So Long 2014

What a year it has been. 

January- Bed rest

February- Jack arrived!

March- Jack came home

April- No one slept for more than 5 hours at a time

May- Road trip to Idaho

June- Christine returned to work

July- Jack's first trip to the zoo!

August- Jack's first trip to the coast

September- Started Jack on real food

October- Jack was a turtle for Halloween

November- Steve spoiled us with Pecan Pie

December- Santa came!

Our year has been full of changes and challenges and cuteness. Words cannot describe how thankful we are for our many blessings. 

Here is a little photo collage of my favorite 2014 moments.
Kind of an odd selection, but every picture represents a moment when my heart was full.
Some moments are noteworthy, others just a moment in a day.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanks for checking in on our family via this blog. We can't keep in touch with everyone as close as we'd like, but we hope this brings us a little closer to you!

Santa Claus came to town

Me oh my, Christmas has flown right by. 

December was a busy month. 

Here are my favorite pictures from all the happenings. 

Jack LOVED the lights on the tree. Standing on the couch with daddy playing with ornaments on the tree was hugely popular with Jack. 

 Daddy taking care of nighttime bottle and bedtime stories.

Supervising Mama in the kitchen.

 This kid does a mean downward dog. 

Is there Yoga for kids? I think he'd excel. 

(Update: Still no actual crawling. Tucking both knees and falling forward, check. Pushups, check. Spinning in circles, check. Pushing backwards on hardwood floors, check.)

The boys just relaxin'

I think Jack would have been happy with the pretty boxes:)

The cousins happily joined in to help Jack open his presents

What do you mean you don't eat the ribbon?

Too much cuteness and love for this boy

 There is a lot of this (painful teething)...

... to get to this.

Oh Christmas Tree

Well this year we decided to go on an adventure.

We went into over the river and through the woods (literally) to get our Christmas tree!

 Jack and Mama staying safe and warm inside the car while Daddy chained up!

 We encountered MUCH more ice than we ever imagined we would.

 After we abandoned this road for safety concerns, we happened upon this back up waiting for us and 4 other vehicles to get back down the hill before they attempted to go up. Or abandon their trip too, who knows!

 We back tracked and went on a different fork of the road and I finally spotted some noble firs in a clearing, but the hillside was rather steep. So we had Steve hop out and check things out first. 

When he returned, the verdict was there were promising potentials, so we finally hopped out of the car to hunt!

(We climbed up the bank on the right side of this picture as all the promising looking trees along the road were Hemlocks)

 Mama and Jack checking out the trees.

 Looking up the hill we spotted a pretty tree!

Steve climbed up to get a closer look and shook the tree so I could kind of make out it's shape better.

This is the first time EVER I've said yes to a tree without being able to walk all around it and inspect it first. I was 50 ft downhill from this one and just took a chance and gave my approval.

 I spy with my little eye... Daddy!

 First time I saw the tree close up :)

 Yay! Daddy found a good one!

 Jack supervising Daddy as he ties on the tree.

And we began our adventure home.

Once we got Jack in a warm dry set of clothes, he passed out for most of the trip home.

(He's holding on for dear life as Daddy drives us down the hill.)

 

 And at home...

 ...he found more energy to burn off...

 ...and more trouble to get into...

 ...and under!

 He moves backwards. This is what happens.

 And at home the tree is up and decorated and it definitely makes it feel more like Christmas. 

Need to move the pile of presents under the tree now.

My chalkboard art for Christmas time :)

What a difference a year makes

Christmas 2013

SO BLESSED to have a healthy happy boy this year. 

SO THANKFUL for me to be able to be up and about enjoying the holiday festivities.