2011- Year In Review

2011 was a big year for us! Among other things, we celebrated 2 years of marriage and welcomed our son into the world!

On January 17th, we had the BIG ultrasound to find out if out baby was healthy, developing normally, and whether it was a boy or girl. We were thrilled to learn that we were discovering a beautiful baby BOY! We got to registering and designing his nursery soon after.

In February, we became members of the church we had been going to. I will be the first to say that our attendance has royally sucked since I had Landon, but one of our New Year's resolutions is to go more often. It's hard when I get no sleep, but important.

In April, my mother and mother in law threw me a beautiful baby shower in the dining room of the school I used to work at. Jeff joined us in time to help me open gifts. It was a wonderful day with friends and family and Landon got very spoiled and he wasn't even here yet! Jeff joined us in time to help me open gifts.

At the end of May, I stopped teaching for the foreseeable future. I was convinced I would have about 2 weeks to myself to hang out and relax before Landon came. I didn't think he would come early, but he had other plans.

On June 2, around 7pm, I was sitting on the couch and felt a gush of fluid. From what I've read, most women do not have their water break on its own and either a Dr. has to do it or it breaks at the hospital. That began a night of going to the hospital, being told I peed myself (I didn't) and sent home, and then laboring at home and realizing that the pain I was having were indeed contractions and we started timing them. Once they were more consistent, I called my Dr. back and she sent me back to the hospital where I found out I was 4 cm dilated and indeed in active labor.

Landon James was born on June 3, 2010 at 10:05am. He was 9lbs 10oz, 21in long and absolutely perfect! I had a relatively easy labor and delivery, and recovery wasn't too bad. I'd do it again, but not for a few years.

On July 3, we celebrated 2 wonderful years of marriage. A lot has happened in that time, and we love each other more and more each day. Later in July, Landon went on his first road trip to Jeff's cousin's wedding in upstate NY. He did great and we learned then that we can pretty much take him anywhere and he would be fine.

I have spent the last half of this year staying at home and taking care of Landon. Being a stay at home mom has always been a dream of mine and I am so thankful and lucky that I am able to do it. I absolutely love spending my days with Landon. He is such a joy and it's fun to watch him learn and grow. He's at such a fun age now, and it's been amazing to see how far he's come in such a short time. I've made some new mom friends, joined a music class with my son, and learned so much about myself and my son. Motherhood has been quite an adjustment, but it's been wonderful and I have learned a lot about myself. Certain things I thought I would do as a parent I've learned don't work for us, and other things I never thought I'd do, I've done and it's been great.

In September, Jeff started a new job at a start up company. It was a little bit of a risk, but he really wanted to do it and I trust his judgement. He went for it and he's so happy at his job and the company is doing well. I love my job as a SAHM, so I'm very happy Jeff loves his job too. It's important to me that he loves what he does since it allows me to stay home and his happiness means a lot to me.

Landon celebrated several first holidays: Father's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We're excited to celebrate the last few "first" holidays with him in 2012. Due to the crazy weather the East Coast has had this year, Landon has already experienced a tropical storm (Irene), and snow at the end of October.

I turned 27 on December 23rd. When I was a teen, that age seemed so old to me. Now I still feel like I'm in my early 20's, but with a husband and a child. It's amazing to think about what an adult I've become in the past few years.

2012 will hopefully be another awesome year! We will be watching Landon grow up and start crawling and walking, we will celebrate his first birthday, and hopefully be selling our condo and getting a much bigger house sooner rather than later. We will be very busy, but we are so blessed.

I hope everyone has a very safe and happy time tonight and a wonderful New Year!