Thursday, December 31, 2009

Looking Back

2009 has flown by so fast that I can hardly believe we are right back in my living room for another New Year's Eve. This time last year I was 7 months pregnant, excited to meet my new daughter and very large and uncomfortable. We celebrated New Year's with our close friends The Voss' and The Richard's and we played Rock Band for the first time as it was a Christmas gift for Roland. The kids acted as dancing groupies, the wives laughed and the men rocked out! Let's see if I can remember some of the exciting events of '09.
In January we took Seth to his first "show". We drove through a snow storm to see Disney on Ice in SYR. He loved it of course and it will always be a priceless memory for us. Seth also turned 3 and we had a Diego themed birthday party.

In February I continued to grow larger and larger, but thankfully my friend Beth was growing right along with me so that I didn't have to feel like the only big pregnant mama! We took Seth bowling for the first time also.

In March our beautiful daughter graced us with her presence a few days early. She knew that her Mommy was very uncomfortable and so she arrived on March 5th, but only after she let me work three days with full on contractions. ha! March was a month of adjustment and change,but the best change we could have ever asked for. We were blessed to have the best family and friends who showered us with meals, visits, love and support. We will forever be grateful! I didn't let any grass grow under my feet and immediately I was out and about with the two kids. The memories that I will always remember from my maternity leave were lunches at Kristen's and lunch out with Jen just about once a week. They fed me well my entire pregnancy!

In April I took Seth to see Playhouse Disney Live while Roland stayed home with a one month old Leah. In April we also purchased BOB, our double stroller and the way that I got my body back. BOB is well worth every penny and I am able to now push 70lbs with no effort at all.

In May we went to The Irwin's 2nd Annual Shrimp Boil and ate our hearts out and I also went to Ithaca one last time to celebrate Justin's graduation from Cornell. I tried to soak up as much of the campus as I could one last time. It is an amazing place.

On June 1st reality hit and I had to go back to work for 25 days. I counted down each and every day until it was summer vacation and I was back with my kids for two more months of fun! June was full of fun with The Castana's 1st BBQ, letter boxing, Gramp's birthday, strawberry picking, Aunt Jan's wedding and an ice cream social at The Richard's.

July was jam packed with firsts and with family adventures. I took up golf and started lessons with Kristen once a week from July to September. I am not the best golfer by any means, but I really enjoy it and in time I hope to improve. Each week was a new summer adventure we would go to the farmer's market, art classes for Seth, Kidnastics, walks with Mom, story time and any parade we could find. In July we also took our first family vacation as a family of 4 with our friends The Castana's to PA. We drove to Kristen's parents house and then on to Sesame Place and The Please Touch Museum. It was an amazing four days and a wonderful sense of accomplishment that we travelled with a 3 year old and a 3 month old with little to no problem at all.

In August our BFF's from Massachusetts came to stay with us for three days of hanging out, letter boxing and lounging at the lake. It was truly a memorable few days. Seth was also able to see a Laurie Berkner show as well as meet the band in August. He was in seventh heaven and asks to see Laurie all the time. Roland and I were also able to go white water rafting with some close friends and my brother in August. It was a kick butt day that we will all remember and we can't wait to make it a yearly event.

September brought forth many changes as I went back to school for good and Seth started Nursery School. He loves school and learns new things daily. September was also an important month because Roland fulfilled a life long dream and he bought our family a boat. We have been talking and dreaming about getting a boat for years and we finally just did it. We now have a slip in Sackets Harbor and if you want to find us next summer just check Lake Ontario and that is where we will be.

October was an amazing month filled with fall firsts and a new beginning. I was able to have the most amazing experience of my entire life as I watched a life being born up close and personal. I was able to watch my god daughter brought into the world and it was life changing event. In October we also took many trips to the cider mill, Seth was invited to numerous birthday parties, Boo at the Zoo, haunted houses, a trip to SYR to visit our friends The Nagraj's, Mall-o-Ween and finally Halloween.

November slowed down a little, but we were still out there living life to the fullest and giving our kids the best we could. We took Seth to see The Imagination Movers Live in concert, bought skis for the whole family, became god parents and hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the 3rd year.

December wrapped up the year with a trip to the hospital to get tubes put in Leah's ears. We call them magic tubes as they have helped her in so many ways. We also took a trip on the Polar Express and met Santa, went to a winter parade, to my Gram's chorus concert, the annual Pepsi Christmas Party, floor seats at the SU game and tons of time was spent with family and close friends. We feel so very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

We are looking forward to Seth turning 4 in 22 days and Leah turning 1 in two months. We are also looking forward to our next family vacation this summer to Massachusetts and Lake George. We plan to soak up as much time with our family and friends as we can too! We are so lucky and so blessed to have such wonderful role models for our kids to grow up with.

We are also going to enjoy each and every day with our close close friends The Castana's as this will be the last year that they will live in Watertown. This time next year they will be in Kansas. We will also be linked to them in so many ways and we will talk, text and see them as much as we can. Jacob and Leah share a birthday and we are Lindsey's god parents so they will never be rid of us!
** I have tried to insert pictures into this post for 2 days and it just won't work so I apologize for the lack of photos.
Here is to a fun filled, happy and healthy 2010 to all of the wonderful people in our lives!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Anonymous said...

OK I am finally commenting and crying at the same time! This month is taking on such an emotional toll on me! Thoughts of Lee leaving, my crappy joints, and to think we won't be here next year makes me super sad...but I know Lee coming home early will be so great! We have done so much together and I look forward to lots of new adventures this year! You guys are great friends, always will be!

Jen said...

I'm very impressed with your ability to remember all this stuff on a month by month basis. Nice year in review!