Better and better

I'm pretty sure that holidays just keep getting better and better.  The older Addilyn gets, the more Christmases I spend with Chris, they just seem to get sweeter and sweeter.  We had such a great Christmas and few days together and I am so thankful for our family.  Both of our extended families, and our own family of soon to be four.  God is so good and we are so thankful for all He's given us. 

 The Christmas Eve service is my favorite and the candle lightening is by far my favorite part.  A reminder of the light that Jesus brought to Earth, and celebrating that with the people I love the most. I can't help but get teary eyed every year.  I remember sitting in this service before we were pregnant with Addilyn, dreaming of the day I'd be a mom during this time of year.  How special to be there with our two year old and baby boy kicking away in my belly.

(Her face matches that game behind her)

After church we go to my parents and eat dinner together and then the kids open presents first.  It's worked out so nicely that my family has always done Christmas Eve and Chris' on Christmas day, so we don't have to split that part up! 

Addi got some fun presents from my family: monster slippers (that she asked for since we saw them at Target, stamps, an Elsa doll and a kid's worship cd).  

Christmas morning our plans changed some and we ended up staying home and not going to Chris' parents until much later in the day.  It ended up being so nice.  Addi slept till 7:45 which has never happened, we had a super slow morning together, and she was so much fun watching open presents. Since she was little she's had this cutest little giggle that she'd do when she was excited and she would do it before every present.  

She asked Santa for a baby doll so we made sure to get that one!  She also had been talking about needing the songs from Frozen so that I can learn them and sing them to her.  We've already listened to it many times in the car.  It is so fun that she can remember what she asked for and got so excited. Also so nice that she is easy to impress.  We only got her a handful of presents and they were mostly little things.  But she loved all of them.

Even the toothpaste and toothbrush in her stocking.  And this is the face she made when she opened the underwear:

Now let's hope she stays that excited when wearing them!  Cutest little sweater dress and face from the Sunday before Christmas:

And the sweetest gift I get this year.  This little boy coming in 9 weeks!

And because I can never pass up a chance for a comparison picture, I realized Christmas Eve morning Addi was wearing the same pjs she was a year ago (thank you Time Hop) so I tried to make her recreate her excited face.  Close enough.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I may have cried on Sunday when it was all over and I knew Chris was going back to work on Monday.  Thank goodness this is a short week for him and we get another long weekend together! 

Time for a new week

Yikes.  This last week and a half was a rough one.  Monday morning Addilyn passed out when she fell, which even though it's happened a handful of times before, it's been a few months and it just threw me off.  Made me a little more anxious, and made me worry about her and her health.  We thankfully had her 18 month appointment that afternoon where the doctor assured me it was okay.  The doctor wants us to put her on a nebulizer twice a day to see if that helps her nighttime cough, and while I am happy to be doing something that will help and anxious for positive results, I'm dreading the treatments and the expense.  
Then Monday night in a matter of an hour I went from feeling completely fine to feeling absolutely awful.  I had a violent, awful case of the stomach flu and literally felt like I was going to die.  I rarely get sick, and have never been that sick before.  Hence the no blogging.  Any second I put Addilyn down for a nap or bedtime all I could do was lay down.  I am far from a sympathetic person when Chris gets sick, but I think this has given me more compassion for the future.  
That same day, my father in law had to go to the hospital with a heart scare.  He is fine now, and everything is good, but a reminder that life is scary and you really have no idea when things like that could happen.  
Chris then went out of town, his flight back was delayed and he was welcomed home with a sick baby up all night with the stomach flu.  A throwing up one year old is just the saddest thing.  And the most exhausting and messy too.  All in all a week and half that I'd be happy to not relive again. Weeks like last week are bad, and I'm so happy for a new week.  A reminder to be extra thankful when ourselves and family are healthy and when things are easy.  

Looking back at 2014

I almost forget that I did a post like this last year and how much I enjoyed looking back and reading it, even again now.  It reminds me what a blessing this blog is, as a way to store our blessings, hardships, pictures and memories.  Here's a look back at the highlights of this year . . . 

In January, Addilyn turned six months old, which felt like a big milestone.  Half a year as a mom!  She also got really sick this month and it felt like a long winter, but I know God used those times to remind me to continually give my worries and fears over to Him.  I wrote an honest post about how I feel about blogging, and still have most of those same feelings. 

February.  I wrote a post about marriage after having a baby.  Chris and I were slowly adjusting to our role as parents and husband and wife.  My new niece Annabelle was born and is the sweetest, happiest baby in the world!  It killed me that I had to wait to meet her.  I made it official that I wasn't going back to teaching this year and felt so happy to be able to stay home with Addilyn. That year turned into two and I'm so lucky to to be home with Addilyn!

March.  I found my favorite pair of jeans that I wear at least two times a week.  I wrote a post about my self image post baby.  I made Addilyn and I matching sweatshirts, and was surprised it took me so long to make us matching outfits.  

April.  We took our first big family trip with Addilyn and stayed with my sister and in her family in Vermont.  We met my niece and Addilyn had so much fun with her cousins.  I decided to sign up to run the Chicago marathon again, after debating for a long time.  I locked Addilyn in the car after loading groceries in the truck in the Target parking lot, and I still to this day leave a car door open until she's out of the car or I'm in the car.  

In May I celebrated my first Mother's Day and it was wonderful.  Chris and I celebrated nine years of marriage.  At Addilyn's nine month appointment we talked about concerns with her lack of weight gain which started a few months of tests, worry and many chances for me to trust that God is in control.  I also made a 13 by 30 list, which I still have a handful left, despite turning 30 two months ago! 

June. I officially started marathon training and felt excited, scared and out of shape.  Chris and I went to a wedding, where he officiated, and the comparison pictures of me pregnant and Addilyn now never cease to amaze me!  I wrote about scaling back on blogging and how I struggle with finding a balance between all or nothing, and like always I was encouraged by your sweet comments.   
In July we celebrated Addilyn's first birthday.  So much of the month before I spent planning her party and making decorations and I really enjoyed it.  Her party was so much fun and we felt love and celebration for our sweet girl.  The night of her actual birthday we had a scary and traumatic moment that involved a 911 call, which followed by a handful of times where Addilyn passed out after falling the following months.  Yet again, another lesson of giving my worries to God.  I made a teepee for our basement playroom and we spent a lot of time down there!  

In August my family went on vacation and stayed in a house in Canada.  We spent a day at Niagra falls, and lots of time hanging out together.  It was wonderful!  During the trip I got to meet a blogging friend, who has since then become one of my closest friends.  After very little weight gain over the last three months, our doctor had us do some tests for Addilyn that made me very stressed and anxious.  Thankfully everything came back normal, and we put her on medicine for acid reflux, which seemed to help her gain weight.    

In September I finally gave in to wearing real pants regularly, and accepted my new "mom" uniform.  I started working harder at not filling our days with friends and schedules, and finding joy in smaller moments.   I started redoing our dining room, living room and kitchen and shared the easiest pillow diy.  I went to a paint nite and fulfilled a life goal, and want to go again!  We got Addilyn's one year pictures back and I still look at them all the time and love them!  Also it blows my mind how much she went from looking like a baby to a toddler over the next three months. 

The biggest news of October is that I finished the Chicago marathon.  I seriously injured my knee six weeks prior and really didn't know if I'd be able to do it.  It became even more physically and emotionally exhausting than previous years, but was honestly one of my most proudest moments of my life and I'm so glad I did it.   I put Addilyn in a pumpkin and she loved it.  The pictures are some of my favorite ever of her!  I wrote some Fall goals, which were a little hit or miss throughout the season.  Even though Addilyn was sick, she was the cutest little lamb for Halloween. 

In November I celebrated my 30th birthday.  We went away for a weekend at our friends' cabin and had such a great time!  I was nervous about the long drive there but it was definitely worth it! Thanksgiving week was great!  My sister and I ran a 5K Turkey Trot, we got our Christmas tree and had a great week with our families.  I made a new wreath and hello sign for our newly painted front door and I still love it everytime I pull in our driveway.  

December.  I jumped on the blanket scarf trend happily.  The biggest news that I shared is that my sister and her family would be moving back home this month.  They moved back at Christmas, and I still can't believe they are really here!  We had a wonderful Christmas, and it continues to be so fun and exciting adding Addilyn into all our traditions and making new ones.  
Reading through these posts is a huge reminder that this last year has been really good.  We've had our moments of sickness and stresses, arguments and adjustments, but we are so blessed and truly have more than we could ever ask for.  God is so good.  

Our Christmas

I'm so thankful for pictures.  How lucky to be able to capture moments from special days.  Plus pictures have a way of making things look quiet, sweet and not nearly as chaotic as moments often are.  Christmas Eve and Christmas day was full of family and traditions.  We had a late breakfast with my family Christmas Eve morning, went to a Christmas Eve service, followed by a dinner full of favorite foods with my family and in-laws.  And way too many sweets and cookies!  Everyone changed into pajamas and the kids opened presents and went to bed, so the adults could hang out and exchange gifts.  

Christmas morning we opened a few presents at our house.  Don't tell Addilyn but we saved a few gifts she got for her birthday where she got SO many, and rewrapped them to give her for Christmas. We headed to Chris' parents to open presents (where I forgot my camera!), had breakfast and after Addilyn's nap we went back for an early dinner.  The day was perfect and we're so lucky to be able to celebrate with both of our families close by.  

I thought Addilyn's first Christmas would be my favorite, but life and holidays just keep getting better and better with these two.   
Happy New Year!

Looking through pictures

dress: online boutique    cardigan & shoes: old navy 

Christmas Eve is my favorite.  My family has always done our Christmas celebrating that evening, and while traditions have changed a little since having little kids and my brother and sister-in-law gone, it was still special.  

Everything wasn't perfect.  Addilyn barely napped and was kind of crabby that afternoon and during church.  I only sat in the service for ten minutes.  I didn't get one good picture of just her in her Christmas dress and I couldn't find any shoes for her to wear so she wore two right shoes that were hand me downs (still not sure how that happened).  It's embarrassingly easy for me to let things get me bent out of shape, especially on big days.  

But I'm slowly learning that is just life.  No day is going to be perfect and there were so many more wonderful moments. Christmas Eve was special, fun, and I love sharing the day with my family.  I thought last year's Christmas was the best, but this year with Addilyn being older and more excited about things it was even better.  To start traditions with her and for her to be with her cousins.   To watch her get excited about presents and Christmas decorations.  To teach her about Jesus' birth and the celebration of Christmas day.

I'm slowly looking through and editing pictures as there is probably one good one for every fifteen.  I used to get sad after Christmas and looking through pictures of the day made me wish it wasn't over.  But this year looking at pictures makes me thankful for my family, for traditions, and for starting a new year.  

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family! It's been so nice to take time off my computer and I've thoroughly enjoyed doing other things during nap time and evenings.  I plan to do some more of that this week too.  Enjoy your last few days of 2013!