A Look Back at 2011

Pretty much? We will be ready to say good riddance to this year and all set for a better 2012. This fall, especially, has been a challenge for our family and we are all looking forward to a fresh start.

But, in the tradition of bloggers all over the interwebs, I figure I’ll do our year in review here – you know, in case some of you missed a single riveting moment of my life over the past 12 months.

In January, we started out by hosting a New Year’s at Noon party for all of my toddler friends; it was meant to be an annual tradition, but clearly we have enough on our plate this month – maybe next year… Also, I made the mistake of napping through a grocery trip, which caused OUTRAGE on my behalf. Not to worry, though – we fixed the problem the very next day. Finally, I invented a SUPERfun game.

I went on a couple of culinary adventures in February, and Mommy hatched a delusional plan to get rid of my binky. (Ha! hahahahahahahaha. and Ha some more. At least I only use it in bed now, but that thing is not going anywhere for a while. And you know what? Mommy’s kind of okay with that. Judge if you must.) Mommy had her first MAJOR parenting fail, and then tried to distract you with that time she had a brilliant idea. I went skiing with Coach for the first time AND read my first book!

Mommy was still a bit sensitive about February’s parenting fail, so in March, I pointed out the poor parenting skills in some popular nursery rhymes. We went to visit Dr. Andy about a million times (I’m not so good with the counting), and I got myself on a solid sleep schedule. I also figured out how to work my cute to my advantage.

In April, we went on a great family vacation to Mystic, AND met up with Suzanne. I discussed one of my very favorite foods AND offered some great photography tips.

Mommy was OH so tired in May, so we didn’t have very many exciting adventures… Also, it rained a lot of the month so we were cooped up; I *did* get a chance to link up with Mandy and show off my super sense of style. I also followed Kari’s lead and shared a day in my life with a “10 on 10” post.

June and July passed by in a crazy haze of family barbecues and running around like crazy people, but not actually doing much. Oh, except we did make a big announcement. And? Uncle Matt took us to Disney World. It. Was. AWESOME. I hope to go back soon!

I turned 2 in August, and had an awesome Mickey party to celebrate. Mommy wrote a helpful post for those of you who might be trying to plan your own toddler party. Because, you know, she’s an expert.

September brought us to the end of summer, but not the end of our adventuring. We had an amazing family vacation at Rocking Horse Ranch and I caught the last of the mild weather on the playground with Max.

As a family, we had a difficult October. We had high hopes for a positive new year after Rosh Hashanah. It started out pretty well; we found out that Squishy is a girl, crafted up some crazy awesome Halloween costumes, and gave some babywearing advice. Also? I hit the big time AND moved into a big boy bed. Sadly, Grandpa spent the month in the ICU, and eventually lost his medical battles on October 28.

We laid pretty low in November; Daylight Saving Time put a slight hitch in my sleeping patterns, and I made the storytime circuit rounds only to find that I don’t *really* belong in any of them. We also started to do some serious preparation for Squishy. Serious preparation = infant jeggings. Duh.

December started off with Mommy making an unexpected visit to the hospital. There was serious discussion about delivering Squishy right then, but Mommy stabilized and has been home on bed rest ever since. Mommy does not love bed rest. Even though Mommy’s stuck at home, I’ve been going out and having adventures with Coach and Grammy Boo and Grandma and Aunt Debbie and Meredith and Amy – we’re not doing *everything* Mommy had planned for the month, but I HAVE gone to the Botanical Gardens, the circus, and to visit Santa. I might be going ice skating today! Mommy has been driven so stir crazy that she was driven to actually {gasp} cook – even if it WAS the easiest recipe ever.

2012 can’t help but start out better – Squishy will be here soon!