2011 in Review

Happy New Year!!!  I can't believe it's been over a year since I've been on here. : (
Of course, with the end of the year I've been looking back at what we've done, and contemplating the year ahead.  I am a little bummed that I don't have anything recorded here to look back on.  So with that in mind, I'm going to do my best to make a list, in no particular order, of what 2011 looked like for us.  And I'm going to recommit to keeping track of what we have going on around here, so I can look back, for my kids' sakes.

2011, in review:

• January 2011 saw me entering my 2nd trimester.  (Yup that's right, we added our 4th bundle in 2011, and let me just say that she is a keeper!) Husband was working out of state, and I was SICK.  Needless to say, routines, including homeschool ones, fell to the wayside.  That's not to say that the kids didn't learn anything, they just did it more or less on their own, based on what they were interested in.
• the kids came with me to what seems like hundreds of doctors appointments.  We learned lessons in patience and respecting other people.  I learned a whole lot about preparation and planning.
• We had our first major medical scare.....which looking back on it now doesn't seem very major, but at the time, HOLY MOSES.  IW was having some weird neurological symptoms, Husband was still working out of town, and I was early pregnant and sick.  I ended up taking him for a head CT and an EEG, or maybe it was an EKG.  Either way, that was the point that my anxiety took on a life of its own, and didn't go to it's grave for many, many months.  In the end, they never found anything wrong with IW, and the symptoms kind of resolved themselves.  Oddly, 10 months later, I experienced very similar symptoms. (I knew enough from our experience with IW to not freak out, but it also helped confirm that he hadn't imagined it.)
• IW and QL both lost their first teeth!
• IW had kindergarten graduation!!!  It felt a little strange since we don't really do "official" formal curriculum, but I am so glad we did it, and QL is looking forward to her turn!
• Em potty trained, and I am excited to say that today he has very few accidents!!  Hooray!
• IW and QL both learned to tie their own shoes, about 6 months apart. 
• IW played baseball, and QL played T-ball, both through the city.  So cute, and SO CRAZY.  Again, Husband was out of town, I was pregnant and toting 3 kids all over the place to get to practices 2-3 times per week per kid at different times.  It was fun, but there was definitely a life lesson learned there.  No matter how much other people (read: family members) think that my kids will be somehow stunted if they don't play sports at these tender ages, don't put myself through hell to do it.
• In the fall, IW played Upward flag football, and QL cheered.  This was so much more manageable!  Husband was actually in state, though still not in town.  But he was home nearly every weekend.  Upward was every Saturday, and only on Saturday, and they both met at the same time and on the same field!  I think this program was created by someone who had more than 2.5 children!
• We had a garden!  Some of it was successful, most of it was not : )  We grew: tomatoes (which barely survived the 3 year old who learned how to pick things off plants, and the horn worms.  I didn't even know what horn worms were before last year, so that's knowledge gained!), squash (we only got 3 or 4 of these before the blossom end-rot took over.  We learned about calcium in soil, and the consequences of over-watering and over-planting.), watermelon (not a single melon to be harvested, blossom end-rot also to blame.), green and red bell peppers (these did very well, and produced all summer and fall!), and sweet potatoes (which also did VERY well.  The kids actually dug up several more potatoes last night!)  
• In July, we welcomed our Sweet Josie Carol, who after this will be known as JC!  Her delivery was my second longest, and maybe my hardest.  She was induced at 39 weeks, and was a whopping 9 lbs!  She is the most joyful, happy, easy baby EVER!  I was very nervous, and prayed throughout my pregnancy for a happy baby (Em was colicky until 7 months, and didn't sleep through the night until 9 months), and God is so faithful!  JC has slept through the night consistently since she was 3 weeks old, and is only fussy when she's cutting a tooth (she has 2!) or after shots.  She has brought so much happiness to every one of us in this family, and I finally feel like we're all here.  Our family has been completed!

 

There are no pictures of Em because JC didn't really exist to him for a while, and we didn't push her on him.

• Husband turned 30!  His family was here and it was nice to take time out to celebrate him for a change!
• We went to Chattanooga on a little family vacation last March, partly to celebrate QL's 5th birthday, and partly because Husband was back on this side of the country and we needed to spend some time just being a family.  It was AMAZING, and I hope we do a little family trip like that every year.  We rented a little house sitting on a creek, kind of in the country, but just a few miles from civilization.  We went to the Aquarium, which was fun, but we probably shouldn't have gone so close to our trip to Sea World.  We also went to a stable down the road from the house that welcomed visitors.  IW and QL got to sit on a horse and ride around for a bit, feed horses grass, and watch a rider practice her jumps.  This was an impromptu visit, and was one of our favorite parts of the trip!
• We went to Colorado this December with Husband's family for vacation.  It was so awesome!  The kids got to spend quality time with their aunts and uncle, grandparents, and cousins.  They formed friendships, and we made some great memories.  We also learned that driving from Alabama to Colorado with 4 kids, while not intolerable, isn't really all that enjoyable.  Thankfully our kids have a lot of experience with road trips.  All the same, next time we fly, or I'll be staying a little closer to home.

• We rescued an abandoned puppy from our neighborhood.  He is still here, but I don't know for how long.  We really don't need another dog, but the poor guy likely would have died had we not stepped in.  I'm hoping that my kids will learn some important character lessons through this experience.  I also hope I can put on my grown up pants and do what needs to be done when it's time to find this guy a new family.

Okay.  I hope to come back and add more as I remember.  I plan to be more diligent in 2012 to preserve our memories.  Resolution made.  Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from this past month.  It was a good, good month!

This one is from last night.  Happy New Years!