Review of 2013

This is a few weeks late but I kinda needed some time to think over the past year and truly see how our lives have changed.

My sister told me about how she and her husband wrote down stuff that happened over the year and put it in a jar, and then opened it and read everything on New Years Day. To remember all the little miracles, funny sayings, and big decisions. I think we are going to do that this year.

The biggest change was adding a 4th to our little family. She was a surprise, but we worked through the few weeks of doubt (of being ready for a 2nd child) and then were excited, especially once we found out it was a girl! 

The second big change was buying a house (see this post). We're now settled and starting to make a list of things we want to add/remodel. Inside and outside! I'm excited to see how things will look in a year or two. 

Now on to our personal updates…

Baby L

She started out a pretty fussy baby, which was really difficult for us cause Easy A had been so smiley and well, easy (get it?). We went through a phase of not sleeping unless she was being held/in bed with me. We also think she might have a dairy sensitivity, which would account for some of her fussiness. Fast forward a few months and she is a much happier baby! Smiles, cooing, blowing bubbles. She learned how to roll over at 3 months and now is unstoppable! Scoots her way around and recently has started trying to get on her hands and knees at the same time (she is now 5 months old). Oh dear… 

We started giving her some rice cereal, which she loves but is not so good at actually eating. She is getting the hang of it though. 

Easy A

Turned 2 in September. Where did the time go? A year ago he was barely talking (mostly said mom, dad, monkey and more) but then his vocabulary exploded over the summer and now he's talking full sentences. Every once and a while I have to guess at what he's talking about, but we usually understand him. He LOVES lego mini figures, Bob The Builder, Ninja Turtles and cars. And watching movies, although most of the times he gets distracted halfway through. He's starting to get into the "Terrible 2s" but overall he is a good kid. My main issue with him is getting him to eat. I swear, if he could live off of milk and juice, he would! He's actually gotten a little bit better over the past few weeks but we still have to bargain with him sometimes. 

Eli

He is still working with Xerox as a contractor (that's a whole other story) but is hopefully getting a job as an apprentice electrician with a friend who just started his own company this past fall! He is still doing ebay, but has switched to selling mainly electronics (games, gaming systems, controllers, etc). They are a lot easier to test, clean and sell. At least compared to legos. That keeps him pretty busy, but he enjoys it! He really loves owning our own place and having a yard (me too). He has all kinds of plans and stuff he wants to buy now for the house. :) 

Me

I had a baby. That's probably the most significant thing that happened to me last year. :) I also quit working so now I am able to be a stay at home mom. It was a hard decision at first cause I really enjoy my job and co-workers, but I know it was the right one for our family. And I still go and help out over the holidays, so I'm not completely gone! The biggest change for me past year was struggling through Postpartum Depression (ppd). It didn't help having a fussy baby too. I have been doing better now that I am taking vitamins to help control the hormones and after talking to some close friends and family about it. 

Now I know there was more that happened last year but, well, that would be a very long post. These are just some highlights that I wanted to share. Hopefully next year I will have a whole jar full of memories to share with you!