilyn for the first time.   In November I celebrated my twenty ninth birthday and Chris and I went on our first dinner date since Addilyn had been born.   I celebrated two years of blogging last month but didn't remember it until this month.  I may have bored you all with yet another post on how my baby is a terrible sleeper and my need to give it time and stop comparing myself and my baby to others.  We got to dress up as cowboys and indians for a costume party and Addilyn was the cutest Indian ever. I wrote some goals for my days as a stay at home mom and also shared on why I may never wear real pants again.   In December I shared about how this month had been the hardest yet when it comes to being a mom. I wrote about why I'm a bad wife and shared a delicious pot pie recipe that made me a better one.  I wrote about my favorite day of the whole year. I wrote about my first experience taking care of a sick baby and how needy I felt as a mom.  And finally I shared about our first Christmas together and how I couldn't be happier with all that God has given me. 
2013 marks the best year I've had yet and I am so excited for all that God has for us in 2014.  Happy New Year!