Farewell to 2012..with pictures!

As 2012 wraps up, I can't help but think about all the things that have happened in my life this past year. So this is my "year in review" post, if you will.

In January, I conceived and found out about Rowan. DH and I were on our 10th cycle of trying, with one miscarriage under our belts, and finding out that I was pregnant again was both exhilarating and terrifying. I was afraid I would lose this baby, too, but thankfully our little guy was safe and sound. In March, we found out that the baby was a boy, and in June we picked the name Rowan Bennett.

Also in June, I went to Disney World for the first time. It would have been a lot more fun if I hadn't been pregnant in that kind of heat. To be honest, I was totally miserable. And I couldn't ride Star Tours, so that was a bummer. But I'll definitely go back again someday when it's not so hot and I'm not pregnant!

Before we left for Disney World, we found out that my MIL had Stage 1 breast cancer. In July, she underwent a mastectomy. We were all there at the hospital during her surgery. She finished her chemo treatments a couple weeks ago and is doing great, and will have her reconstruction surgery in February. We are so thankful that she's doing well and will be able to be around to watch Rowan grow.

And biggest of all, of course, was Rowan's birth in September. He was 9 days early, and I labored for 27 hours before he was finally born. He was (and is) worth every failed month of trying, every moment of morning/all day sickness, every achy back, and every stretch mark. Since then, we've celebrated his first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and it's been awesome watching him grow. I can't wait to see how he grows and changes in 2013.

Happy New Year to you and yours. Hope you guys all have an amazing 2013.

Play-dates and fat babies

I'm so excited for tomorrow. Ro and I are going to meet up with a couple of my friends from pregnancy classes and have a play-date! I'm excited to meet their little ones...last time I saw them, the babies were just a bump. :)

Obviously, at this point, this play-date is more about mommy hang-out time than actual playing for the babies. They'll probably all lay on the floor and stare at each other, which, granted, will be pretty dang cute. Rowan hasn't had much of a chance to interact with other kiddos, so I'm curious to see how he'll react. He met a little girl at church last night and cooed at her for several minutes. (She cooed and grinned back...future love interest?) One of the bad things about living in such a tiny town is that there are no other young couples with little babies around here.

I am so, so ready to move away from here. I'm tired of having limited grocery shopping options. (Seriously, we have Piggly Wiggly, Walmart, and Dollar General. I'd like some organic options, please.) I'm tired of having no friends around here. I'm half an hour away from most of my friends, which leads to extremely limited hang-out time, and there are no other young couples at church, either. I miss being around people my own age. Even though most of my friends aren't in the same stage of life as me, it's still nice to be around other girls sometimes. It gets lonely, even when I'm spending all my day with a cute little boy. I just keep praying that DH finds a new job that gets us out of here.

Speaking of cute little boys, my kiddo is a total chunk. He's up to 13 pounds now, and is just so full of spark! He giggles and grins and "talks" to us non-stop. We finally figured out that he's not dairy-sensitive, but instead was having foremilk/hindmilk issues. I'm block feeding now and that seems to really be helping. We have his 3-month photos scheduled for January and it breaks my heart that he's growing so fast. I love being his mom, though...always an adventure.

My big boy on Saturday after being stuck in traffic for over an hour. He was so good and patient, and thank goodness I had my pump and a clean bottle or we would've been facing a major meltdown when we hit the 2.5 hour mark!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm a day early, but tomorrow will be pretty hectic since we'll be packing up and hauling ourselves and a baby 2.5 hours north.

So, Happy Thanksgiving!

This year has been one that has given me so much for which to be thankful. On January 10th, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. It was so exciting knowing that our lives were about to change forever. After having a miscarriage in August of 2011, I was anxious about being pregnant again. I was so afraid I'd lose this baby, too. But time passed, we heard a strong heartbeat, and my belly started expanding as the baby grew. March 2nd, we found out it was a boy. In June, we picked the name Rowan Bennett. And after what felt like a lifetime of waiting, Rowan was born in September.

Since then, I've spent every day with him, watching him grow and change so rapidly. He smiles and coos at us daily now. He's starting to discover his hands, which for him involves lots of fist-sucking. It's adorable! For a week or so, he had suddenly begun screaming his little head off for a couple hours a night. We were SO frustrated. Nothing we did could calm him, and I would end up crying as I held this angry, sobbing baby. I finally took him to the chiropractor a couple days ago and they did some adjustments, and we've had two lovely, peaceful, normal nights since then. I'm definitely a believer in the power of good chiropractic care! It's been wonderful having my happy, smiley baby back.

All my life, I've wanted to grow up, get married, and have babies. My life is so fantastic right now, and I am nothing but thankful for how blessed I am. How many people are lucky enough to get to live out their childhood dream? God is good.

What are YOU thankful for this year? Come on, guys, I know y'all are reading...cough up a comment or two. ;)