January - we rang in the New Year with Barrett's first birthday party on January 1. Lots of family and friends gathered together at our home to to celebrate our little boy turning one. This was a tough month, since both Tim and I were crazy busy at work and little Barrett came down with RSV, which we battled the effects of for months later.
February - snowbound! We also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with a too-rare date night. Barrett took his first steps and started the craziness of being a walking toddler.
March - we found out we were expecting baby #2! Barrett and I surprised Tim with the news one morning and we were so excited to start thinking of another baby joining our family. We took Barrett for his first haircut, which now that I look back at pictures, perhaps we should have done sooner.
April - we celebrated Easter with my parents
May - we officially told our baby news to everyone. We celebrated Mother's Day with a trip to Starved Rock and enjoyed being outside after a long Chicago winter. We also traveled to St Louis for Memorial Day, where Barrett went to a beach for the first time. He wasn't so sure about the sand and water!
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| Proof we would do anything for our son |
June - I went to my alma mater for a wonderful 10 year reunion. We celebrated Father's Day with a trip to a car museum. And the most exciting thing of the month was finding out we were having a healthy baby girl!
July - We spent a lot of time outside in the backyard pool, enjoying the nice summer weather. We went to my work party and, after a somewhat hesitant start, Barrett discovered his love of bouncy houses. We also enjoyed the fruits (veggies?) of my labor as my garden started bearing delicious vegetables for us to eat. Barrett started exhibiting more toddler-like behavior this month, which was a bit of a challenge, as meltdowns and tantrums became more commonplace around this house. I visited his school for an ice cream social with his friends.
August - We took a family trip to a local zoo. We took lots of outdoor walks and went to the neighborhood playground regularly. Barrett really started becoming more playful, including discovering his secret hiding spot. We began working on cleaning out and organizing our basement. We never did create our hoped-for play area down there, but are very happy that at least it's organized now.
September - This was a busy month for visitors, with both my sister's family and my parents coming to visit. When my sister's family was here, we visited a train restaurant, which ignited Barrett's discovery of his love of trains.
Tim sold his beloved Eagle Talon after
October - Fall arrived! We took Barrett trick-or-treating for the first time. We enjoyed a trip to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch. I realize now I never posted about our trip the the orchard. Whoops! We went with some friends of ours and picked a ton of apples and had a great time.
We visited the local childrens' museum, where Barrett was mesmerized by the train exhibit.
November - My due date came - and went. My parents came up for Thanksgiving and we anxiously were on baby-watch pretty much all month.
December - and the year ended with a bang and the arrival of our new daughter! Audrey Katherine arrived on December 1 and we spent the month adjusting and enjoying her. Barrett turned 2 and we celebrated his birthday and Christmas in St Louis. Tim started a new job in downtown Chicago, which we've also had to adjust to, with the added commute time and the stress with starting a new job.
We said goodbye to 2011 with a wonderful dinner with great friends and were tucked into our beds, asleep at midnight.
What a great, eventful and blessed 2011 it was!
Love the Year in Review! I didn't know that Tim sold the Talon...does that mean you get to park in the garage now??!!
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