Wow! I simply cannot believe it's 2008! The past 12 months have been some of the best and most difficult times all wrapped up in one!
Several blogs that I visit have a "Year in Review" post so I thought I would do the same, with one difference...I'm going to post a picture to go with each month! So, here goes...
January -- January was a really tough month. Our dear friends Kyle and Terri found out that their baby girl had died in utero at 25 weeks. We watched them walk down a heart wrenching road and through it all were amazed at their strength and faith.
January also marked the half way mark for my pregnancy, snowboarding for Bella and Andy, and a big lesson in patience as Chloe decided to be "shy" during the ultrasound that we thought we would be finding out if she was a girl or a boy!
February -- February was a better month! I was finally feeling better, no longer suffering from the terrible sickness that plagued me for the first 5 months of my pregnancy. We also got another peek at the little one and were all shocked to find out that we were blessed with another daughter!
March -- The highlight of March was our trip to So Cal. Grandma Dean, Bella and I loaded up the car and made the long drive from Reno to So Cal with stops approximately every hour (if not more often) so I could relieve my pregnant bladder! ;) We visited my aunt, uncle and cousins for a couple days and then made our way up to Orange County for a few days in Disneyland and a visit with the O'Connell's. We had such a great time, and Bella was beyond thrilled to get to spend time with her best friend (Kendra) and visit her favorite place (Disneyland) all in the same trip!
April -- April marked the 30 week mark of my pregnancy. It was the point where I really started to enjoy things and realize just how fast the time had gone. I could easily distinguish different body parts as Chloe moved around in my belly and my only real complaint was sore ribs (which really only lasted for a month or so). We celebrated Easter with an Easter egg hunt in the morning for Bella and another in the evening with Morgan and Luke.
May -- May was such a fun month for us! It started with a trip to San Francisco...one last hoorah for Andy and I before I popped! We stayed in one of our favorite hotel chains (Kimpton Hotels) and enjoyed every minute of our time in the city. Andy had a couple days of training to attend so I set out on my own to explore the city. I still can't believe how much walking I did, especially considering the fact that I was almost 9 months pregnant and they were experiencing unusually high temperatures while we were there (low 90's). We took in a couple Giants games, ate amazing food, and most importantly enjoyed our time as husband and wife!
May also brought my much anticipated baby shower. Jessica and Meagan did an amazing job at hosting it and while I was a bit nervous being the center of attention, it was a very special day for me. The O'Connell's visited with us for a short time before they had to head back home, and we managed to get a little birthday celebration in for Andy while everyone was here! The day of his actual birthday we spent a fun filled day at Lake Tahoe, and then treated ourselves to dinner at Fire and Ice. It was such a fun day and I laugh looking back on it, thinking of how everyone was so concerned that I would go into labor that day. Little did we know, Miss Chloe didn't plan on coming out a minute early! ;)
June -- Well, of course June was an amazing month for us as we finally got to meet the little girl we had waited so long for! But, before Chloe was born, Bella had her summer dance recital and we celebrated Father's Day and our 7th Anniversary. Andy's only request was that I didn't have Chloe on our anniversary (which was also Father's Day) and I figured it was the least I could do, so instead I went into labor that day and managed to make it until the 18th to actually give birth! ;)
Seeing Chloe for the first time was a moment I will never forget. Her birth was so much different from Bella's so it really was like experiencing it all again for the first time. Watching Bella become a big sister and fall in love with her little sister was so incredibly special for us as parents. I am still amazed at how well she did watching her sister being born and will never forget that she was the first one in our family to actually touch her sister. That's a moment that will be theirs forever and I'm so grateful for it!
Andy was able to take some time off after Chloe was born and managed to wrap up a few landscaping projects he had been working on. Our front yard went through an amazing transformation and I'm still amazed at all Andy did.
July -- July was a very busy month for us. Family visited, we celebrated the 4th of July, attended 2 family weddings, and Bella learned to ride her bike without training wheels, took swimming lessons and attended camp at our church. Some how all of this took place with a brand new baby. I'm still not sure how I survived! ;)
August -- August was another busy month. We continued to get to know Chloe and fell deeper and deeper in love with her as the days went by. Bella turned 5 and had a great party at Chuck-E-Cheese with her friends and then we had a wonderful family day on her actual birthday. We started out our day at the Waterpark and after we were completely water logged and sun drenched made our way to a local percieng shop where Bella got her ears pierceid! As she will very proudly tell you, she didn't shed a tear and was so excited to finally have real earings. After that we took her to her restaurant of choice for her birthday dinner (Olive Garden). It was such a fun day despite our disbelif that our little girl was turning 5. A few days later I celebrated my 30th birthday with a nice dinner at The Melting Pot with Andy while Kyle and Terri watched Bella and Chloe for us. It was tough leaving Chloe for the first time, but I knew she was in great hands and the time with Andy was just what I needed!
We also made another trip to San Francicso to take in a Giants game with Grandma and Grandpa McMinn and Morgan and Meagan. We decided to make a little trip out of it and took the girls to Six Flags the next day. We had a really fun time...one last weekend of summer fun before Bella started Kindergarten.
And of course August also saw my return back to work. While my time at home seemed to go way too fast, I couldn't imagine a place I would rather be going back to. Being able to bring Chloe to work with me made it one of the biggest blessings I could imagine!
September -- The big highlight of this month was Bella starting Kindergarten! She of course was thrilled to finally be a Kindergartener and while I was so happy that she was excited, there was that part of me, that just wanted to cry at the realization of how quickly she is growing up. Other that that, things kind of finally settled down for us which was a nice change from the business of the summer.
October -- Like September, October was a month of just doing "life" for us. Halloween was the highlight of the month for us. Bella gets so excited about dressing up and decided to be Ariel this year. I got the great idea to cordinate Chloe's costume with Bella's and found a Flounder costume on ebay. We spent most of the evening at our church's Fall Fest which was a great time for everyone!
November -- November was a crazy month for us! Andy finished up his soccer season and although he really enjoyed playing I think he was glad that it was over for a while. I hosted a baby shower for Terri in the middle of the month, which without the help of Jessica would not have been near the success it was. We had plans to go to Mt. Shasta for Thanksgiving and Andy was able to take a few extra days off which allowed us to make a nice trip out of it. Andy's family joined us on Thanksgiving Day and it was really nice to be able to spend the day with our families together. As if all of that wasn't enough excitement for us, Andy and I BOTH took our first plan ride in Mike's airplane. Andy was more than happy to do so, I on the other hand, had sworn that I would NEVER fly in a plane that size. Little did I know that Terri was goign to go into labor 2 weeks early, while we were still in Mt. Shasta and that the only hope of making it in time for the birth would be to face one of my biggest fears and fly in a two-seater airplane. After I made it safely to Reno I had to admit that it was not as frightening as I had anticipated. Unfortunatley I still wasn't able to be with Kyle and Terri when their baby girl was born because Terri had to have an emergency C-section, but the most important thing was that I managed to get my camera into the operating rooms so they could have pictures of her birth. Of course that leads me to the premeir event in NOvember 2007, the birth of a very healthy and adorable little girl, Kyra Lynn Richmer. What a special day that was for everyone, but especially Kyle and Terri! :)
December -- Wow! What a month December was! Bella performed in her winter dance recital and did a great job! We were so proud of her! Chloe turned 6 months old which is almost impossible to believe. It has been such a joy having her in our lives and it's almost impssible to believe that she is half way to her first birthday! We attended several Christmas parties, decorated the house, shopped for gifts and prepared for Christmas Eve services at church. Andy played for the first time with the worship band at church as well. We spent Christmas dat at home with just the 4 of us. I honestly couldn't remember the last time we had all been at home for an entire day without any obligations or places to go...it was just what we needed! Grandma Dean and Grandpa Mike visited after Christmas and we rang in the New Year with our good friends Josh and Jessica. We hadn't planned on doing anything, but ended up making last minute plans and it was one of the funnest evenings we've had in a long time!
I think that about wraps it up. 2008 has so much in store for us and as I've learned from the past, some will be good and some will be not so good. Whatever this year brings, I'm looking forward to it and trusting that God has His best in store for us. I didn't touch on much of it, but this past year definitely had it's struggles for us in many different ways and so in some ways I am very much looking forward to a new year and settling into the place in life that God has called us to for now!
Happy New Year!
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