Lets train

It's another New Years Eve and 2014 feels like the blurriest, fastest year of my life. It was a great one with Porter's birth being the most gigantic event in the past twelve months, and it sort of feels like his year. Year of Porter, indeed. Adding another healthy, happy baby into our family really trumps everything else that 2014 could produce in a year end review.

But believe it or not, other things did happen besides Porter. We celebrated seven years of marriage and twelve years as a couple, we bought my beloved mini-van, celebrated Truman's fourth birthday and four years as parents, celebrated Miss Cecelia's second birthday, a new job for Nate, a great maternity leave for me, and first day of school for Truman. We finally finished our DIY basement renovation and I focused a lot of my 'home project' energy on nursery decorating. There were countless visits from my Mom and Memaw, time spent with Pepaw, my dad and my brother and Nate's brother---all of our favorite out-of-state family members made memories in Wisconsin this year, which is something we do not take for granted!

This blog became a place for moms making it work with my guest series. I posted my face off during the first half of the year and am now adjusting to very infrequent updates on the old bloggity blog, although I miss it dearly.

Looking back at my pictures from 2014 made me realize that there were some undesirable health issues in our family, nothing too serious but just enough to make us grateful for ordinary, healthy days. Truman and I both had strep throat and also pneumonia at different times: he had both simultaneously and my go rounds were separate but during pregnancy so therefore less than fun. Truman had his first trip to Urgent Care because of that double whammy and Porter brought our first trip to Children's ER with a virus and fever right at his two month birthday. Both Truman and Cecelia had plenty stomach bugs and I cleaned up my fair share of kid puke this year, something I could certainly go without in 2015 but I'm sure the fun has only just begun with three kids.

Nate and I both turned thirty-three this year and I'm definitely reaching the age when each birthday feels like a gift. Each new year brings the promise of a fresh start, another chapter in this amazingly hectic and wonderful life. 2014 was the year of Porter and each even-numbered year since 2010 has been the year-of-the-newborn-baby. 2015 will be an adjustment year: no new baby, no big changes planned, but a time to settle into a routine as a family of five. I can't predict how next year will treat us but we can only hope it will be as fabulous as 2014. Minus the kid puke, the strep and the pneumonia, of course.

One picture per month, real camera only...

January:


February:


March:


April:


May:


June:


July:


August:


September:


October:


November:


December:


Pretty awesome year, for sure.


Slideshow that represents the entire year of photos in 1:30, set to music, which makes me cry: (and link here if it doesn't show up in the post)


Happy New Year, dear blog readers. I hope 2014 was kind to you, too.

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Year End 2013
Year End 2012
(skipped 2011 and 2010 apparently)
Year End 2009
Year End 2008