January
We started 2011 by ringing in the new year with friends and resolutions. If you recall, I started the year with the intention of running/walking 365 miles by the end of it. Well, I didn't really come close. In fact, I stopped counting. But in January I was very good about my exercise routine. I walked/ran and/or did the Jillian Michaels Shred everyday. January 2011 also brought a few snow days which meant staying home and playing outside with Todd and Frosty.
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| Happy New Year! |
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| Snow Day! |
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| Frosty LOVES to jump and chase the snow that Todd sends flying as he shovels! |
February
February began with a very fun Super Bowl party at our friends Nate and Kylene's house. We enjoyed good company, good food and a good victory for the Packers (let's be honest, it would have been a good victory for ANYONE who beat the Steelers)! Not only did we have a good time, but I also won the trophy for getting closest to the total final score!
As we worked our way into February I continued with my exercise plan. I walked and/or Shredded everyday until February 13, 2011. I remember the exact day I went without exercising because it was the day we started our journey to Michigan for my grandfather's funeral. Sadly, in mid-February Todd and I had to travel to East Jordan, MI after my grandfather passed away. It was an incredibly short (and yet incredibly long) trip filled with tears but also with lots of love and remembering.
In February we also attended a wonderful marriage conference at our church, visited the Football Hall of Fame and began another season of Todd coaching the JV baseball team. We also made some really delicious meals in February including risotto and chicken Marsala and I learned what leaks and shallots were! :)
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| Nate awarding me my trophy. |
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| The trophy still sits above our fire place and probably will until this year's Super Bowl. |
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| At the HOF. Also the last picture of me pre-pregnancy. |
March
March was an incredibly exciting month as it was when we found out we were pregnant! We kept it quiet for most of March except for telling our parents and a few other family members. Todd continued through baseball and I spent my days exhausted at school, exhausted and watching TV at home, not cooking due to the smells and going to bed some nights as early as 7:30!
April
April started much in the same way that March ended. Nausea, exhaustion and baseball. We trudged through our long days of work and baseball/coming home and doing nothing! Frosty suffered from not getting her usual 2 walks/day because on most days I was unable to take her out in the evenings. So we started playing a lot of fetch in the backyard. This allowed me to sit on the back porch and Frosty to still get her exercise (plus the added bonus of treats when she brought back her ball).
May
May brought my birthday, fully announcing my pregnancy (though no one was really surprised) and my first ultrasound! Because of my major exhaustion, my midwife wanted to make sure it was only one baby... thankfully, it was! When she did the ultrasound she guessed that it was most likely a boy though it was still too early to know for sure.
Of course, May also brought SOL at school and the start of my second trimester, which left me feeling much less nauseous and much less exhausted.
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| The first picture of our sweet baby! June |
June was a VERY eventful month! It started with the end of the school year which meant three months of FREEDOM! :) Right after school let out, Todd and my dad went to a practice session of the US Open golf tournament at Congressional Country Club. Then, a few days later we found out that our sweet little baby was indeed a boy!
In mid-June we experienced Father's Day differently than ever before. Knowing our baby boy was on the way made it much more special!
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| Beautiful, huh? Too bad it's a bit out of our price range! :) |
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| Happy Father's Day! |
July
Most of July was spent indoors due to the EXTREME heat of the summer. We spent many days of July getting the nursery and the rest of the house ready for the arrival of Thomas. Todd painted 2 rooms (leaving only 1 room in the house unpainted)!
In mid-July I attended the midnight premiere of Harry Potter with some friends. I dressed as Luna and Katie dressed as Professor Trewlany. We had a very fun time... and let's be honest, it was probably my last midnight premiere for a VERY long time if not forever! :)
At the end of July, Todd and I went with my entire family to Myrtle Beach. We spent the week relaxing, enjoying good meals and good times with my family and we went out one night for all-we-could-eat crab legs! YUM!
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| Pregnant Teenage Witch... hmmm... |
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| Not the smartest idea to take the picture with us all looking straight into the sun! |
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| 6 months pregnant |
August
August started with us still at the beach and ended with us returning to school for work days! In between Todd and I went into school to set up my new classroom (I was annexed this year...hehe). Thankfully Todd was willing to help because I could NEVER have unpacked all the boxes myself, let alone move everything into its proper place!
The best part of August, however, was defintely having my college roommates up for a reunion and the Route 11 Yard Crawl!
September
Semptember brought the beginning of another school year. I started getting ready to leave my classroom to someone else for many weeks and Todd and I continued to prepare for the baby.
The big events of September were a surprise baby shower thrown by Todd's mom and sister and a day trip into DC for a Nationals game when they played the Braves.
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| Can you tell which team we were cheering for? |
October
October was a month of great anticipation! I reached the "home stretch" of my pregnancy and by the end was wondering if I would go into labor.
October brought some fun fall festivities like going to the corn maze with our friends Nate and Kylene and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. I also was blessed with a wonderful baby shower thrown by some wonderful friends. Many of my family members and friends came and truly showered me with advice, love and gifts! Todd's big event in October was doing a race/obstacle course called the "Warrior Dash" with some of our friends from church.
Finally, the end of October brought our very first snow of the season! It was CRAZY! The weekend before Halloween came with a snowfall of a few inches. We had a lot of fun with Frosty playing in it and taking neat pictures. Hopefully it was not our ONLY snow of the season! :)
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| Lots of wonderful VT gifts! |
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| 8 months pregnant with one of the co-hosts, Kylene. |
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| Frosty |
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| Frosty, the snow dog. |
November
November was the most eventful month of our year for sure! It started with Todd breaking his big toe and ended with a very different Thanksgiving than ever before. And something else happened in November... what was it? HAHA! Our sweet baby boy, Thomas, made his grand entrance into the world and completely changed our lives forever!
His arrival has changed our lives in more ways than I can even list. We now have no problem going to bed in the 9 o'clock hour, spend many hours rocking, soothing, walking around with and dancing with Thomas, find ourselves talking in "baby talk" A LOT and think taking a shower, going to Target or getting a halfway decent meal on the table is an AMAZING accomplishment for the day! And we wouldn't go back...
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| Let the weeks in the boot begin... |
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| Due to a fever at birth and some breathing issues, Thomas spent his first few days in the NICU. While there he had to spend some time "tanning" under the light therapy for jaundice. |
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| But by Thanksgiving he was home, well and growing! |
December
December has been a whirlwind of diapers, bottles, spit-up and cuddles! For the first year as a couple (when we've spent Christmas together) we did not travel at all over Christmas break! Todd's family came and visited us on Christmas day and my parents came yesterday for a short visit.
December was also the month we saw Frosty turn 2 and Todd turn 28... and Thomas was here to wish them both a very happy birthday! :)
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| 1st picture with Santa. |
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| Happy Birthday, Frosty! |
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| Enjoying some play time. |
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| The best birthday present Todd could have gotten? Thomas's very first real smile! Happy Birthday, Daddy! |
So that was our 2011. I have no doubt that 2012 will be an even better year as we watch our sweet Thomas grow and learn! It will be a year full of MANY firsts for sure! Now the only question is, what will our resolutions be for this year? Check back later to see...
What a year! I haven't read your blog since Thomas was born and have lots of catching up to do. He is too cute! :)
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